In this day and age, almost 90% of the population is online, obviously, this has transferred into the commercial sector and in extension, online reviews have become a crucial part of this process. It goes without saying that consumers trust online reviews. Thus, if a potential customer is thinking about buying a product or hiring a business they are likely to base the decision on the reviews they find online. Research has found 91% of people often read online reviews and about 84% of those believe them to be true. Some even value these recommendations more than a professional review and to some extent more trustworthy than a friend. Though it should be noted that a small percentage also found it less trustworthy than an acquaintance. Even from normal life, one can’t rely fully on a friend’s recommendation on every purchase because the user experience is different.
Thus, most people like varied views from multiple sources who have encountered the product or business. It should be noted that some companies don’t take this as serious as they should because of online reviews matter. After reading about 8 reviews a massive 68% of people form an opinion. It is paramount for people to trust reviews and for companies to take their customer review section with even more seriousness.
What does a good review entail? Research shows that people are more likely to trust the reviews if they actually have useful content instead of when filled with emojis and unnecessary punctuation. A mix of good and bad reviews also seems to actually make them appear more credible, the number of reviews also has an impact as it’s directly proportional. More people reviewing a product will make it seem more attainable. Therefore, people are advised to continually review the products they’re into and using. There is a moderate percentage of those who were surveyed that admitted to caring for the credibility of the reviewer.
Companies can actually boost the number of reviews they get. They can email a customer satisfaction survey. This is a great way for them to actually get to know what customers think and their experience with a product, and it’s the best way to improve your product, though, not all your customers will answer your survey which is okay. If more people are being sought after there can be a link to direct them to just quickly review the company or product online.
Bad reviews are actually a platform to grow, and not as daunting as you might think. All it means is that now you have something to work on from that feedback and, therefore, be constantly improving. If it’s possible customer service can actually reach out to the unsatisfied customers. One must first listen to the complaint and make sure they have a deep understanding of the problem, to reduce customer frustration and ultimately it will improve the companies people skills. Once the problem has been resolved or is being worked on, the customer can ultimately change their mediocre review to a great one.
Logic states that the more people who make online reviews and then the companies actually take note and work on the problem the better services will be, thus with this strategy people will end up actively trusting online reviews. With just a simple search customer will find all the negative ratings, therefore, one must careful with reviews and should keep an eye on them. Moreover, research has shown that ratings vary by culture. Scores tend to fluctuate based on this simple fact the region one comes from greatly affects simple things such as work ethic and quality of service. One person’s excellent is another’s average even when the product is the same, this is due to different cultural norms.
So, to make people gain confidence in online reviews, the negative comments should have an impact on making the product better. Such as to show that the voice of the consumer actually matters. After reaching out to the customers’ providers should talk about the experience and even ask questions to gain clarity then subsequently resolve the customers’ problem. Eventually, the provider should work on fixing the underlying problem. Reviews should be a process of helping customers connect with providers to help make their products the best. This boosts integrity and makes the whole review process trustworthy.
People want transparency
One of the two main reasons that people trust online reviews is that they want transparency from the providers. No one wants to have the wool pulled over his or her eyes, obviously. With reviews, they have the tools at their fingertips to find out as much information as possible, especially if they have doubts about the business.
Shopping trends are essential
The second reason is that people usually rely on the opinions of others to influence what they do. It’s the whole backbone of having trending items that everybody busy. Therefore, it’s safe to say that when more people are using a product, then others are more likely to want to buy it and use it as well.
The bottom line is, people have different reasons for doing certain things and we may never truly understand why they trust the reviews. Nonetheless, we can conclude that part of the reason is, for them to get a clear understanding of their businesses so that they can have the most of out of their customer experience. Not to mention it also assist buyers to be able to validate their own purchases and learn what’s in, on the trends, as we all know everyone likes to remain trendy. Either way, online reviews are a crucial part of the commercial sector. Therefore, customers need to be encouraged to leave reviews of their experiences, whether great or not to help shed a light for others who might be interested. It’s also great for companies to also get real-time feedback to help them make the best of their products. Therefore, from whatever end you’re coming from, online reviews are an important and much-needed portion of any sector.
Ten Ways to Gain Trust Online
Gone are the days when marketing involved face-to-face interactions. Nowadays, marketing is done online due to advancements in technology. Most business people have embraced online marketing because it is fast and convenient.
For any online business to succeed, trust is essential. If you get people to trust you, your conversion rates will increase. It will also help you beat your rivals in the competition.
Despite the numerous online marketing advantages, it has its downsides. One of the downsides is that getting people to trust you can be difficult. This is because there are so many scams and dubious marketing strategies online.
1. Encourage Your Loyal Customers to Give Reviews
Customer review is essential, especially in B2B businesses. Therefore, encourage your customers to give reviews even if they are not positive. In fact, you can use negative reviews to your advantage by improving on the areas your customers complained about. As a result, it will convince your customers that your business minds customer welfare.
