These days, the idea of dealing with reviews on both sides of a business has become a norm. Business owners or proprietors ask customers “politely” to leave a review on several online platforms. Based on the experience and preference of the customer, he or she will leave an appropriate review with proportionate stars. Even though […]
These days, the idea of dealing with reviews on both sides of a business has become a norm. Business owners or proprietors ask customers “politely” to leave a review on several online platforms. Based on the experience and preference of the customer, he or she will leave an appropriate review with proportionate stars.
Even though the practice has been going on for a long time at this point, there are still many variables that are still unknown in this domain. Marketers and professionals in the digital marketing industry have always wondered about these variables. Today, many rely on online brand reputation software to get the best results in real-time, as they can monitor, guide, and analyze incoming and outgoing data through prompt notifications.
In this post, we will take a hard look at the relationship
According to many gurus in the digital marketing industry, customers are the real stars of the show and can make a big difference with small, unassuming gestures – leaving positive online reviews. So, playing down the benefits of online reviews – positive reviews – has never been an option.
There is a cyclical nature of this process:
To put this scenario in a better perspective, the following are some eye-opening statistics that can further illuminate the relationship between quantifiable consumer trust and online reviews.
In recent surveys, marketers have found out that the line between personal recommendations and online reviews is blurring quickly. The former often comes from friends, family, and acquaintances, whereas the latter often comes from strangers on the internet.
Still, more than 79% think of the two as equals. This provides a great opportunity for professionals to incorporate online reviews on all relevant platforms. This way, consumers and prospects will be able to see and appreciate them, resulting in more business for companies.
No matter positive or negative, having reviews alone boosts sales. This is found by a study according to which 18% of consumers are more likely to do a business transaction with a company if it showcases reviews.
This is understandable as people can see that the business is not a scam and indeed legitimate with happy customers. For small businesses struggling with sales, this is a life-saver.
In the world of business, negative reviews are inevitable. Either they come from genuine customers who were mistreated or didn’t get the best experience or they come from bots and spam. No matter the origin, they can brutally harm a business.
Research has shown that over 86% of prospects hesitate to make a business transaction with a company that has too many negative reviews.
Companies are often tempted to buy positive reviews online but it makes it suspicious when all of the reviews are positive. Indeed, having sporadic negative reviews show that a business is real.
Professionals are baffled to find the relationship or even value between positive and negative reviews. According to fake reviews statistics from various outlets, negative reviews are more potent and deadlier. It means that a negative review and a positive review are not the same in weightage.
There is no way to sugarcoat it and here is the biggest shock;
To undo the damage caused by a negative review, it takes around 40 positive reviews. This puts negative reviews against the positive ones on the 1:40 scale.
These insights make it impossible for professionals to ignore this ratio as well as the capability of negative reviews to damage a business’s online reputation.
As mentioned in the previous sections, negative reviews outweigh positive reviews in terms of impact and effects. This leads to two distinct courses of action:
Should marketers strive to get more positive reviews or make sure to never get a negative review?
Since it is hard to avoid negative feedback ever, it is best to be focused on securing more positive reviews.
Following are some points that illuminate the importance of positive reviews:
Small businesses thrive on word of mouth. In this day and age, online reviews and comments have become just that. No matter how great marketing copy a business have on its website, the real sales come from people who take out time and energy to post positive comments online for a business.
This is one of the most important aspects for businesses to receive, cultivate, and showcase positive reviews because they drive sales.
Search engines and business directories have matured to a point where they use AI algorithms to find meaningful data about profiles and websites before indexing them. One thing is pretty clear in this regard – quality trumps quantity.
If a site is experiencing high-quality traffic with fresh content and original positive reviews, it is in a much better position than the one with a better number game but no quality.
Modern consumers do not want to make a purchase and be done with a brand. They want to rear relationships and take them farther than the traditional role of buyer and seller. That’s another reason businesses must put on the best show and offer exceptional services to keep the ball rolling.
With trust and more credibility, consumers would not hesitate to become de facto brand ambassadors and market goods or services.
Many times, businesses are in slumber online. They have elaborate online profiles but with no traffic. Even with humble beginnings, if businesses start to secure positive reviews, it will help them in getting the conversation going about their company online.
In the case of most online businesses, this is what is necessary to stay ahead of the competition.
Commenting and reviewing business used to be a one-way thing. Today, consumers want to hear back and fast. For many companies, this could be scary as to divert resources over dealing with both satisfied and unsatisfied customers.
In reality, it is a great opportunity for them to get a line of connection with both consumers and prospects.
It is safe to summarize that no matter the updates rolling out and new algorithms applied to the platforms, consumer online reviews are here to stay. They are a great source for businesses to boost sales, improve online visibility, and ensure customer satisfaction. For consumers, positive online reviews and comments serve as an anchoring point for prospects to either trust a legitimate business or stay away from a spooky one.
That’s why businesses must rear a culture of asking consumers to provide positive reviews and taking care of negative ones.
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