We all know a business doesn’t blossom overnight. Once the signs are up and the staff is hired you can’t just sit around waiting for customers to walk in the door. Your first thought is probably to start advertising but there are a few steps before that. These steps will help you no matter whether you own a small business or franchise, or whether or not you have a marketing team working with you. Read More
So, you’ve got the best product in your industry, competitive prices, and (so far) your marketing plan is pulling in a decent stream of new customers. Now it’s time to sit back and watch your company blossom from a few little roots and buds into a firmly held tree, right? Wrong. While these are essential parts that any business needs in order to grow, there is one key element that is being left out — customer service.
Providing online ratings and reviews of your products and services can benefit everyone. For business owners they can enhance your credibility and even increase conversion rates. From a customer’s standpoint, ratings and reviews aren’t a sales pitch, they’re an honest opinion or experience.
Online Customer Reviews - The New Word of Mouth
Don’t we all wish we got all of our business from word of mouth? This is one of the most influential forms of marketing and the least expensive. So why not add this influence, with increased customer engagement, into your online presence? These days the internet allows conversations to spread quickly across a vast audience. With the added trust in another consumer’s review, this makes online ratings and reviews an extremely powerful factor in a consumer’s purchasing decision.
Benefits to Your Consumers
Ordinary consumers are given a voice through online review options. They are invited to share their experience, good or bad, with more than just friends and family. For someone looking to make a purchase, a good review can help solve an apprehension. A review can also build trust between business owners and consumers.
Benefits for E-Commerce
For a business, online ratings and reviews provide nearly unbeatable market research. With direct feedback from customers, merchants can better understand the opinions of their consumers about their products and services. A business owner can now monitor customer satisfaction and are given the chance to address any issues.
Honest and critical reviews can also help a business owner better understand the needs of their customers. It can also give them an opportunity to provide a personal touch to their online store.
Benefits to Your SEO
Ratings and reviews are also a piece of your optimization efforts. Not only do recent testimonials on your site provide fresh content, but reviews on third-party sites can drive traffic to your website. Reviews on these sites can also build rapport by making your business more relevant and visible on these types of search engines. Other benefits to your SEO include:
-
Reviews tend to be keyword rich
-
New and unique content about your business
-
Improved rankings
With a rapid increase in internet use, word of mouth marketing has also evolved. Giving your customers a voice and empowering them with the ability to share their experiences benefits everyone involved.
