Ecommerce and Retail

E-commerce Product Reviews: 7 Reasons Why Online Reviews Are Essential for Your Brand

One may have noticed how it is becoming more and more common for businesses, especially for those in the e-commerce sector, to include reviews on their websites. This is not a case of a fad, but a development that has proven to be highly effective in earning the trust of customers.

For e-commerce businesses, it is vital to winning the trust of customers, especially first-time ones, as there is no way for them to see the products in their actuality. A lot of customers are very hesitant to buy from smaller online shops as they seem to be less trustworthy as compared to bigger players.

One of the tools that are helping address this is an online review, and the following are some of the best reasons why you should implement it on your site:

Why online reviews are essential for your brand

  1. Online reviews drive purchases – The first reason why it is essential for your brand to have an online reviewis that it influences people to buy. Again, this is primarily needed for first-time buyers as they have no prior experience with your business. Since online reviews boost social proof, and since online reviews come from other customers, new customers are more likely to consider it and buy. First-time customers highly rely on the feedback from customers who have experience with you, and if the feedback is reassuring enough, your first-time buyers are more likely to complete their purchases. 
  2. Online reviews make you more visible – An online review is a content in its own right. Content is still one of the most significant factors in search engine optimization, so having content in the form of online reviews can help make your brand more visible. What’s great about it is that it comes from your customers so you would not need to spend even more effort in this area. Perhaps the only challenge here is encouraging your customers to provide their feedback, and hoping that they provide positive ones.
  3. Online reviews make you look trustworthy –At the forefront of the importance of online review is that it boosts your brand’s trustworthiness. It is very accurate how challenging it is to earn the trust of first-time customers, especially if your brand is not that popular. By having online reviews, you’re working to improve on your brand’s trustworthiness. Make sure that you do your best to earn at least for your business in general, as well as adding high-quality product photosand offerings because studies have shown how ratings lower than four stars negatively affect business and a product’s chances of winning the trust of future customers. But do never curate your ratings – this is unethical, and you should never take this path.
  4. Online reviews expand the conversations about you – Another great thing about online reviews is that it helps spread the word of your brand. Positive reviews made by customers, especially when featured in your site, encourage these customers to share them to their networks, allowing your brand to go as far as these posts go. So do your best to feature excellent customer feedback, and practice replying to these feedbacks as well. It would also be great if your effort to feature customer feedback goes beyond your site. Do it across your social media marketing channel. This way, it would be even more comfortable for your customers to share this. 
  5. Online reviews are increasingly essential to decision making – Understanding the importance of online reviews, you are bound to realize that it should form part of your marketing strategy. It is more important than ever for you to factor this in when you craft your campaigns. You should treat online reviews as a campaign on its own, coming up with different strategies that aim to boost your ability to earn positive feedback, and maximizing the results. Where possible, also try to integrate it into your other campaigns. Try to come up with highly-engaging gimmicks such as contests where your customers will provide you with their best feedback on your products. You are bound to earn a lot of great feedback this way. 
  6. Online reviews have a definite impact on sales – While it has been mentioned that online reviews influence purchases, and thus sales are bound to be positively affected, it does more than just that to increase your sales. Online reviews do not only win first-time buyers, but also improve on brand loyalty, allowing your customers to continue doing business with you. And for as long as you keep to provide quality products and services, you will continue to earn positive feedback, and the cycle goes on. It is crucial that you are consistent with your dedication to quality. By doing this, you are sure to boost your sales continuously.
  7. Online reviews give you an open line to consumers – Finally, online reviews serve as a channel for communication with your customers. And modern-day etiquette requires businesses to respond. This is regardless of whether the feedback is positive or negative.  While it is very much pleasing and easy to respond to positive feedback, you are also required to respond to negative ones. You must show to your other customers how you will be able to address any negative feedback that your customers may provide. Again, you are not allowed to curate the feedback that your business gets. What you should do is deal with them head-on. You must prove that your business has a firm hold of the situation. 

Work on your online reviews to boost your brand

The above reason clearly explain why it is essential for your business to make use of online reviews. If you don’t have it yet, make sure that you start now. If you already do, make sure that you work on it even more so that you can maximize the benefits that you can get from it. Having online reviews for your business is essential. This is non-negotiable so make sure that you make use of it to its fullest potential.

Juliette Anderson

Juliette Anderson is an Outreach Community Specialist for an e-commerce fulfillment company that specializes in partnering with online sellers who have an average parcel weight of 5+ pounds or greater. She works hand-in-hand with e-commerce stores to achieve optimal sales for four years already. Her specialty lies in social media marketing and paid promotions.

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