A study verified that 97% of consumers decide whether or not they will purchase after reading reviews. Yes, this data is a little shocking but believable.
Remember the last time you were on an online shopping site reading reviews so that you could decide if you were going to invest your money in that product? As every business is shifting online in this modern era, customers have no choice but to depend on reviews to know whether a product or a service is worth it.
Reviews are beneficial for both businesses and customers. Having a ton of positive reviews on the official website of a business proves that it is a trustworthy company. In the same way, after reading some reviews, buyers decide if the product they will purchase is good. The influence of review on potential buyers depends on several factors like,
- Source of the review
- Star ratings of the product and service
- Response of the provider to the review
- Response of other customers
If the whole concept of the importance of review is seen from the business point of view, it is crucial to understand that negative reviews are as critical as positive reviews. If your review page has a lot of five-star ratings and positive review, the customer becomes a little suspicious.
If you think after receiving a bunch of positive reviews on your product page, your work has been done, and you will gain a lot of potential buyers, you’re mistaken. You have to respond to all the review you get. If not all, you should at least reply and provide solutions to the negative reviews. Remember that when a customer buys a product after reading someone else’s review, they also pay attention to how the business responds to the review.
When consumers purchase a product or a service and are happy with it, they also write a review. In a study, it is seen that 74% of customers write reviews, of which 34% are those who are happy with the product, and 7% got a bad experience. You should make it very easy for your customers to write a review on your website
Small businesses and start-ups should understand how critical review are and how they can get benefits from them. Some of the benefits of review are,
- It gives credibility to your product and business
- They influence the purchasing decision of your viable customers
- Your reply to negative reviews demonstrates that you care about your customers
- It helps to create a trusting bond between a business and its customers
- Reviews are also a kind of marketing for your business and products
There is no doubt that review are essential for both businesses and customers. Read on to know how reviews affect a buyer’s purchasing decision.
No reviews, no trust
It has been seen in several different studies that if a product has no review, people restrain themselves from buying it. Review, good and bad, help people know that the product is authentic and that they can invest their time and money in it.
Effect of negative reviews
If your products have only positive review, it makes the customers suspicious. Negative reviews are critical because they show that your services and products are authentic. It’s your way of replying to those bad review that interest the customers most.
Customers trust other customers
It is easier for a customer to trust another customer who has purchased the product and has written a review about it than to trust your business promises.
Reviews with photos and videos
In the past, customers could only read other buyers’ product review. But today, people can see the photos and videos of the product in the hands of other customers, which also helps them decide their buy.