8 Reasons Why Customer Reviews are Important for Ecommerce

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In the Ecommerce Business world, trust is the most sought-after factor. But it is getting tough to attain this with booming competition and a plethora of product choices. Fortunately, there is a shortcut—a mighty one indeed- Customer reviews.
Time and again, studies and surveys conducted by multiple experts have established its grave importance and the immeasurable impact it will have on online business.
If used optimally, positive reviews can increase your online presence, boost sales, build trust, improve your SERP rankings and overall SE-optimization, enhance your brand awareness, and more.
A whopping 90% of online shoppers read at least one review before making a purchase. They are likely to spend 31% more on retailers who have positive reviews.
A product with more than five positive reviews has a 270% chance of being purchased on average. About 80 % of shoppers look at customer reviews with the same importance as personal recommendations.
But this should be used with some caution as it is a double-edged sword. Negative reviews can have a daunting effect on your business. 94% of shoppers steered clear of companies with negative reviews. But do not fret.
Negative reviews enable businesses to redeem their mistakes, and 68% of shoppers trust reviews more when they see a mixture of positive and negative reviews.
Restaurants, medical, clothing, hotels, and automotive- if your business falls under any of these genres, it is an absolute must for you to up your customer review game.
These industries have the maximum number of reviews read and written by customers. Now let's look at the advantages and benefits your company will enjoy with a good display of positive reviews:

1. Helps Customers Reach a Decision

Customers spend a lot of time deciding what to buy online. And there are plenty of distractions between the start and finish line. Most of the time, they abandon the shopping process abruptly. Only 30 percent of online shoppers successfully purchase what they added to their carts.
Detailed reviews put customers at ease, boost their confidence, and, most importantly, build a permanent relationship between them and the company.
In such scenarios, customer reviews greatly help customers to make up their minds. They are more likely to purchase with confidence when they see positive reviews, pictures of products shared by others, other customers' experiences, and more.
Research shows that products with five reviews or more have 200% more chances of being purchased.

2. Builds Overall Trust

In a world that is becoming increasingly digital, gaining trust is a complicated matter. Online shoppers are growing more skeptical by the day, which is why it is all the more important to reassure them about your trustworthiness.
Customer reviews are among the most effective methods to remove any question marks that may hover over your credibility.
A display of an array of customer reviews tells the user if your website in itself is bogus or not. This, in turn, urges them to stay on your page and explore more. Next, when they see numbers, ratings, and anecdotes from previous shoppers, all the other remaining doubts are more likely to vanish from their minds.
More than 3 out of 4 customers trust online reviews as much as a word of mouth recommendations.

3. Acts as a Sales Booster

There is no denying it any longer. Reviews have a real impact on increasing sales. By improving product reviews' quality and quality, you can confidently overpower competitors in your niche market.
A recent study by Harvard Business School has found a direct correlation between reviews, ratings, and sales. A survey by Revoo found that reviews aid in an 18% sales lift along with an increase in conversion and repeat order rates. Another study indicated that 50 plus reviews on a product are likely to increase its sale by 4.6%.
Also, having positive reviews on external websites like Yelp, Facebook and Google furthermore increase the prospect of boosting your revenue. But having too many negative reviews (more than five) will decrease your sales by 70%.
Hence, if you want to double your income with little or no initial investment, start emailing your loyal customers for detailed reviews.

4. Enhances SEO and Rankings

Optimized content is gold for any Ecommerce Business, no matter who writes it. Customers who produce well-written product reviews are the most underrated content writers. Their potential, if tapped correctly, can make you much more visible in the online retailers' world. And what's even better- it's free!
It is an excellent way to SE-optimize your website. When customers write a review, they include many keywords like product name, brand, and other specifications picked up by search engines. As a result, your rankings on Google, Google My Business, SERP, and other similar ratings will improve immensely.
Also, customers have a habit of sharing positive reviews on more than one channel like Facebook, Tripadvisor, Yelp, etc. This will further optimize your website and popularize your social media handles. You can use reviews to boost your local SEO strategy.

