Customer reviews have never been more important than they are in 2019. In this digital age, online reviews have the ability to make or break a business. This is in part, due to the accessibility of review hosting sites. Leaving a review online, whether on Google or on social media, takes mere seconds and logging onto your computer and reading these reviews is just as easy. City Beat News is a research and publication company based in Michigan that has been awarding small businesses with customer service recognition for ten years. When it comes to customer acquisition, City Beat News knows that reviews are paramount. Keep reading to discover three reasons why positive customer reviews are so important in 2019.
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Customer Reviews Help Improve your Company’s Visibility and Credibility
Search engines like Google have algorithms that take into account customer reviews. The more customer reviews your business has, the more legitimate Google deems it and the higher it will rank on search results. Although acquiring lots of reviews is the first step, the more positive reviews you receive, the more your search engine rank will continue to rise. A high search engine ranking directly corresponds to website traffic. When your business is one of the first search options that appears, it significantly increases the likelihood that a user will click on your website. Overall, City Beat News claims that customer reviews have the ability to improve your company’s visibility and credibility.
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Customer Reviews Provide Invaluable Insight into What’s Working and What Isn’t
According to City Beat News, online customer reviews provide an opportunity to connect with customers on a deeper level. Forging a connection with consumers is extremely important when it comes to turning a potential customer into an actual customer. More than that, it also provides you with invaluable feedback. Customers who might feel shy sharing their thoughts in person, feel uninhibited when it comes to publishing their thoughts online. City Beat News states that this sense of freedom makes them more likely to share their experiences and what they truly thought about the product or service. Rather than simply writing that they thought it was good or bad, the anonymity of the internet gives them free rein to go into detail about what they liked, didn’t like, and about their overall experience as a customer. This is not only free information for a business, but it’s extremely valuable. Customer reviews can provide businesses with information like how to improve their product and which details to emphasize and market. It can even spark an idea for a new product or service.
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Customer Reviews Impact Purchasing Decisions
A 2017 study by BrightLocal found that 97% of consumers looked at online reviews before purchasing a product and that 85% of people trust online reviews as much as they would trust a friend or family member’s opinion. Further, a Review Trackers survey in 2018 concluded that 94% of customers have avoided a business if they have negative reviews, and according to a Fan & Fuel study conducted in 2016, 35% of survey participants revealed that just one negative review could deter them from making a purchase at that business. These statistics highlight the important role of reviews on influencing the purchasing patterns of consumers. Not only do consumers deem reviews as trust-worthy, but they are an important factor in whether they decide to purchase a product. According to City Beat News businesses should always strive to provide exceptional service for positive reviews, but if you’re noticing that the reviews are overwhelmingly negative on a certain topic or that multiple negative reviews contain the same feedback, then it’s critical to listen and make changes to improve your business and attract new customers. Moreover, it’s nearly impossible for a business never to receive a negative review. However, remember the saying “any press is good press”? Spiegel Research Center recently reported that customers are most likely to trust a company with a rating between 4.0 and 4.7 out of 5. Businesses with ratings between 4.8 and 5.0 seem too good to be true and the reviews are typically perceived as untrustworthy. With customer reviews, it’s all about balance. So, while you should always aim for 5 stars, having a few negative reviews mixed doesn’t need to damage your brand, especially if it is counterbalances with the voice of an independent evaluator such as the City Beat News Spectrum Award.
Click here for more information on the City Beat News Spectrum Award:
https://www.citybeatnews.com/about-the-spectrum-award/
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