Not so long ago, “reviews” were something that new movies, books and stage plays received. Now almost every product, service or business – no matter what size or location – is subject to customer reviews on any of hundreds of different Web sites. Today it’s just as easy to find reviews of a local plumber, dry cleaner or contractor as it is the hottest restaurant in town.
What does this mean for your small business? Plenty! Where customers once considered price paramount, most today say that customer reviews – mostly found on the Internet – are more influential than price in helping them make purchase decisions.
Study after study shows increasing numbers of buyers are checking, and are influenced by Web-based customer reviews. Findings vary a bit, but some 90 percent of online buyers say they read customer reviews at least “some of the time” when they are available, and 71 percent agree that customer reviews offer comfort that they’re buying the right product or service from the right place.
Specialized sites such as Yelp, Angie’s List, Epinions, Citysearch and hundreds more make it easy for almost anyone to post a review of a product, service or business they have used. Some rave; others rant.
Ignoring customer reviews is not an option. So what can you do? One option is to put a customer-reviews section on your own Web site where you can control what’s going on.
Why leave this totally to chance or other Web sites? Many small-business owners are taking the initiative, embracing the realm of “user (customer) generated content” – known as UGC – and driving revenue by helping customers post reviews on their sites.
Discgear, a Texas-based maker of CD and DVD storage cases, began incorporating customer reviews on its site in late 2008. Within a month it had 100 reviews on the site and was able to create a user community where customers help each other find the right products. What’s more, Discgear has received valuable ideas that it’s using to make product design changes.
Alpaca Direct, which sells alpaca and pima goods (sweaters, socks, shirts), credits customer reviews with boosting conversion rates, a key measure of how many people actually buy once they have clicked through to the site. Alpaca Direct learned an important lesson. Rather than filling its Web site with company-generated marketing copy, it decided to let customers be the prevalent voice on the site. That helped build trust. And just as important, customer content helps increase visits through improved SEO. •
Daniel Kehrer can be reached at editor@business.com.
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Engel & Völkers Oceanside Leader | The DiSpirito…
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