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How Reviews Influence Buying Decisions

Friday, 28th October 2016

The Influence Reviews Have

Research

Research has discovered that 90% of buyers’ decisions are influenced by reviews posted online, people believe online reviews to be just as trustworthy as a personal recommendations.

90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business

The Influence They Have

When people are now looking for a specific product or service they consider the reviews from various sites such as Bizify and Google Places. When shopping, people are warier about what product they buy or service they are using, when it comes to spending money people want to make sure it’s spent wisely. By checking independent online reviews they are able to gain a greater understanding of the what is been offered and what they will receive.

If a business has 100 positive reviews and one negative review, a customer is more likely to use that business than one that has 30 negative and 40 positive. An important thing to consider with reviews is the quality of them, having all 5 star reviews is great, but if they are blank then they aren’t giving people an insight into your business. Having customer reviews that are detailed and talk about how great a product is, or the service you carried out, help the potential customer gain a greater understanding of what they are getting.

Don’t just stick to one website though, not everyone will use the same place to check reviews. Ask your customers to leave you reviews on multiple sites such as Facebook, Google, Bizify and other review sites. With reviews across multiple sites, your business will stand out for the service or products you offer on more than one platform. When people are buying if they check reviews and you have multiple good reviews across several sites then they will be more likely to purchase goods or services from you.

When you have good reviews, remember to share them everywhere, use your good reviews to your advantage; share them on social media this can help influence people to buy products or use you for a service that you have on offer. Search engines like Google, use independent directories and review sites like Bizify, to tie into your business and show the reviews you have.

Reviews pulled from websites such as Bizify

Dealing with Bad Reviews

Sadly we can’t please customers all the time and when the time comes where you might receive a negative review, then there are a few tips to help deal with the review or to help counter the review so it doesn’t affect how people perceive your products or the services you offer.

Tips for Dealing with Negative Reviews

  • Respond promptly to the review
  • Be real and admit your mistakes
  • Correct any inaccuracies or mistakes
  • Offer a solution to the problem if it’s warranted
  • Ask customers who have received a good experience to share their thoughts
  • Take the issue offline (ring or email the customer)
  • Always be polite even when it’s negative
  • For reviews that aren’t genuine request for the service to remove them
  • 1 negative in 50 positive reviews can be good, as it makes a more real impression overall

Be proud of the services or products you offer and encourage customers to leave reviews on various sites such as Google or Bizify.

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