Consumers Take Reviews Very Seriously!
97 percent of consumers read online reviews, and they trust reviews as much as recommendations from friends and family. To compete in our online world, your business needs to be consistently getting new testimonials.
Investing now will help distance yourself from your competitors because only 36 percent of small businesses are investing in review marketing at this time. Reviews can also boost sales and SEO, leading to a higher search ranking, since they are social proof (social proof is the idea that if others like your business then it’s safe for me to like it.)
Nielsen Stats:
82% of consumers go to review sites because they want to buy a service or product 89% make a purchase within a week of visiting review sites and 29 percent will do so within a day
What Can Positive Reviews Do for Your Local Business?
Consumers are likely to spend 31% more on a business with excellent reviews, and 92% will use a local business if it has at least a four-star rating.
Google Reviews Have a Huge Impact on Your Local Business
Studies say Google is more important for reviews than Yelp. Google is the biggest search engine in the world and when potential customers search Google for local businesses, They see all the testimonials and your star rating.
Google was also found to be the most important review site for purchase decisions, and consumers are 38% more likely to visit and 29% more likely to consider buying from a business with a complete Google My Business page.
Google testimonials can also increase your click-through rates. 56% of searchers will choose to click on a business’s listing just because it has a good star rating or positive reviews (even if it isn’t the top result).
According to a Harvard Business, a large percentage of local searches ended with a purchase (78% mobile, 64% tablet/laptop, and 61% PC).
Positive reviews on Google will effect your local SEO and can help you get more clicks and improve sales! It is important to learn the 7 reasons to hire a digital marketing agency to help understand SEO.
Benefits of Featuring Your Reviews on Your Website
Ratings for online businesses are a great way to improve sales. Not only has it been proven to increase review volume by 324 percent, but it can also increase product coverage as well as website traffic and conversions.
More reviews will give you more conversions:
- Just one review can boost conversions by 10 percent
- At 100 reviews, your conversion rate could be boosted by as much as 37 percent
- At 200 reviews, this rate could rise by a shocking 44 percent
- Are Negative Reviews Hurting Your Business?
Negative reviews:
When businesses respond to unhappy customers (and actually resolve the problem) that customer is much (70 percent!) more likely to use the business again.
All you have to do is respond, apologize, and genuinely try to make it right. Not sure how to make it right? Check out this article about why unhappy customers leave negative testimonials and this one about how to reply to every type of review.
Facts About Online Reviews
1. 80% of consumers research products online every week.
That’s right 8 out of ever 10 consumers conduct online research about products they’re interested in purchasing.
When a potential customer goes online to look up your business, hopefully, they find something good. If you’ve been properly managing your online reputation, you’re golden.
If you haven’t, it’s probably time to put your best foot forward online.
2. 91% of people only look at the 1st page of Google results.
Academic research indicates that 91% of searchers do not go past page 1.
Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Think about the way you search. Do you ever click on multiple search result pages in Google?
3. 70% of people trust the opinions of other consumers posted online.
Even though a fake review is a huge problem on all the major review sites, most consumers still trust them. Before eating out at a restaurant or calling a plumber or booking a hotel, now more than ever, people turn to online testimonials to make decisions about which businesses are going to get their money.
By simply asking your customers for a review, you can start collecting real, good testimonials that can persuade consumers into choosing you over the other guys.
4. Prominently displayed negative testimonials on a review site are enough to make people pass on what you’re offering.
5. The average consumer consults 11 online reviews before making a purchasing decision.
Even if you’ve got a couple bad reviews, it’s alright! Consumers don’t stop reading reviews only after the first few. If you’ve got honest reviews from loyal customers, curious consumers will likely keep you in mind as an option.
6. A high product rating will increase the likelihood of completing a purchase for 55% of consumers.
This one seems obvious, but it just goes to show that if a consumer is on the fence about your product or service, good reviews and ratings can bring them over to your side.
7. Consumer reviews are 12 times more trusted than product descriptions.
No matter how much work you put into perfecting that product description, consumers are going to trust the opinions of others consumers 12 times more. Your customers can be your best salespeople. Give them good experiences with your services or products, ask them to write about those good experiences, and you’ll be able to win more consumers over.
8. A one-star rating increase can result in a 5-9% increase in revenue.
It’s simple: reviews can increase your revenue. In fact, just one more star in your business’ rating can give you a 5-9% jump!
By continuing to provide great customer service, asking your customers to review you, and monitoring those reviews, you can easily take advantage of the impact reviews have on today’s consumers. Review software can help this process. Contact us for a free consultation.
