The importance of customer reviews

A company’s prominence and reputation is its most valued asset. And as a business owner or the person appointed to oversee the marketing efforts of your company, you value it the most too. What opinions people have on your business and products are important, especially when they express them on the internet.

The reality is that not too many small businesses consider managing reviews, let alone making them a priority in their marketing strategy. This happens because they mostly serve a localized settlement of consumers. Hence, for them what people are saying on the internet becomes irrelevant. However, reviews being irrelevant for any business is far from the truth.

Online reviews of your business hold great importance in influencing consumers to purchase or not purchase your products and services. The report of a survey back in 2014 stated that 88% of the people who participated in the survey responded that they read reviews of people online to determine the quality of that local business. A large chunk of the respondents of the survey also confessed that they trusted reviews on the internet as much as a personal recommendation and more than any advertisement on any platform. This proves that no matter how decorative your shop or your website looks, prospects and consumers will seek others’ opinions. Therefore, having a strategy to respond, manage, and earn reviews is crucial.

You can count on it that almost every consumer of your business uses the internet extensively. When the average Joe is glued to his mobile phone every day, you can be sure that they are Googling your business or product before making a purchase decision. This is especially the case if they have not used or heard about your product before.