E-Commerce Websites: The Importance of Customer Reviews

Back in the days before the internet (if indeed you are old enough to remember those!), the only things that got written reviews were books, movies, theatre shows and restaurants. Everything else relied on word-of-mouth to get noticed. All of that went flying out of the window when e-commerce got going and now pretty much any product or service available online that you care to mention gets reviewed by its buyers.
The importance of reviews for any e-commerce operation can not be underestimated. A recent survey by marketing agency BrightLocal found that a massive 75% of consumers 'regularly' or 'always' read reviews online before deciding to make a purchase, with a further 22% doing so 'occasionally'. That leaves only a meagre 3% of respondents who said that they 'never' read online reviews.
Reviews provide potential customers with proof of the credibility of your business and its products or services. INC., which describes itself as 'the voice of the American entrepreneur', carried out a survey which found that 84% of online consumers trust reviews 'as much as personal recommendations from family and friends'.
All e-commerce websites should provide the ability for customers to leave reviews, preferably in a dedicated section. Your best reviews should be prominently displayed and it's a great idea to have reviews for particular products on that product's page. Make the process of leaving a review quick, easy and accessible.
Don't be afraid to ask your customers for a review: this can be done by sending them an email after an appropriate period of time has elapsed or by reminding them on their next visit. Remember that people use many different platforms to leave reviews so make sure that you have a presence on these in addition to your main website.
As well as helping you to attract more customers and generate more sales, reviews can also be a vital tool in helping you to understand your existing customers' experiences. Using this feedback, you can develop your brand and its offerings to improve your company as a whole. Reviews also improve your search engine rankings as reviewers almost always use keywords that other potential customers are likely to be searching.
Many owners of e-commerce websites are terrified of bad reviews and these are of course not what you want to see! But don't let them intimidate you; instead, respond to them and show the unimpressed reviewer that you care about their opinion and that you're going to do everything you can to put things right. This will in turn give other potential customers more faith in you and your business.
Brickweb provides the best web development Lancashire has to offer and we can help you to create a great website that attracts even better reviews. You can find our more about our e-commerce services on our website, where you'll also find links to the websites of some of our existing clients so that you can directly experience our game-changing styles, strategies and successes.
If you have any questions or want to discuss the unique requirements of YOUR business, don't hesitate to get in touch!