Holiday Strategy
December 2, 2015
The Misconception of Customer Reviews
January 13, 2016
By now, it’s common knowledge that online reviews play an influential role in getting consumers to buy or try a new product, service, or local business. What many people don’t realize is why they matter so much.
Dubbed “Social Proof,” consumers are now validating or invalidating the value of your business. It’s not fast or easy to build genuine social proof, but it is worth it. Here’s why:
- Influential:
We live in a world where customers are very demanding and hold the ability to make or break your business. Customers are more likely to trust a review from people like themselves than an advertisement or professional opinion. In fact, “72% of consumers trust online reviews as much as recommendations from friends and family.” ( Search Engine land)
- Most people read reviews:
As to where we can get reviews, the options are endless. “eWOM, electronic Word of Mouth,” includes everything from online reviews to social media platforms and discussion boards. “The typical consumer today checks 10.4 information sources before buying a product or service.” Users on the internet generate over 500 billion impressions on each other through eWOM platforms mainly regarding products and services. “A half-star improvement on Yelp’s 5-star rating makes it 30-49% more likely that a restaurant will sell out seats during its peak hours.”
- Worth more than their face value:
What people have to say about a business matters, but that they say anything at all matters more. “Online reviews are not just about influence, they create visibility.” In order to show up in Google searches, Google needs to see that people are activity talking about your business. The more reviews you have, the more visible your business will be on the web.