5. A Useful Channel for Constructive Criticism and Feedback

Negative reviews are every retailer's most dreaded nightmare come true. They are disheartening and downright demotivating. But the room for learning is infinite in such scenarios as customers are our best teachers. Their testimonies are essential for any company to improve and enhance overall operations.
Negative reviews are contagious, yes. An average customer recounts their negative experience to at least nine to 15 people. According to studies, you need 40 positive reviews to undo the damage caused by one negative review.
On the other hand, most customers even search for negative reviews (82%). These make your site look genuine, human almost as no company is perfect and errors are bound to happen. Hence, one must pay more attention while tackling bad reviews rather than avoiding getting any at all.

6. Strengthens Your Reputation Online (review42 fact)

Customer review is a reliable and fool-proof method to garner visibility and improve your company's reputation online. They act as PR for your website and increase your online footprint on multiple channels.

Related : Press Releases and SEO

Happy customers keep the conversation about you and your company alive and happening. Most importantly, they keep sharing their experience on other influential platforms like TripAdvisor, Facebook, and FourSquare, significantly impacting your Google rankings and other ratings.
A customer's opinion holds more weight than advertisements and all other ecommerce marketing techniques. 84% percent of shoppers trust reviews more than recommendations, while reviews are 12 times more trusted than a manufacturer's description.

7. Works as an Impactful Digital Marketing Method

Sharing what happy customers have to say about you is an excellent marketing method. It is cost-free, effective, and also majorly boosts sales. Running email campaigns, SE-optimizing your website, or publishing paid ads are cumbersome and time-consuming in comparison.
Tap into your customers' experiences to make new ones. Convert these as social proof to drive sales. One can achieve this by using reviews in emails, search ads, social media platforms, and marketing material.

8. Helps in Improving Customer Service

Companies need to understand why customers write reviews. It is not for your benefit.
They do this to assert their opinion, feel empowered and heard by others, and finally contribute and be part of a community. And this is why reviews serve as a great venue to improve your customer service practices.
According to a survey by Review trackers in 2018, 54% of shoppers expect companies to respond to their negative reviews. But in reality, 63% are left disappointed as they never hear back.
Responding to reviews outrightly tells others that you take customer service seriously. This creates a good impression on potential clients and helps in retaining dissatisfied ones as well.

Essential Features of Review Management Software for Ecommerce

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1. Aids in Improving Local SEO Strategy

Online shoppers of today see no less than seven to eight reviews even before visiting your website. It would help if you convinced them that your products are worth their time in a tiny time window.
For this, your website must be able to show up on the top in a Google Search. This is where customer reviews come in handy. And a dedicated management tool will make sure Google picks up the necessary keywords along with the location of your customer. This helps in securing high rankings for your page.

2. Saves Time, Money, and Manpower

Keeping track of reviews on your website is a relatively easy task. But managing these on social media platforms and community review sites is a definite back-breaker. This is where review management software can be a lifesaver.
Its main feature is its ability to streamline complicated processes like data collection, competitor analysis, review tracking, ROI measurement, and more. This saves your company a ton of time and eliminates the need to form separate teams to handle these functions.
Negative reviews can be spotted and rectified faster, customer retention can be strengthened, and cart abandonment can be significantly reduced with this tool.

3. Boosts Your Social Media Presence

One of the top ten reasons why people use social media is to research before buying goods. According to the Global Web Index, nearly 60% join such platforms to explore reviews and recommendations. Social media has become an extraordinarily engaging and influential tool about online shoppers.
A comprehensive management tool will help develop a suitable strategy to increase your followers and overall visibility. Engaging with your customers here on time will improve your sales. It is proven that 71% of shoppers with a positive experience will recommend you to their family and friends.

Best Review Management Softwares

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1. BirdEye

Used by more than 60,000 businesses worldwide, BirdEye is one of the most sought-after review management tools since 2016. It is well-known for improving a company’s reputation with the help of its multifaceted review acquisition style.
Its primary functions include monitoring reviews and listings, creating new reviews, automating review responses, promoting positive reviews, and more. Other appealing features include flexible pricing options and the BirEye mobile application.

2. Podium

The following popular tool for sorting and managing reviews under one window is Podium. This tool makes it very easy for business owners to monitor all their online reviews from popular sites like Facebook, TripAdvisor, and Google on one single platform.
Based on your company location and industry type, a customized billing plan can be formalized. Their centralized inbox and WebChat are two striking features that further increase your ease in responding to customer feedback.

