The importance of reviews in e-commerce

Who better than your client to talk about your business? Left in your online store by someone who has already purchased one of your products, it’s impossible not to run into the reviews when looking for a new brand or business on the Internet.

Reviews are much more than just comments and can result in relevant content and information, both for you and your customers. Since the biggest disadvantage of e-commerce is not offering the possibility for consumers to be face to face with the product, reviews can break this barrier.

Reviews can help you sell more, gain new customers, accompany the consumer’s satisfaction, and get to know your target better. Regardless of your type of business, if you don’t have the habit of paying attention to your online store’s reviews, this article will show you why it’s important to consider your customer’s feedback and explore the potential of these reviews.

Advantages of the reviews

• They help create your online store’s reputation

On the Internet the offer is huge, so it’s important that your customers know why to choose your store. You need to stand out from the competition and try to win customers daily. This requires time and study, but we can highlight some suggestions for doing so:

• Ensure a good purchasing experience;
• Create surveys and debates on products and/or services;
• Provide a field for comments and instigate interaction;
• Know how to deal with complaints and try to resolve them.

• They promote word-to-mouth marketing

When buying online it’s essential that everything goes well - from first visiting the store until the product’s arrival at the hands of the customer. Reviews work throughout the whole process and this way it’s fundamental that there’s a field where consumers can leave their comments/opinion. This triggers a process: a good review influences a new purchase, this new purchase influences a new review, and so on.

• They increase your e-commerce’s traffic

Having a large volume of visits results in more sales opportunities. By providing the reviews you’re boosting interest in your store. This happens since most consumers trust the opinions of other consumers and/or friends, and a large part are willing to make recommendations. Thus, reviews have a considerable impact on consumer demand.

• They help and convert new customers

Most consumers read reviews before the checkout and give positive reviews of the store after buying. A decisive factor, a customer’s assessment will influence a potential customer to buy and make a good review of your store. This creates an involvement that conveys a sense of trust to consumers, and may even influence sales in the physical store (since many buyers read online reviews but that’s not where they finish the purchase). The interaction you have with customers is also essential, as if there’s a response from you, customers will be more confident that you’ll help them if something goes wrong during the process.

• They convey credibility and security

Nothing conveys more confidence to a potential buyer than the appraisal of another customer, this is an essential point of e-commerce. If your customers evaluate your products positively and if your interaction with the public conveys confidence, even if the consumer hasn’t yet decided to buy in your store, they’ll be pleased and will more likely do it because they trust your business.

• Increase conversions

The average value each customer spends in your store can be influenced by reviews. At the time of purchase, the research is done in such a way as to find the best price-quality ratio and to evaluate the security and credibility of the store - as we have already said, all this can be clarified through the reviews. If your products get good reviews, written sincerely, the likelihood of a new customer investing in your store will increase.

How to take advantage of negative reviews

Há sempre uma desconfiança relativamente a deixar estas avaliações na loja online, mas é importante que disponha de uma solução capaz de resolver eficientemente a gestão das reviews. Em vez de simplesmente as eliminar, encare-as como uma oportunidade de mudar a impressão negativa que causou no cliente.

Como gestor, deve deixar uma resposta pró-ativa e individual que procure resolver o problema, e reeconheça o seu erro, mostrando-se disponível para auxiliar o cliente. É fulcral que saiba manter a calma e ser cordial, para que demonstre que o seu e-commerce é transparente e que a experiência dos seus clientes é importante para si. Por isso, aproveite as críticas construtivas e agradeça – os clientes ficarão agradados e irão apreciar a sua empatia.

Conclusion

In addition to conveying confidence and boosting sales, reviews are rich content that exert an unparalleled influence on their customers. You can’t deny the power of e-commerce reviews, so if you don’t publish your customers’ feedback yet, we suggest you start doing so as soon as possible.

BloomIdea’s e-commerce platforms integrate a content management system that will make it easier to create customized content to complement your product’s sales and reassure your customers at the time of their choice. So, if you wish to learn more about how to develop or boost your online business, visit our blog, or contact us.