It’s natural when allowing customers to leave reviews of your product or business to feel a little vulnerable. You’re opening yourself up for potential criticism and sometimes people can be a little too honest. However, customer reviews, both negative and positive, are actually highly beneficial for any business. Customer reviews hold a lot of power – they are the modern equivalent of word-of-mouth.  This post will look closely at why letting yourself be a little more vulnerable will benefit your business.

Customer reviews are great for Google search rankings.

First and foremostly, we have search engines. When a customer wants to find something, chances are they’re going to use a search engine and, most likely, it’s Google. Google’s algorithms absolutely love customer reviews; reviews are a great way to push your business to the top of the local listings.
This means that customers are going to find your business proudly perched at the top of their Google results and, quite possibly, they’re going to use your business. It also means that your business is put ahead of any direct competition you may have.

Reviews are free advertising for your business.

In the days before the internet, people used to find out about a company or a product through word of mouth. Today, the methods are different but the results are the same; customer reviews are the modern equivalent of word of mouth advertising. This means that when customers leave reviews, you’re getting free advertising for your business.
Here are the statistics: 80% of people refer to customer reviews before buying a product and 88% of people even trust customer reviews more than a recommendation from a family member!  When it comes to advertising, customer reviews are a great way to make sales without shelling out for advertising.

Even negative reviews can reflect well on a business (and help you long-term).

It’s natural that negative reviews are the worrying part when it comes to customer reviews, but what if we told you that they can be highly beneficial too? Negative reviews are par for the course, and every large, successful business will have their fair share of them. So how are they good? They make your positive reviews look better. If you have a few negative reviews, not only will your positive reviews look better due to the sharp contrast, but it also makes them look more trustworthy.
A 2013 Harvard study concluded that, on the whole, consumers trusted reviews more when they saw a mix of good and bad reviews. On the other hand, when a company had wholly positive customer reviews, it seemed to be fake or as if the company had censored them.

Reviews help you stand out from the crowd.

When people search for a company to suit their needs in their area, Google prominently displays their star-rating beneath their name. Take a look at this image, for example:

Of these two companies, which one is more eye-catching? The company with the stars under its name is far more visually striking than the one without. Companies with customer reviews experience a significantly higher click-through rate, which means that customers are more likely to engage with your business and that you’re more likely to make a sale.

You can reply to positive and negative reviews.

Replying to both positive and negative reviews shows your customers that their voices are being heard. You can let customers who leave good reviews know that you’re grateful for their review and that you’re glad that they had such a good experience. Negative customer reviews give you an opportunity to engage with the dissatisfied customer and let them know that you’re listening and want to take their criticism on board. As a result, your business will become closer to its client base and you’re likely to develop a broad base of satisfied return customers.
So, those are some of the ways that customer reviews benefit a business – but how do you get more reviews? That’s where RevFee comes in. RevFee makes leaving reviews much more convenient so that more customers will be willing to leave them. Check out our blog which covers why your business needs RevFee for more information.