How Customer Reviews Help Grow my Online Business | Ecommerce Business

Customer reviews and online business go hand in hand. Online business or eCommerce business mainly rely on customers who predominantly shop online. With an increase in the number of internet users, there has been a significant increase in the number of people who prefer to shop online. Better options, wider variety of products, and greater discounts are some of the common reasons why shoppers prefer to buy products online. Like the regular or offline businesses, online business also relies on customer reviews. Higher the positive responses or feedback, greater is the magnitude of online business.

Here are a few aspects related to customer reviews and online business that you should be aware of.

Increases your Credibility

One of the most important thing in any kind of business (offline and online) is trust or credibility. This is especially applicable for online businesses as the buyer only sees the web-front and not a brick and mortar store. Hence, it becomes difficult for a buyer to trust a store where he/she cannot see the store owner/associate in person. Online buyers hence rely on customer reviews to trust an online store. They look for the experiences related to shopping experience, quality of products, promptness of delivery and handling of issues, written/shared by other buyers. Customer reviews and online business are interlinked.

Therefore, an online business with enough customer reviews helps in building credibility. It hence becomes important for you to have a review page for your online business. You should also encourage your buyers to leave customer reviews especially in terms of their shopping experience and the store response.

Use them as Feedback

Another benefit of customer reviews is that they act as a direct feedback to improve your business. Here’s how customer reviews and online business are interlinked. While a happy customer may not leave a review frequently, an unhappy customer will always leave a negative review. Having a customer reviews section is hence necessary to understand the expectations of the buyers who visit your online store. A positive review boosts your confidence and lets you know the things you are doing right, while a negative review will help identify the problem areas and rectify them. All negative reviews should be published along with replies from your side either explaining the cause of the problem or accepting the mistake and specifying the steps taken to rectify them. Such an approach instils confidence in the unhappy buyer and also leaves a positive impression on a new buyer.

Happy Customers Refer Others

Customer reviews are also necessary to get repeat orders as well as new buyers. Many a times a happy customer may want to leave a positive feedback, so that other buyers can be encouraged to buy from your store. They may also share their review with their friends and family. You can also publish these positive reviews on your blog page or social media page. This can be beneficial in two ways. One, the customer who posted this review will be excited to see his/ her name on your webpage/ blog page or social media handle. Secondly, new buyers will definitely read these reviews and visit your page or online store to know more about the product being recommended.

So, make sure happy customers do recommend your products as customer reviews and online business go hand-in-hand!

Buyers Need Real-time Info

Many a times, customer reviews help new buyers understand several different aspects about you as well as the products displayed on your online business page. Customer reviews and online business are closely related in this way too! Buyers may not only leave a feedback about the products, but also sometimes mention in detail how their overall shopping experience was. And, if they were happy with the experience, you can definitely expect more sales. Some buyers may also critically review a product specifying the pros and cons of the product. They may also recommend methods to maximise the benefits.

Buyers who are visiting your online store for the first time do look for such detailed information about the company as well as the products. If you have customer reviews section on your page, and there is already such information available, then selling your products becomes much easier!

Help Set-up Dialogue with Customers

Customer reviews and online business is interlinked in many other ways too. On several occasions a unhappy buyer may not have the time and patience to write long emails describing the problems he/she experienced with the product bought on your online store. They may just give a low ‘star rating’ or mention a crisp ‘not happy with the product/service’ message, as they wouldn’t be expecting a call back. Following up such customer reviews, either on the review page itself or through an email/phone call, helps the buyer realise that there is someone who is ready to listen and address the issue. This can not only help solve the issue, but also instil confidence in the buyer. And all such buyers will surely recommend your store to others!

Hence, customer review section can help set-up a dialogue process with customers and boost your sales.

Pointers

So here are a few pointers to make sure customer reviews and online business improve.

Make sure you have a customer review page on your online business page. Preferably, have a product based review option as well as a general review option too.
Encourage your customers to leave a review for every product purchased on your website. This would not only boost your overall product rating, but will also make the customer feel ‘heard’.
Address any concerns raised in the customer reviews page immediately and inform the respective customer about the action taken to rectify the problems.
Have a customer loyalty program where you reward buyers who frequently leave a review for the products bought by them.

Customer reviews and online business is interlinked and having customer reviews option can boost your online business manifold. So make sure you have a customer review page included on your eCommerce website.

How Customer Reviews Help Grow my Online Business | Ecommerce Business