Everybody cares about what other people think – a fact particularly consistent with business.
A recent article in the Entrepreneur Daily Dose entitled Cultivate Your Online Reputation highlighted the importance of customer feedback and concluded that posted comments can help a business grow.
RatePoint, a company that provides businesses with online reputation management tools, recently conducted a survey to ascertain the importance of customer feedback in the healthy progression of a firm's online value.
Figures indicated that a quarter of businesses felt online reviews aided their businesses advancement, while only four per cent suggested that feedback offered online was detrimental.
RatePoint revealed that businesses which included reviews on their website were six times more likely to experience growth, particularly if the testimonials left were of a positive nature.
According to Neal Creighton, chief executive of Ratepoint, customer reviews are the most important acquisition and retention tool currently on the internet.
He said: "The statistic is that more than 70 percent of consumers look for reviews and the number should probably be higher than that.
"If people read credible reviews about your company and they're positive, you will sell more. And if you collect negative reviews, and try to solve the complaints, you will retain more customers."
It is this retention of business that should be of particular interest to businesses unsure of the benefits of using a consumer review system.
In an ever-increasing online market place, consumers want to know they are purchasing quality but also remain assured of the longevity of that quality and the company behind it.
A business that listens to its customers' negative feedback as well as the positive is far more likely to retain consumers' custom; it's essentially a matter of trust.
Mr Creighton said: "[One particular company] started collecting data from their customers, learning what they were doing wrong, what they were doing well, and publishing that feedback directly on their website.
"It [also] optimized their search position in Google, because Google loves fresh content, and if you have new reviews, people will end up on your website."
This is perhaps the most important benefit. Search Engine Optimization is such a key element of online business today that anyway of maximising your company's position should be adopted.
Adopt the review system and watch that traffic role in.
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