That's Why Customer Reviews Are So Important for Businesses

1. What are customer reviews?
2. Why are customer reviews important for businesses?
3. Why should companies check their customer reviews before they are published?
4. What does a good customer review look like? What information should it contain?
5. HolidayCheck review example (source: holidaycheck.de)
6. HolidayCheck review example on usability (source: Holidaycheck.de)
7. .
8. Through a phone call, many issues can usually be resolved more quickly and effectively, especially when the situation is already very complicated. This avoids further publicly visible conversation and the interference of other users.
9. provide you with response templates that can be automated. However, you should only use automated responses for negative reviews occasionally. They could anger your customers even more. A personalized response is the better remedy here.
10. It is smarter to invest your resources in collecting real customer reviews and in a way to handle and utilize them efficiently. You can find appropriate software for these tasks further below.
11. You can also use the relationships with your customers and their reviews in the long term for your product development. The longer and more intensively you communicate with your customers, the less likely it is that your product development will fail. Also, the timing is important. By involving your customers in the early stages, you can get your services much more efficiently to the desired point.
12. Once you have diligently collected customer reviews, it is time to present them in a targeted way. Systematically recorded reviews already have the advantage that they can be integrated automatically in product advertisements or suitable social media posts. Many shop systems also offer their own functions for this or make them available in the form of plugins.
13. Development or control of customer loyalty programs
14. .

Did you know that 90% of consumers read online reviews and are influenced by them? This and similar facts are corroborated by a study conducted by Spendid Research GmbH in 2019. What has happened since then? All industries or at least their touchpoints have moved even further into the virtual existence. The importance of customer reviews has certainly not diminished. Here you can learn how you too can drive the success of your company with it.

What are customer reviews?

What does a product offer, does it keep its promises and how does it compare with similar goods? Online reviews provide exactly these answers and usually go into much more detail than traditional information provided by the manufacturers.

In addition to simple thumb rating, their form can also be much longer. Text reviews, supported by photos or videos, are also common and particularly useful as feedback.

OMR review example (source: OMR Reviews)

Why are customer reviews important for businesses?

Customer reviews affect the attractiveness of your business and increase the sales of your products. Evidence for this includes how you personally handle online shopping.

You can't touch and try out the product, but you can research how it's received by its new owners. Therefore, you browse through a search engine, shop or review platform to find the most precise answers to your own requirements. Customer reviews are therefore a certain replacement for the look & feel.

And this is exactly what all the studies dealing with this topic prove. According to a survey by Splendid Research GmbH from 2019, 74.5% of users consider customer reviews to be important. Above all, customer comments in text form, along with product photos, help in making purchase decisions.

This means for you that 7 out of 10 people first research your company, your products, services or services in the available reviews before making a purchase. Splendid Research Institute surveyed 1,503 people from Germany between the ages of 18 and 69 for this purpose. The survey period was 12th to 21st December 2018.

Splendid Statistic (Source: https://www.splendid-research.com/)

Similar studies provide further results that you as a business owner can't ignore. These include the finding that customers trust online reviews more than personal recommendations from friends or family members. It has also been shown that satisfied customers write reviews more often than dissatisfied ones. This is according to the Capterra study from April 2022, with 603 consumers from Germany

Capterra Statistics

Reviews are a highly effective tool for sales success, which, according to this study, work much better than the reputation of a brand, or even videos and slogans provided by the company itself.

Customer feedback is also like a Product test, which proves to you whether the functionality of your goods also holds up in practice

Especially if a review contains a lot of criticism, you should not ignore this information. Even better, you seek direct contact with the customers. Because even if a product does not meet or is not yet meeting the expectations of your target group, this excuse does not apply to your service. In this way you do not leave the Customer Experience behind in this respect.

And there is another point you should consider. Customer reviews are considered by Google as user-generated content that improves the visibility of your company and your shop.

Why should companies check their customer reviews before they are published?

If you run your own online shop, then as of 28th May 2022 you are obliged to verify the authenticity of customer reviews. The legal basis for this is the Omnibus Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/2161) as an initiative against fake customer reviews.

