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Customer Opinions – Could They Boost Your Online Sales?
If your business sells online then you
should be aware of the benefits that
customer reviews can bring; and even if you
do not sell online, you could still benefit
from the opinions of customers.
A
new study by E-Consultancy and Bazaarvoice
has found that online retailers are
increasingly using reviews and other user
generated content (UGC) to increase sales
and customer satisfaction.
Baazarvoice recently found that more than
half of online customers in the UK believe
that reviews are very or extremely important
in their online decisions. They also
discovered that more than half have more
trust and respect for websites and
companies/brands that show product reviews.
Many online sites now allow registered
customers to post an online review of a
product they have bought in a matter of
seconds; and not only does this help
browsing customers decide if a product is
worth buying, but it also has a strong
weight behind it as the customer has posted
it themselves.
Customer ratings and reviews are being used
by 28% of online sellers, with more than
half (52%) saying that they were considering
the use of this feature on their websites.
The most widely perceived benefit of ratings
and reviews among online sellers is an
improvement in site conversion rates, viewed
as a major benefit by 79% of responding
organisations.
Improved customer retention and loyalty, and
better search engine optimisation, are also
viewed as a major benefit by 73% and 59% of
online sellers respectively.
The overwhelming majority of survey
respondents (97%) said that they found
ratings and reviews either extremely helpful
or very helpful “as consumers”.
The fact that more than half of retailers
believe the customer voice to be integral to
their sales and customer service strategies
shows that ratings and reviews will have a
big part to play in the growth of online
retail in the UK. E-Consultancy expects that
the reliance on reviews will grow as more
retailers adopt this feature.
The good news for businesses without online
sales is that the benefits of customer
opinions can still be used on your websites.
While it may not be as effective as when
someone has directly posted a review; you
can ask for opinions and include them on
your site to give your potential customers
an ideas of what past customers think. You
can also use the feedback to tailor what
your business sells to the experiences your
customers have had.
For more information on online issues and
the internet visit our Internet and
Technology portal.
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