Reading online reviews is easily one of the most important tasks for establishing customer trust—after all, those who shop online have much less opportunity to determine credibility than they do in brick-and-mortar stores. When shopping online, there’s no clean storefront, no friendly staff, no dazzling product displays to touch and feel, and no other customers wandering around making purchases. Reviews are therefore a great way to gauge whether the store is worth visiting and eventually buying from… or not.
A Study by Nielsen showed just how powerful online reviews are: 89% of users who read reviews make a purchase within a week. This breaks down even further to 7% within an hour, 28% within a day, 39% within a few days and 15% with a week
*If you do not have reviews you cannot fall into the above category where users purchase from.
Reviews Vs. Advertisements
Consumers trust reviews more than product or service descriptions from the actual business, as reviews provide unbiased opinions concerning how the product works and how useful it is. A business isn’t going to write a poor description of their own service or product, no matter how faulty it might be. A consumer who had a bad experience, however? He or she will likely want to share the experience so other consumers don’t make the same mistake. The same is true of a fantastic product—if it’s amazing, happy consumers will want to say so.
The Social Media Aspect
Social media gave the online review even more power, as such reviews are no longer limited to an e-commerce website or specific review sites. Reviews of products and services abound on social media platforms, as they allow consumers to share and comment on why they did or did not like a product. Businesses and brands that take the time to respectfully respond to consumer reviews whether good or bad increase their trustworthiness, as they’re showing they care about what type of shopping experience the customer had. Those that fail to respond to negative reviews or block users who spout unpleasant comments about their products—well, they aren’t going to help increase their trustworthiness.
A Powerful Tool
Online reviews provide real-life experiences with products and services that business’ descriptions simply cannot touch. The more positive reviews you have, the more consumers will want to put their trust in you. Even negative reviews can help, as they allow you to show that you’re willing to resolve the issue and work to maintain a happy client base.
So now what?
Start using Review Wave to request feedback and get the reviews you need to succeed!
