Why To Embrace Online Reviews

The e-commerce landscape is a world of constant change and evolution. One of the most significant changes in recent years has been the proliferation of online reviews. Indeed, reviews have spread all across the internet, and tend to pop-up regardless of whether or not you’re actively encouraging them. In this post, we’ll look at how to put reviews to work in favor of your business.

Seeking out reviews has become a standard part of the buying process for all types of customers, so much so that every online retailer should be thinking about them. Peer reviews can be a powerful selling point for your business; some 70% of customers claim to consult reviews or ratings before making a final purchase. A further 79% say they trust product reviews as much as they do personal recommendations.

A major obstacle for you as an e-commerce store owner is to build trust between your budding brand and your target customers. A bad reputation serves no one, while good quality products and a sense of reliability and helpfulness will all add up to a positive experience for your existing and potential customers.

Accordingly, savvy business owners will capitalize on this by being sure to record genuine, positive reviews that demonstrate your brand as being one that customers trust, by being a firm that cares about their customers, and a business that is prepared to go the extra mile to ensure exceptional customer service.

People also like reviews because they provide third-party insight into the quality and experience your product provides. For example, reviews will tell you the reality of a beauty product, how it made a customer’s skin feel, and whether or not it worked over time. Reviews such as these help potential customers imagine themselves using your product in their own lives and will help cut down on common questions that might otherwise come to you via customer support inquiries.

Smaller and newer e-commerce brands face an especially larger challenge in building trust compared to larger, more well-known brands. This is an especially steep hill these days, with customers more cautious and more skeptical than ever before.

“The increasing prevalence of phishing scams, malware, and just plain shoddy customer service makes consumers more wary with their clicks than ever before – which means that trust indicators on your website are more important than ever before,” says Mark Hayes at e-commerce platform Shopify.

As Hayes suggests, trust indicators in your store are important and making reviews clearly available on your site will go a long way toward persuading people to add products to their basket.

As such, it is vital that your marketing strategy takes into account the entire purchase journey – from an initial introduction via Facebook ads – to a follow-up email campaign that requests solid and usable feedback from satisfied customers. After all, a positive review posted online might mean the difference between 10 and 100 sales.