December 26th, 2019
How often do you shop online and go through product reviews from other customers? According to a survey conducted by BrightLocal, 82% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses, with 52% of people of the age of 18 through 54 stating they always read reviews. It is a fact that many of us rely on customer feedback. This is because reading what other people’s opinions are about a product informs others of the quality, features, uses of a particular product, and quality of services provided. So let’s review in detail why you should be doing the same on your website.
Social Proof
While shopping online for a particular product or service, you come across several choices. But which one should you purchase or hire? Often, you will come across customer feedback reviews that will allow you to read up on a particular product that offers social proof of the product, or social proof about a service of the company. Here are a few reasons why social proof is important:
- Social Proof of the experiences that other people have when they use the product or service.
- First-hand knowledge of whether or not the product or service is worth the money spent.
- Informs you whether the product or service is a poor choice and you should stay away.
- Positive reviews help with financial growth.
Social Proof and SEO:
- Social Proof provides keywords to help with SEO. In fact, constant input of social proof keeps your site updated, furthering the growth of SEO.
- Utilizing review “stars” also helps with SEO. The more stars can mean instant clicks to review.
Social Proof And Business Reputation
Social proof provides one of the most important things to your online business – reputation. Your business reputation is what others think about your products, services, and support. Moreover, as customers continue to provide their positive feedback, the higher the demand there will be for your products or services. Bear in mind, should your products or services be less than par, this can also bring your reputation and demand down. Social feedback will help your company continue to strive to be the best it can be.
Insight
Social proof also provides your business to gain insight into how customers perceive you, your products or services, and your support. One key insight is also how customers may compare your company against your competitors. If you are on top of your game, then you know you are diligently staying ahead. If you receive a bad review, then you know you need to do the following:
- Correct any mistakes regarding the services you offer and provide the necessary training to employees to improve the quality of your service.
- Review your products and correct any development mistakes to improve the quality of the products you make and sell.
- If you resell products and the products you sell are often poor in quality, take the necessary steps to correct any problems with the product or even the steps required to choose a different manufacturer for the product.
- If a product that is poor in quality is not offered by any other manufacturer, either drop the product for now and inform the manufacturer that you will wait until they improve the quality, or seek a similar product with more features from a different manufacturer.
Conclusion
Social proof using customer feedback is a crucial factor in improving your business reputation, your products, and your services and SEO. It provides feedback from your customers that can help future sales. If your reviews are weak, it means you need to train your staff to improve your service or improve the quality of your products. Remember, your business reputation is only as good as the products you sell or the services you render. All of this can either improve your SEO ranking or diminish it. So do your due diligence and always be number one at what you do.
If you have any questions concerning this blog, feel free to contact us.