3. Reputation

If you run a local business targeting a niche audience, Reputation is an ideal software for staying on top of customer reviews and listings. It can be easily accommodated and run along with your existing CRM software.
Its primary functions include boosting reviews, tracking review campaigns, sending out surveys to improve customer service, increasing the local customer base, and creating competitive reports and insights. One can also engage with local directories to boost local business rankings.

4. Brand24

Brand24 is an interesting upcoming software for keeping an active eye out for reviews and likes on social media platforms. Check it out if your priority is to improve your interaction with your social media followers and overall online Reputation.
A stand-out feature of this software is its ability to detect the sentiments or feelings of a customer’s comment or review online. This dramatically helps while dealing with unhappy customers. Moreover, it allows you to monitor and engage with reviews, posts, blogs, mentions on news and social media sites.

5. Mention

As its name suggests, this tool’s primary function is to alert you when your company is mentioned anywhere online. This feature comes in handy to detect negative remarks and pressing customer feedback.
Mention enables you to perform advanced keyword searches to pick all comments about your brand. This can be narrowed down further according to country, language, and niche audience. It further lets you categorize your mentions as well as priority, archive, or unread. The same can be done to your competitors’ brand mentions as well.

Ecommerce & Reviews FAQs

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1. How Do I Find out If a Product Review Is Fake or Real?

As reviews are one of the most effective tools to urge customers to purchase items online, many companies resort to creating fake reviews. Sometimes, they can be found even on the websites of notable Ecommerce Business brands. But there are some tell-tale signs to spot these.
If the review's date is before the product release date, it is probably a fake one. Look out for reviews written with industry-specific jargon. Here is a tool to check their authenticity.

2. How Can I Add Social Media Reviews to My Ecommerce Website?

All Ecommerce Business sites need to make positive reviews as visible as possible on all platforms, especially their homepage. This puts future customers at ease and helps in building trust. This can be done in two ways. One, you can take the help of external management software like Yotpo and TrustSpot.
The second option is to build social plugins from scratch separately for Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Instagram with API developers' help.

3. What Is the Best Method to Get Customer Feedback for My Site?

There are many ways to do this as long as you act on the information collected ASAP. Generally, people don't bother speaking their minds if they see no prior improvement. First, spot your problem areas and come up with specific questions.
Next, you can ask the customer through a dedicated email survey campaign or at the checkout page after payment or on your social media handles. Incentivize them for patiently answering your questions. This improves the chances of them taking part.
Instead of making them write all answers, give numbers or emojis as options.

4. What Are the Web Directories I Must Get My Website Listed On?

70% of shoppers read about six reviews before making a purchase online. 80% don't purchase if they see too many negative or no checks. Hence, securing a high rank in standard web listing pages is crucial to make a profit. And getting your customers to leave a review on these sites will increase your visibility and reputation too.
Hence, a win-win. Here are some critical web listing sites- Google My Business, Yelp, Angie's list, LinkedIn, Facebook, HotFrog, TripAdvisor, and more.

5. How Important Are Videos and Photos for Customer Reviews?

Words can be fabricated. They can be manipulated to trick customers. But when videos and photos are added to reviews, it increases transparency and authenticity multi-folds.
It gives an accurate description of the product. The customer will know exactly what they will get after placing their orders. So, businesses need to urge their customers to write reviews with visual input. Also, companies should upload videos about their products for better display.

6. Are Customer Reviews Important for an Ecommerce Business?

Yes, absolutely. They are crucial for any online business to be successful. Irrespective of advancements in technology, word of mouth continues to be the most influential in convincing customers.
A number of stars on a product, your business’ rank online, comments on social media platforms - these make or break your reputation. Hence it is crucial to streamline your review collection and management process. This improves your customer service and also helps in evaluating your progress.

7. How Do You Convert a Negative Review into a Positive One?

Negative reviews are unavoidable. They are one of the most common factors that drive customers away. Interestingly, negative reviews make 85% of customers linger for longer on a website. It is relatively easy to redeem your mistakes and even convert them into loyal and happy clients.
Firstly, respond to such reviews as quickly as possible. Next, own up to the error and offer an amicable solution. Keep in mind that other potential customers will be reading your responses. Get a 1-on-1 consultation with our experts for more details.