Business owners understand perfectly well that customers care about reviews. But do you know how many testimonials your clients are looking for? Is it 5 or 10? Maybe even a few dozen? According to one survey, customers needed to see around 40 reviews before they could trust a company’s star rating! While this number is relative to the niche and size of your business, it does highlight one important point: customers prefer companies who attract a lot of feedback. Let’s take a look at some other important reasons to continuously curate reviews.
More likely to gain customer trust.
Everyone’s seen those sketchy sites trying to get by with just a few generic reviews from anonymous users. This lack of transparency and authenticity is instantly off-putting to customers who are looking for companies they can trust. Even if you rely on a small number of authentic reviews, online visitors are still going to tread lightly. There’s a certain amount of social proof that comes along with a higher number of client testimonials. People feel more comfortable working with a company that’s experienced. Regularly curating your client feedback can provide you with that higher level of credibility that potential customers are looking for.
A better understanding of customer sentiments.
Potential clients aren’t the only people who benefit from recent customer feedback. This information is also an invaluable resource for owners to get a better idea of how customers perceive their business. After all, customer sentiments are the most direct form of market research available. These testimonials can help you refine services and products to better fit the needs of your clientele and create a tailored customer service experience that gives customers exactly what they’re looking for. This feedback can be viewed as the pulse of customer satisfaction which is a reliable metric for gauging the financial stability of your company.
Up-to-date reviews are more impactful.
Timing is a key factor for customers when judging the relevance of online comments. In fact, 85% of customers don’t consider reviews older than 3 months as relevant. More specifically, 40% claimed that they only cared about those submitted within the past two weeks, an increase of 32% from the previous year. People understand that up-to-date feedback will provide a more accurate reflection of a company’s current state. It’s not that those older comments are meaningless. Rather, these findings stress the importance of curating new reviews to make customers feel more informed and up-to-date.
Improved search engine ranking.
Optimizing search engine ranking is a highly effective method for generating leads. While link-building, meta descriptions, and other complicated strategies are often used to boost SEO, business owners might be surprised to hear that customer feedback falls under this umbrella as well. Search engines gauge the authenticity of a company partially based on the amount of related content found online. Every time a customer leaves a comment, your company gains another piece of searchable content. This positive relationship between reviews and search engine ranking is enhanced the more active you are in curating feedback.
Customers feel valued.
Customer testimonials open up more than one avenue of conversation. Consumers have the opportunity to talk with each other, but companies also have the chance to reach out to past and potential clients. Staying up-to-date on your company’s reviews shows customers that you’re active and listening. This may seem like a small gesture to owners with a lot on their plate, but it can mean a world of difference for customers who want to be heard. In an environment where trust is paramount, customer feedback is a great way to establish a dialogue with clients.
If you’re a small business struggling to stay up-to-date on customer testimonials or receiving feedback in general, check out hapigood for a comprehensive and streamlined alternative. hapigood gives businesses the ability to manage and optimize client feedback from one convenient location. No more jumping between review sites and blogs to curate the latest comments.