The regulation therefore wants to ensure that as an online shop operator you only display the reviews that come from real customers. So customers who have actually bought from you and are therefore able to rate a product. As a business owner, you also have the task of marking verified reviews or making your checking process transparent.

Customer reviews done via “third parties” are not affected by this regulation. This refers to review portals that you do not operate yourself, for example Amazon, Etsy or Google.

Example of a verified purchase on Amazon (source: Amazon.de)

Example of a verified purchase on Zalando (source: Zalando.de)

What does a good customer review look like? What information should it contain?

Customer reviews are particularly useful when they provide detailed and constructive feedback. From the point of view of disappointed customers, this is not always easy, which is why you need to be able to deal with the subjective view of your goods.

Using the following W-questions, you can determine how high-quality a review is. Of course, the more of these questions are answered, the better.

• What did the customer like or dislike about working with you?
• How did the customer experience the handling of the purchase?
• How were the customer's expectations met?
• What factors were decisive in buying the product?
• What was particularly liked and what was not?
• Which areas could still be optimized?

There are different structures of customer reviews. Both marketplaces and integrable E-commerce solutions usually use star scales in combination with a text field for as free an expression as possible. Thumb ratings as a tendency rating are also common and as feedback particularly useful:

“Like it” or “Don’t like it”.

As noted before, the more details a review gives, the better it is to process, for you and all other readers.

Which format you provide depends heavily on the goods you offer. Thumb ratings, for example, are less suitable for complex products. Your target group does not get to know why a product was rated with the “thumb down”. Was the price too high? Was it delivered too late or not at all?

The advantage of thumb reviews is that they can be given quickly and can be easily obtained accordingly. The tendency rating also works very well for platforms like Netflix and YouTube. We also utilize the following format to solicit a review for our articles:

OMR review example

And here's an example of a very detailed customer feedback. Clearly, this feedback is worth at least as much to the readers as the provider's information, in this case the hotelier's.

HolidayCheck review example (source: holidaycheck.de)

Where can companies collect customer reviews?

There are several ways for dealers to receive customer reviews. Try to consider them all, if possible, because in practice, the more reviews you can already show, the easier it is to generate new ones.

• Here are some methods: Review software
• like Trustpilot, Retamo, Trusted Shops, Reviews.io and many more help you manage reviews and interact with your customers. With their help, your customers can give text and video reviews and you can usually check and publish them across platforms.You can also use reviews on Market Places, if you offer your products there for sale. Sales platforms like Amazon

, for instance, would never have become so successful without their review model. Ebay, Etsy, Rakuten, Otto, AliExpress and many others, provide you with the same principle. Otto review example

• (Source: otto.de)Also, Google, offers a simple way to link any kind of review with your Google Business Profile (formerly: Google My Business)

. Using rich snippets, you can display these with organic search results and motivate your users to write new reviews.

• Google review example (source: Google.com)Also utilize Social Media, because people are used to lingering long and often and to voice their opinions. But don’t stay passive, ask for feedback, install surveys

, or more complex customer interviews.

• Facebook review example (source: Facebook.com)

Depending on the industry, you can use other portals. Well-known examples in tourism are HolidayCheck, TripAdvisor and Booking. When looking for a restaurant, your target group looks on Quandoo or Yelp. Craftsmen, consultants and service providers are rated on golocal, Anwalt.de, MyHammer or Houzz.

• Booking review example (source: Booking.com)What's most important for you and your customers, however, are the review options on your website. If you give them the option to rate or comment

directly, you reflect the common principles of the participative web, promote trust and facilitate purchase decisions.

Zalando Review Example (source: Zalando.com)

For all the methods mentioned, it is also important to make it as easy as possible for your customers to actually use them. Simple and user-friendly processes are just as important to receive as much feedback as possible.

HolidayCheck review example on usability (source: Holidaycheck.de)

How can customer reviews be used as a marketing tool to win new customers and strengthen customer loyalty?

Customer reviews are an effective tool for your marketing to strategically increase your turnover. Positive customer comments also help you highlight the credibility of your labels and build customer trust.

