4 benefits of leveraging customer reviews

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While customer reviews are the most effective social media tactic for driving sales, it is one of the least utilized social media channel by marketers. There is no question that the underlying reason for the unpopularity of customer reviews is marketers’ fear of getting negative reviews. However, if you take a closer look, you will notice your customers’ opinions about your products and services are already all over the social web. Furthermore, your most influential customers are on Facebook influencing their friends and family and use Google Places, Yelp! and dozens of similar sites to express their opinions on local businesses. Today’s consumers want to make informed decisions, and they research and read what others say about your products/services on the Internet before they make a purchase online or offline.

The good news is most reviews are positive (Across all clients of Bazaar Voice, a leading social commerce provider, in 12 industry categories, 80% of customer reviews are 4 or 5 stars out of 5). And even negative ones have a positive impact because they build authenticity and show that you care about customer feedback. Additionally, a site full with positive reviews makes consumers skeptical.

So overcome your fears and provide your customers with a platform energizing them to 1) write customer reviews & ratings 2) testimonials and 3) share their stories to allow this social media channel to improve your bottom line by taking full advantages of the following benefits:

1. Reviews drive sales: Numerous studies prove that having some or even a small numer of reviews has a positive impact compared to having none. For example, a study conducted by the eTailing Group concludes that 11% of retailers saw a 20% or more overall increase in conversions as a result of adding reviews to their sites, 21% reported an 11% to 20% increase and 5% reported a 1% to 10% increase. And you won’t just be driving online sales/conversions. For every dollar spent online, at least $1.70 is spent offline after doing online research. (source:Bazaarvoice)

2. Reviews reduce product returns: Whether you sell online or offline or both, reducing product return rates is an imperative goal for any businesses. Customer reviews is one of the most effective tactic to do so by accurately setting expectations. By allowing reviews, customers can make better purchasing decisions since they get a clear picture of what product within your portfolio addresses their needs. As a result, you will drive higher levels of customer satisfaction, which will lead to more positive online reviews.

Leveraging reviews is also an effective way to decrease calls/emails to your customer service team as reviews might answer potential questions from your prospective customers.

3. Reviews improve products/services: Customer reviews provide valuable customer feedback and supplement your market research efforts. Negative reviews for your product or complaints about your services point out areas of improvements and can help you drive improvements in products/services you offer based on first-hand customer input.

4. Reviews enhance your brand and products’ search engine visibility: Reviews provide large volumes of unique, fresh and dynamic content that is full of relevant keywords. These elements help improve your website’s ranking in natural search results allowing consumers to find your website more frequently.

Online research is a key component to today’s consumers shopping behavior and whether you like it or not conversations around your brands and products are influencing purchasing decisions. By allowing consumers to share their opinions with others, you will not only show your customers that you care about their feedback but also improve your bottom line.