Moreover, customer reviews will encourage customers to buy from your business. According to a study, 62% of customers read online reviews first before making a purchase. For this strategy to work, you need to get about three testimonials or more from your trusted customers. To make people trust the credibility of their information, post their photos on your page together with their personal information like where they live and their official names.
Apart from their photos, you can also ask your customers to give you reviews in the form of videos. Videos have a way of establishing a connection with viewers and build trust as a result. However, for videos to pass information effectively, they need to be of high quality. These videos also need to be unique and should address the needs of your potential customers.
Most of the time, testimonials are put within the content, in the sidebars, or you can create a separate page for them. If these testimonials show your potential clients the benefits of your products or how they helped them solve their problems, you will notice a change in your conversion rates.
2. Create A Professional Website
A website is the face of every online business. According to a study, 46% of people say that a website is the first thing they look at before purchasing.
If your website is unprofessional or unattractive, you are likely to lose potential customers or have a high bounce rate. This is because it is difficult for consumers to trust the credibility of businesses with disorganized websites.
Here are a few pointers to help you make your website design appear professional.
- Optimize your website for mobile devices– According to a study,54% of website traffic is from mobile devices. Therefore, optimizing your website for mobile devices is essential. It will help many people visit your website and boost your conversion rates in turn. To optimize your website for mobile devices, use a responsive design that changes according to the screen size of your device.
- Design an easy-to-navigate website– Navigation is more than just your top menu. It also involves helping your website visitors find what they are looking for easily. Arrange your products in an orderly manner and give correct and updated information about each product.An easy-to-navigate website is also crucial since it reduces the cart abandonment rate.
- Make good use of the white space– This assists your eyes in comprehending what you are reading. It also helps direct your attention to the essential parts, which are highlighted in different colors.
- Update the information on your website– Regularly assess your website performance and remove any dead links. It will guarantee your customers that your website contains current and relevant information. As a result, they will trust your business.
- Improve the appearance of your website– First impressions matter a lot. They determine whether a customer will visit your website again or not. Therefore, ensure your website is attractive, so it captures the attention of your customers. Include things like logos, videos, graphs and use an attractive background color. Also, use beautiful fonts but ensure they are easy to read.
- Improve speed- Speed is also an essential factor when it comes to creating a professional website. Most individuals nowadays are busy, and they want to obtain information faster. If your website takes time to load, people are likely to leave and go to other websites.
3. Use Brand Humanization Elements
People prefer creating a connection with other people rather than with companies. Therefore, if you humanize your online customer experience, customers will most likely trust your business and build a strong relationship with them.
One of the ways of humanizing the brand experience includes creating a comprehensive ‘about us’ page. If you are wondering whether to buy from a certain company or not, the ‘about us’ page will help you in making the decision. It is the best place to learn more information about a business.
When writing an ‘about us’ page, keep it brief, easy-to-read, and scannable. This is because most of your potential clients are busy individuals, and they would like to get information about your business by taking a quick look.
Here is a list of things you should include on your ‘about us’ page.
- A brief history of your business
- The mission of your company
- How you assist your customers in solving their problems
- How you help your community
- What sets you apart from your competitors
- The awards you have received and other significant accomplishments
It is also essential to include your contact information on the ‘about us’ page. It will help you prove the legitimacy of your business, given the rising numbers of online scammers. Also, put a clear email address and phone number.
Some businesses provide generic email addresses, which is wrong since they will give people a bad impression.
4. Create Relevant and Valuable Content
For your potential clients to trust your business, you need to create quality informative and educational content. Quality content will establish you as a credible source of information and, perhaps, a thought leader in your industry. It will also enable you to attract new customers, create brand awareness, and engage with your current customers.
To write quality content, research what your competitors are writing about. This does not mean that you should copy their exact content. Go through their content and point out their area of weakness and improve on them in your content.
Plagiarizing content from other websites will make potential customers lose their trust in your business. Plagiarism can also get you into trouble with your competitors if they discover you are using their content. You may get sued for copyrights infringement, thus wasting your time and resources.
Also, when creating content, conduct keyword research to know what your audience is interested in. Use these keywords naturally to make your content relevant.
Another important thing to keep in mind when creating content is that your content should solve your customers’ problems rather than a sales pitch. If customers discover that you are focused on satisfying their needs rather than pushing them to buy your products, they will trust your business.
5. Encourage Your Loyal Customers to Spread Word About Your Business on social media
Word of mouth is the best marketing strategy globally because it is free and effective. Most consumers nowadays trust certain products and services after hearing other people’s experiences. Some of them go online to read other people’s reviews before making a purchase.
Therefore, if you want your current customers to share with their family and friends about your business on social media, provide them with quality goods and services. Also, ensure your customer service is excellent.
