Online reviews are the face of your brand online. They influence the buying decisions of potential customers and that’s why every brand looks for trusted customer review software to manage their online reviews. Here are some key statistics proving how important online reviews are for your business.

Consumers are influenced by both positive & negative reviews

You may think that you only need positive reviews on your page, but there are consumers who specifically seek out negative reviews to see areas where you lag.

9 out of 10 young consumers consider reviews before a purchase

In this age of technology, young customers realize they no longer have to go in blind with any purchase. Past buyers’ experience serves as an important guide in the decision.

The more reviews you have, the better it is for your reputation

Today, the number of reviews is taken as a sign of consumer trust as it means that more customers gave your product or service a chance, and cared enough to leave a review.

Most consumers don’t trust advertising

This is hardly shocking. With so much advertising nowadays, people are since and 3 out of 4 times, they just pass by an ad without giving it a second thought. That’s why review generation software are getting popular because online reviews are reliable.

Having a few reviews on your page is still better than no reviews

According to a research by the Spiegel Research Center, the chances of a product getting sold increases by a whopping 270% after it has five or more reviews.

The more expensive a product is, the more a customer review is worth

The above research also discovered that there is an almost 200% difference in rate of conversion between reviews for products in different price ranges.

You can observe how reviews directly influence buying decisions

According to numerous studies, your sales figures grow by approximately 10% for every star increase you get on your Yelp business ranking.

Reviews play a big role in talent acquisition as well

Harvard Business Review study has come to the conclusion that companies with bad reputation spend more on talent acquisition in comparison to those with favorable product reviews.

It is important to address customer concerns in reviews

Kingsley Associates recently conducted a study in which they discovered that more than half of all reviewers expect to see their concerns being responded and addressed.

Fresh reviews are important to consumers

8 out of 10 reviewers only look at the most recent reviews for things like travel destinations, electronic item models, software versions and so on.

Shoppers like reading about impressions rather than just seeing an image or video

While images certainly help get the message across, customers want it to be accompanied by text in order for it to influence their purchase decision.

Use appropriate subject line to get more reviews

Yotpo did an extensive study on email subject lines businesses send users post purchase to solicit reviews and discovered that emotional appeals hardly work, but incentives do.

Businesses have on average 39 reviews on Google

This figure, however, greatly varies from industry to industry.

Three stars is the minimum threshold

8 out of 10 consumers don’t even consider brands with less than 3-star ratings.

Most people do not bother leaving reviews

The world today is so fast paced that consumers hardly have the time to write elaborate reviews. In fact, according to Pew Research, almost 40% of consumers have never reviewed anything. So, while it is important to ask, don’t be bummed if all 100% consumers don’t respond.

The Bottom Line

With so many statistics proving the importance of online reviews, one thing is for certain: customer impression can make or break your business. Online reputation management is a big part of running a business in this day and age, and if you haven’t started paying attention to it, now is the best time to start doing so.

Keep in mind, however, that it goes both ways, and it is on you to make the customer realize the importance of leaving reviews in order to get their voices heard and enable you to better your service for an even more improved customer experience in the future. Be proactive. Take charge of your online brand image on all review platforms, use review management software, and soon you will see the fruits of your efforts.