You know about customer reviews found online. You know the importance of these reviews – they impact your business in various ways. Yet, you may not have thought about the true level of importance. When you look at some of the statistics listed below, you’ll clearly see why you need to pay close attention to customer reviews of all types.
According to some statistics, you’ve got something to worry about when it comes to customer reviews.
- When you look at the amount of people visiting the top online review websites, over the last year, their traffic grew by 158 percent. These top ten sites were visited by unique and multiple-visit users at a much higher rate. This means that customers are using these sites far more often than they did.
- Some estimates indicate that as much as 90 (though some stats indicate this could be as high as 97 percent) of customers think that online reviews are important. They report that in some way these review sites impact the decisions they make. What if 97 out of 100 customers saw a bad review from your company and chose another company instead?
- An estimated 7 out of 10 people make the decision to use or look at reviews prior to making a purchase. That is, they seek out reviews before making a decision to buy your service or use your company.
- More than half of all people use the Internet to do research before they make a local purchase. That is important to service businesses who often think that these reviews are only for online-based companies. That’s not the case!
- More than 90 percent of customers trust the recommendations that others make on these sites. That means that even that crazy customer that was out to get your company and left a bad review is impacting your bottom line.
- Even more interesting, 3 out of 4 customers believe that customers do not tell the truth in their online or off line marketing methods.
- 70 percent of people share these reviews with their friends and family. They do not have to just find the review themselves online to be impacted.
Considering these statistics, how do you feel about customer reviews? Are you worried about the implications these reviews have on your business? It may be time to take a closer look at what this may mean to your bottom line.
