“93% of the customers say online reviews impact their purchasing decisions.”

In an eCommerce-driven world where customers can’t physically experience products before bringing them to their cart, they usually turn to product reviews. From purchasing clothes to cleaning services, it’s rare to blindly make a purchase without reading through several online reviews.

In a nutshell, customer reviews attract more new customers and help you sell more. They are one of the most important eCommerce features that you can provide to shoppers. Additionally, they build more customer trust, create buzz, and foster loyalty.

Businesses are often afraid to integrate customer reviews on their eCommerce website/Shopify store as they don’t want to end up in one of these situations:

• receiving zero business reviews
• receiving zero positive reviews
• receiving negative feedback/reviews

Unfortunately, these retailers are missing out and hindering their business by not taking action. Understanding why your store needs online reviews can help you optimize the overall customer experience and create a positive online footprint.

The Benefits of Getting Online Reviews

Online reviews are becoming a key component of a business’s overall reputation in the public eye. They not only provide an accurate profile of your business to customers but also increase their confidence and trust in your eCommerce store.

“88% of customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.”

We’ve compiled a list of our top reasons – why online customer reviews matter, from building trust to increasing website traffic and bolstering sales & engagement!

Shape Your Company’s Online Reputation

Monitoring the reviews properly is essential to managing a business’s online reputation. This means that whoever your competitor might be, having a positive online presence gives a bunch of key advantages and helps to gain a good image in the market. 

A wealth of positive words can impact your sales, drive more purchases and create a base of consumers who will stand behind you and your product in the long run.

Increase Your Web Presence

One of the most obvious benefits of online reviews is that they help your eCommerce store to get noticed by more customers. These can even kick start a conversation about your brand and give your company a face and a reputation.

Enhance Your Search Engine Rankings

Search results on Google are impacted by online reviews, which help to enhance your ranking. According to a Moz study, online reviews form up 15.44% of Google ranking factors. This means that the more reviews you have, the more your store name will appear. Thus, increasing your search engine rankings.

Greater visibility means more customers!

Drive More Purchases

Today, online reviews are the most trusted social proof that has a clear impact on sales. We’re more likely to make a purchase based on the collective actions of others who have bought the similar product. Reading positive reviews from other people who made the same purchases drives confidence and helps in making a decision.

Build Customer Trust & Credibility

Without a way to verify the quality and reliability of a product, it becomes hard for the customers to know whether a brand is trustable or not. For businesses that exist solely in the eCommerce industry, reviews can be the next most effective thing to handling a product.

Reading several reviews that indicate the quality of a product/service creates an online reputation that customers can trust.

Enable Problem Solving

Not all reviews are positive, but even the bad ones are helpful. Multiple negative reviews with similar complaints indicate a problem that must be resolved from your end. For instance, if 15 different reviews appreciate the quality of your products but complain against the clunky checkout process, then you should invest in creating a smoother, more efficient purchase process.

Reviewing your business can help you identify pain points that need to be addressed.

Unbiased Insights

Customers enjoy reviews because they offer third-party insight into your product’s quality and experience, in addition to providing unbiased information. For instance, learning more about the durability and flexibility of a yoga mat.

Such reviews help people get a third person’s opinion on using your product and reduce common questions that would otherwise come to you via customer support inquiries.

Expand The Conversation About Your Brand!

Encouraging customers to review your products is an easy way to expand your brand’s reach. When consumers have good things to say, they are likely to share their views on external websites as well. Happy customers share their thoughts on as many places as possible. Thus, increasing your multi-channel footprint.

4 Ways To Leverage Online Reviews

In many cases, customers start leaving reviews by themselves over time. However, you can speed up the process by employing tactics to receive online reviews.

1. Ask For Reviews!

If you want a review, just ask for it! Whether on the checkout page, as a pop-up after a customer has made a purchase, as an email, or as a text message request after a product delivery has been confirmed, you can simply request feedback from the users.

2. Respond to Customer Reviews

Customers like to be heard! This includes addressing their complaints on time, responding to their feedback/reviews, and staying connected with them to know about your product/service.

Carve out time to specifically address both positive and negative reviews and also in doing regular follow-ups.

3. Be Transparent

Share your online reviews to demonstrate that you’re a transparent, customer-focused company. Make it easy for your customers to do so by giving them direct access to review sites. This gives you the opportunity to learn from their feedback.

You can now gather & share more reviews with Junip! 

4. Send Regular Surveys

Using surveys, you can obtain feedback on all aspects of your business – even areas that customers might not normally mention. A follow-up email asking for feedback after a sale can provide valuable insight into your site’s ease of navigation, checkout process, shipping speed, and product quality.

Statistics on Online Reviews

• 70% of customers consult reviews before making a final purchase.
• 63% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a site if it has product ratings and reviews.
• 67% of consumers read 6 reviews or less before they feel they can trust a business enough to make a purchase.
• As many as 79% of consumers trust product reviews as much as a personal recommendation.
• Four out of five consumers change their minds about a recommended purchase after reading negative reviews.

Get The Most Out of Online Reviews!

In the digital age, online reviews are an effective word-of-mouth strategy that provides products and services with outside perspectives. While positive reviews can drive revenue and build a good reputation, negative reviews help in encountering customer problems.

Your brand’s marketing is important, but having people talk about you enhances your message. With Junip, you can integrate your eCommerce store with smarter review gathering and smoother submissions!