Interacting with your customers on social media frequently is another way of getting customers to trust you and spread the word about your business. Check out your social media comments for queries or complaints regularly. Ensure you answer all your clients’ questions and also address all complaints wisely. Consumers can make your company’s brand go viral if they like the way you handled their issues.
6. Interact With Your Customers Live Video Events
Photo credits: lifesize.com
Online businesses deal with clients all over the world. As earlier mentioned, getting people to trust you online is difficult. Therefore, try looking for solutions like investing in technology where you can interact with your audience live. Interacting with your audience live will allow you to establish a relationship with them.
One of the ways to interact with your audience live is through Facebook and Instagram Q&A sessions. However, for these sessions to be successful, you need to prepare for them adequately. You also need to notify your customers when you will have the session to prepare.
Another way for interacting with your audience live is through teleconferences or webinars.
The main advantage of live events is the sessions are unscripted. You can’t foresee what’ll happen or prepare a response ahead of time. This is the element that makes your customers trust your business.
7. Tell Your Customers About Your Team Members
For your potential customers to trust your business, post information about your other team members. Your customers will be confident knowing that there are people ready to handle their problems if they encounter any challenges.
When posting about your team members, post their photos and their areas of specialty. You can also include their contact information.
Ensure you have a ‘meet the team’ section on your website despite the size of your organization. However, there are other several places you can post about your team members, including:
- Email newsletters
- In the ‘about us’ page
- Email signature
- Social media updates
8. Get Rid of Broken Links
Broken links will make you lose potential clients. They portray your unprofessionalism and lack of attention to detail. Broken links will also make people think you are not in business. Most of the time, these consumers will go to other websites, making you lose a competitive advantage.
This type of problem is common with large-scale businesses. These businesses have numerous website pages, but as time goes by, their web content becomes outdated. Visitors can still find these pages, but they display a 404 message as shown below.
Photo credits: google.com
Eliminating these links is crucial because they waste your clients’ time. They may also make people start questioning the credibility of your business.
If you want to detect broken links on your website, use Google Search Console. It is also advisable to set up link redirects, so your visitors don’t waste time on links that don’t work.
9. Meet Your Customers’ Product Expectation
To ensure that your clients’ expectations match the products they receive, give them comprehensive and reliable information about the products. For clothing, provide them with information about the fabric, size, and maintenance guidelines. For electronics, give instructions on how to use them.
Additionally, ensure the image of the product on your website depicts the product accurately. If the product’s image is enlarged, give the correct details of its actual size. For specific products such as tech items, put videos on your social media platforms or websites showing customers how to use them. These videos will also help consumers understand the features of these products.
Giving your customers such details about your products is essential because it will help prevent misunderstandings when they receive their items. This is because they already know what to expect. It is also essential to inform your customers about the delivery time to avoid getting impatient.
10. Get A Certified Seal
Another simple approach to boost your trustworthiness is to obtain a certified seal from Trust Guard or the Better Business Bureau. Both businesses serve the same goal but with somewhat distinct characteristics.
However, getting a certified seal requires a heavy financial investment. You are also required to fulfill specific requirements before getting approval. However, it is worth the hassle since it is a fast and efficient strategy to make people trust your business.
After approval, the next thing you have to do is install an icon from one of these companies. People will automatically assume your business is legit.
SEO’s Role in Customer Reviews and Reputation Management
Upon implementing your strategies of SEO in Singapore, you must consider the raw feedback of your Customer Reviews in various online channels. After all, your efforts of researching for the best keywords and doing site audits must also be aligned with how buyers actually perceive your business.
Submissions of business listings in your locale
Upon working with the country’s top SEO company, you’ll find the twofold parts of a business listing. These include submitting the details and description of your start up, and the comments section from your present plus previous customers. High authority directories usually allow for their site’s visitors to rate the services of their listed organisations.
A customer’s detailed feedback can make or break the reputation of an organisation. When potential customers search you up, you must make sure any dissatisfaction has been addressed or settled. Phrases such as: I’ll never do business with them again may be detrimental to your authority-building efforts. These should then be identified by your chosen SEO service.
Initiating product reviews from digital opinion leaders
Another way of establishing your business’s online credibility would be through the allowance of objective product reviews among the web’s thought leaders. A top industry blogger who positively talks about your products and services may result to additional points on your algorithmic ranking.
Your chosen SEO company may also evaluate the significance of your collated link backs from various high ranking blogs. However, you must consider how allowing for product reviews may tend to be seen as sponsored and less trustworthy. It is then important to establish objectivity if top bloggers will be releasing their very own customer reviews about your business.
Your chosen SEO company can audit your online network of influence but customer feedback will be highly reliant on your business’s quality of services. This is why it’s crucial to coherently align your quality of service which results to positive online reviews, along with measuring the extent by which your business’s feedback can influence how you’ll rank on Google.
