Why are product reviews so important? 

As we all know, reputation is everything. Especially in the e-commerce world. We have become reliant on product reviews as both business owners and customers. As we move forward in the 21st century, there are less and less brick-and-mortar stores, and more and more online businesses. So, it should follow suit that you would not ask your neighbor if the new business on the corner is any good, but you would look online for social proof if the business was worth checking out.

Creating Social Proof is Key

Because this is how you build trust in your customers, how you gain sales and garner excitement and a following for a specific product. Product reviews are not only the most useful way to eliminate shoppers’ concerns regarding a product, but also the best way to improve customer trust and loyalty. Product reviews influence a majority of the people in their purchase.

The importance of product reviews can be understood by the fact that 90% of customers read online reviews before visiting a business. And 88% of customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. (Invesp)

How do you get customer reviews? Keep in simple. Make the process seamless. If your customer can easily leave a review, they are more likely to. Did you know that 70% of all customers will leave a review if asked, according to Brightlocal? That is a huge percentage! So, with that knowledge in mind, start by asking (never assume your customers, even your most loyal customers will automatically leave you a review). Use an app that makes leaving reviews easy as well. Come up with bright and friendly language to express your interest in having satisfied customers.

You can then use these reviews as social proof. What is social proof exactly? Social proof, first coined by Robert Cialdini, refers to the conformity of people to the behavior of what others are doing or have done. In each situation, when a person cannot determine the right behavior, they are more likely to rely on the knowledge of other people.

The more people who have taken a specific action, or the stronger their endorsements, the more likely others are to follow suit. Relying on other people’s previous or current action is the assumption that other people who have faced the same situation have better knowledge. Social proof is a great tool for enhancing the direction of your business. There are several different ways to leverage social proof to help you stand out in the marketplace, as cited in this article. Just a few examples are using these reviews on your landing page, header section, use notifications, and post reviews on social media.

Reviews are a great form of social proof. And social proof is one of the critical cornerstones to success in ecommerce, no matter whether you’re offering a product or service. The pull of peer influence is clear: people tend to do the things that others are doing.

Social proof is just one psychological marketing technique, and when you display client- or user-generated content on your site, your brand earns authenticity and authority, which will help you attract new clients and ultimately grow your business. It’s not you who promotes your service, but your customers, so let them do the talking for you. Customers ‌rely on these reviews, they take pride in writing, reading and sharing reviews. This has become a source of truth for many customers and this is why customers love reviews.