One of the best ways to gain an understanding of how your customers feel about your business products and services is to ask for their feedback. There are a number of ways to query your audience, but do you know why it’s important to gather this information?

Customer surveys and polls can give you insights into how well specific features are working. Where you can really bank on customer feedback is by requesting online customer reviews and using them in your outreach efforts.

Why are Customer Reviews Important?

Customer opinions matter if you are interested in making positive changes that will help your business. Customer reviews are also seen by the public, and that can help raise awareness and bring in new clientele.

Indeed says the importance of customer reviews varies by industry, but in general, these are a few reasons why this kind of feedback is important for your business:

• It affects your company’s reputation. Customer reviews influence public perception of your products and services. Positive reviews can improve your credibility online and offer potential customers encouragement to trust your establishment.

• It’s a sign of customer engagement. This shows that your customers feel connected to your brand or have information they would like to share about your business with others. Customer engagement shows potential buyers that there is something interesting to know about your business.

• It improves search engine optimization (SEO). Customer reviews can help your business website appear higher on search engine results. Shoppers looking for products or services can stumble upon your business easier if there are more reviews online with mentions of what you offer.

[Read more from Indeed here…]

How Can Online Customer Reviews Grow Business?

A business’ online presence is proving to be more important every day. Take a look at these statistics on Loomly:

• Consumers who interact with reviews are 115% more likely to convert.

• 72% of consumers won’t take any buying actions until they’ve read reviews.

• 4 out of 5 consumers have changed their minds after reading just one negative review.

Online reviews give potential customers the chance to get to know your products and services on a different level than just showing up and trying them immediately. Forbes shares how customer reviews can help your business grow:

• It raises awareness about your business. Positive online reviews can draw more customers to your business to generate more sales of your top-rated products and services.

• It helps your business stand out. Customers have more incentive to purchase products that are known to be liked by others. Consistently adding new positive reviews shows the public that more people are choosing your business over the competition.

• It encourages new customers to buy. Building credibility and trust around your products through positive reviews helps potential customers take out the guesswork in choosing your business.

[Read more from Forbes here…]

Why You Should Monitor and Manage Customer Reviews

The key to online reviews is to monitor for negative feedback and respond appropriately. Customers considering trying a new business enjoy seeing positive reviews, but they are also wary when they find negative reviews. Businesses that don’t monitor negative reviews or respond to customer complaints are vulnerable to damaging their online reputation.

Loomly says businesses that respond to reviews average 35% more revenue. Here’s how you can monitor and manage online customer reviews:

• Install software or use an application that alerts you to new customer reviews by email, text, or another channel.

• Show you’re listening by responding to both positive and negative reviews. Take your time, address the customer by name, identify the issue or praise, and thank them for the feedback.

• Be authentic with your responses, and give them a personal touch to show you care.

[Read more from Loomly…]

How to Ask for (and Receive) Customer Reviews

When you want something, you have to ask for it. There are several avenues to take if you want to gather customer reviews. Here are a few ideas from Constant Contact:

• Choose the platform you want to use. The top platforms for online customer reviews are your Google Business Profile, Yelp account, and Facebook page.

• Use email marketing to request reviews. With email automation, you can request feedback from customers immediately after completing an interaction.

• Try window displays or signage. Window clings or other printed materials at your physical location are subtle ways to request reviews from customers.

[Read more from Constant Contact here…]

How do you gather customer reviews? How did they help you grow your business? Share your thoughts with CuyEast Chamber members on Facebook and LinkedIn.