10 Stats Proving the Importance of Online Business Reviews

How do you decide whether or not to purchase a product?

If you're on platforms like eBay and Amazon, then chances are, you're going straight to the review section. Reading online business reviews is an excellent way to find out the good and the bad about a product.

And the same holds true whether you're buying from an e-commerce store or brick-and-mortar.

So with that said, having a strategy for generating online reviews for your business is critical.

Here's a look at some stats to back up this claim.

Top 10 Online Business Reviews Have the Greatest Impact

When consumers are searching the web for a business to shop at, they're going to look at the top 10 reviews. Most users don't go past this point because these are the most recent.

Be sure to keep an eye on your top 10 to ensure it's giving you the best representation. If not, then you'll want to begin asking more of your customers for online business reviews.

Online Business Reviews from Verified Purchases Can Boost Sales

Maybe you're a brick-and-mortar dabbling in e-commerce. If so, then you're likely selling goods on platforms like Amazon and eBay.

If so, then you'll find that verified customers can boost your sales by 15%.

On the other hand, if you're only selling on your own website, then you can make use of Google's new verified customer reviews.

Customers Lack Trust for Brands without Online Business Reviews

If you're a new business, then you're going to find this tough to deal with. But the truth of the matter is online business reviews build trust.

Without them, you'll have a harder time getting 92% of consumers to give you the time of day. The good news is you can create a strategy that entices (the other 8%) customers to leave you feedback.

For instance, you can incentivize honest online reviews. Some businesses will offer a coupon code or a freebie in exchange for a review. Just be sure you're not asking for a positive review, or you could end up penalized by Google, Amazon, or whatever platform the feedback is submitted to.

Conversions Boost When You Have Online Business Reviews

You're getting a lot of traffic to your website (and business listings). But no one's taking the bite. You know this because your in-store foot traffic isn't increasing.

It could be due to negative reviews or a lack of online business reviews.

On the contrary, if you have a sizable amount of feedback, then you could see an increase in conversions for your small business (by as much as 270%!).

Local Shoppers Are Reading Local Online Business Reviews

This goes to prove that online reviews aren't just for e-commerce products. We find that 97% of people read online business reviews before visiting local companies.

Another reason to have your Google My Business (and other listings) set up for receiving feedback from customers.

A Simple One-Star Increase On Yelp Can Increase Revenue

Speaking of business listings -- make sure you're on as many of them as possible. You never know which platform your customers will use to find you.

On Yelp, we find that businesses that increase their star rating by one can see a 5% to 9% increase in revenue.

Customers Will Spend More On Businesses with Raving Reviews

There's a big difference between having okay feedback and raving online business reviews. The latter can potentially position you to boost your revenue.

Studies show that consumers are willing to spend 31% more on a company with excellent reviews and ratings.

So be sure you're focusing on offering top-notch customer experiences and quality products/services.

Your Business Can't Receive Too Low of a Rating

Think about shopping for a hotel room. What star level do you prefer? In most cases, people wouldn't consider staying in a one-star or two-star resort.

However, we find that even a three-star rating may not be enough for your business. Stats show consumers mostly engage with companies with at least 3.3 stars.

Bad Reviews (Or One Horrible Story) Will Turn Consumers Away

If you're dealing with negative reviews, you want to address them as quickly as possible. In doing so, you can potentially negate the effects it can cause.

We find that 94% of consumers saying that online reviews deterred them from shopping with a business. And another 80% of consumers say they changed their mind about a recommended purchase after reading a bad online business review.

One Negative Article Can Lead to Losing a Chunk of Customers

It's not just Google reviews that can harm your business's reputation. You also have to worry about review articles, which can be harmful if the feedback is negative.

You can potentially lose as much as 22% of your customers because of a negative article. And if this shows up in search engines, then it can increase customer loss by nearly 60%.

Get Your Online Business Reviews In Order

It's time to create a strategy for building a long list of positive feedback. Now, while there's no way to guarantee 100% raving reviews, you can minimize the effect bad reviews have by having more good feedback.

This is why you need to have a customer feedback plan that involves soliciting customers for reviews soon after a purchase.

There are tools you can use to aid in this process. GoSite Reviews allows you to send and even automate requests for reviews. Plus, you can respond to reviews right from the platform.

You can send messages virtually as long as you have your customers' email addresses.

This is where a CRM will come in handy. GoSite's Contact Hub is an excellent tool for gathering customer data. Check out both tools for free today!