6 Ways Online Reviews Affect Your Business In The COVID Era

So you need to re-build your sales after COVID yet you have even less marketing budget than before. Or maybe you’re actually in a position where you have a new venture that can thrive in this environment. Where do you start?

The value of reviews cannot be more overstated as a core marketing activity. All you need to do is think about your own personal buying habits to understand the impact they can have. One of the first things you and most of your customers will do when considering a product or service is to read online reviews about the company. 

According to BrightLocal’s 2020 Consumer Review Statistics, 82% of consumers read online reviews. They spend, on average, 13 minutes and 45 seconds reading reviews before making a decision.

Reviews affect buying decisions. Online reviews for businesses have become an effective strategy to boost your business. There have never been more of your customers online. They are looking at your website, checking out your social media presence, and they are reading reviews about your company. 

As a Toronto digital marketing agency, we outline 6 ways you can leverage online reviews to boost your business amidst the pandemic.

1. Online Reviews Establish Trust 

The economic uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 has made many people think twice before spending money. They are going to be a little more cautious about who they choose to buy from. And they’re going to work harder on making a really informed buying decision whether it’s a consumer purchase or B2B. Online reviews can build trust and credibility. Having a large number of good reviews improves your chances of turning your traffic into paying customers. Collect Google and Facebook reviews and testimonials from your customers and post them on your website to overcome the biggest killer of conversion on your site: the FUD factor (Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt).

2. Reviews Act As Social Validation

People are more likely to make a purchase if there is a consensus among others. Online reviews for businesses are one of the best sources for social proof.  Statistics on online reviews show that only 14% of people trust advertising yet 70% trust people they don’t even know. Online reviews are like word of mouth on turbo. The more positive reviews you acquire, the more clout you will have with potential customers.

3. Business Reviews Enhance Visibility

Top businesses have great online visibility. Reviews give you more visibility on Google search engine results pages. It’s another way for customers to see your brand and engage. Reviews also give you a consistent source of fresh content. Recent reviews from customers can show people that you are open for business and continue to take care of your customers during COVID. 

Read our case study on how increasing online reviews got a financial chain to the top of the search engine rankings.

4. Positive Reviews Have A Positive Impact On Sales

Positive reviews can lead to increased revenue. At the Marketing Garage, we believe that being successful online comes down to 3 things: getting fame, found and fans online. It’s our version of the marketing funnel and your ROI increases as you go.

In fact, stats show that the average ROI for getting fans is twice that of getting found on search engines and 8X of fame-generating channels like social media.

A study by Reevo found that online reviews create an average sales increase of 18%.  In his book, Flip the Funnel: How To Use Existing Customers To Gain New Ones, Joseph Jaffe that if marketers were to perform the “if-I-only-had-one-dollar”, most would mistakenly spend it at the top of the funnel.

5. Online Business Reviews Enhance The Customer Experience

Reviews are a conversation starter. They provide your customers with important information about your brand and how you treat your customers. They help to bring your brand to life. They tell others about what they experienced, what they like about your company, and how you operate. Reviews add depth to your marketing and brand messaging. Reviews can also answer common questions people may have about one of your products or services. 

6. Negative Reviews Can Show Your Customer Service In Action

We all want to have a perfect 5-star review rating. But negative reviews happen, even to the best of companies. It’s how you react to them that makes the difference. Most people understand that mistakes or miscommunications happen. If a customer left you a negative review, use it as an opportunity to put your customer service on display. Don’t ignore the review, address it. Respond to the review, and use it as an opportunity to turn a negative into a positive customer experience.

Negative reviews can even help prospective customers make a more informed buying decision in your favour. Let’s say someone is looking for a really simple point & shoot camera and a professional photographer leaves a review that says this product may be great for amateurs but doesn’t have all the features she needs. Sold!

Online reviews play a key role in how people perceive your brand. They help to build trust and provide social proof. Customers who trust your business are more likely to buy from you. Work on getting more positive customer reviews and you’ll see a boost in business post COVID-19. 

Want to get more reviews? Give us a call about getting our Rave About Me™ fan activation program working for you. Learn how it doubled the reviews for a storage unit chain and took them to #1 in the rankings for a top keyword.

The Marketing Garage is an award-winning Toronto digital marketing agency  that has extensive experience in cultivating effective digital marketing strategies. We help businesses in many different sectors across North America fix their online marketing and branding. Our data-driven mix of SEO and online marketing process is like no other.