You could spend thousands of dollars on online ads. You could hire a professional photographer to take product photos. You could hire a professional copywriter to craft your marketing message. But if you’re not paying attention to what customers are saying about your product, you could be ignoring one of the most effective sales tools on the planet.
Customers Are SMARTER Than Ever. Many customers today won’t jump straight to the “Buy Now” button. Instead, they’ll scroll through reviews to see what other people think about your product. Many customers trust company reviews more than the ads that the company puts out itself.
Online shoppers know that when a company advertises, they’re only going to talk about the good things about their product. When customers leave reviews, consumers view those as unbiased opinions from real people who have purchased and used the product. Positive reviews make shoppers feel confident about their purchase.
Negative reviews can answer potential questions that your sales pitch doesn’t cover. If a product has 50 reviews that all say great things about it, people will generally trust that product over something that’s marketed with a big-budget ad but has no reviews.
Customer Reviews Can Make or Break You. Need Sales
Isn’t there ever a time when a negative review can affect sales? Of course not. Actually, many negative reviews can actually HELP sell your product. As long as your business responds professionally and shows that you care about making things right, your business will be seen as more trustworthy than a company that ignores complaints altogether.
Many shoppers don’t just look at reviews before purchasing; they also look to see how a company reacts to both positive and negative feedback.
Reviews = Free Market Research
When customers leave reviews about your product, they’re telling you what they like about it. They’re also telling you what irritates them about it, and what they wish it could do. That’s information that you can use to decide what products to develop in the future.
You can use that information to improve your customer service. You can use that information to determine what you should and shouldn’t talk about in your next ad. Instead of hoping you’ve guessed what your customers want, you can actually hear it straight from them.
Establish Trust Social Proof
When someone has a positive experience with a product and shares that experience with others, that’s called social proof. Psychological studies have proven that when shoppers see positive reviews about a product, they’re more likely to feel confident in their decision to purchase that product. Smart businesses encourage their customers to leave honest reviews after making a purchase.
Before you run off and spend money on your next online ad campaign, take a moment and listen to what your customers are already saying. Read your customer reviews. Reply to feedback. And use that information to improve not only your product, but your advertising as well. In this day and age, customers trust other customers more than they trust advertisements. And the companies that listen to their customers and respond to their feedback will earn more loyalty than those who don’t. Ask yourself this before you advertise your next product: What are my customers already saying about my product? You’d be surprised at the answer you’ll find.
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