By evaluating the reviews of your customers, you will find out which areas can be improved. Aspects of the product or services that are perhaps already very well received, are maybe even worth a further investment. Complete reorientations and adapted USPs are also possible.You strengthen the customer loyalty

, especially when you respond to your customers' feedback and thus prove that their opinions and needs are important to you. You should also definitely evaluate and answer the mentioned negative comments. This gives you a chance to maintain or regain the loyalty of your customers.Last but not least, customer reviews are usually also links to your website, or your online shop. Besides being a source of customer acquisition, they are an important mechanism for search engine optimization

.

How can companies respond to negative customer reviews and turn them into positive experiences?

You have received a negative review? It happens. What is important is that you respond professionally and are as open as possible in your reply to the review. Your target audience is reading along. A negative review that is left unanswered is therefore much worse than the criticism itself. Take the review very seriously and make the best of it.

• Here are some tips for creating a positive experience with your customers despite a bad review:
• Remain friendly and aware of the impact of your words, even if the review is the exact opposite of that
• Take the review as an opportunity for improvements and show this attitude in your interaction with customers
• If the poor review was perhaps not justified at all, you have the opportunity to correct the misunderstanding
• If you, your colleagues or employees made a mistake, then apologize for it. Usually, your honesty will stick in the minds of your customers and they will thank you by making another purchase
• If you have the possibility to rectify the mistake, a free replacement of faulty goods, discounts and vouchers for the next purchase are popular options
• Respond as quickly as possible. The longer your customer doesn't feel heard, the worse their attitude towards your business will be

Through a phone call, many issues can usually be resolved more quickly and effectively, especially when the situation is already very complicated. This avoids further publicly visible conversation and the interference of other users.

Should companies generally respond to customer reviews?

Responding to your customer reviews can be very tedious, but it should be done as completely as possible, especially for negative reviews. If you don't do this, it can be seen as a sign that you aren't interested in your customer's satisfaction. Therefore, answer as many customer reviews as possible to create positive impressions and strengthen your image.

For positive reviews, you can be a bit more relaxed. You should especially thank when the customer comment stands out because of its content, form or length, and is therefore of special value for subsequent readers. Incidentally, this is why reviews can also be rated.

Helpful review from Amazon (source: Amazon.de)Do you need support in answering your reviews? Many Review Tools

provide you with response templates that can be automated. However, you should only use automated responses for negative reviews occasionally. They could anger your customers even more. A personalized response is the better remedy here.

Is it advisable for companies to buy customer reviews?

Buying customer reviews sounds tempting, but it's not advisable. If purchased reviews are well done, you might not even be able to distinguish them from the “natural” ones anymore. The whole mechanism becomes worthless to you. If their quality is poor, your customers will also realize this. A high image damage and even legal consequences or warnings are the result.

• The new EU Omnibus Directive defines two rules for this:
• Consumer reviews must first be checked to be displayed as such

Reviews and recommendations may not be faked or commissioned

It is smarter to invest your resources in collecting real customer reviews and in a way to handle and utilize them efficiently. You can find appropriate software for these tasks further below.

How can customer reviews be included in product and service development?

By collecting and analyzing the feedback from your customers, you can identify areas that need improvement. If you invest in the mentioned aspects, you will meet the wishes of your target group even more accurately.

You can also actively collect required feedback through targeted customer surveys in order to align your products and services accordingly.

You can also use the relationships with your customers and their reviews in the long term for your product development. The longer and more intensively you communicate with your customers, the less likely it is that your product development will fail. Also, the timing is important. By involving your customers in the early stages, you can get your services much more efficiently to the desired point.

How can customer reviews be integrated in E-commerce websites and on social platforms?With the help of special Review Tools

, you can integrate customer reviews where you want them. Retamo, Loox, Trustpilot and many others enable you to share feedback specifically on social media, your own or external E-commerce platforms.Alternatively, you can create your own review forms, and link to them via e-mail, app or social media. When a user buys a product, you can send the link specifically to him or her. Email automation systems, or WhatsApp marketing systems

, help you to map these processes.

Once you have diligently collected customer reviews, it is time to present them in a targeted way. Systematically recorded reviews already have the advantage that they can be integrated automatically in product advertisements or suitable social media posts. Many shop systems also offer their own functions for this or make them available in the form of plugins.

Over which review platforms and review management software can companies collect customer reviews?

Mentioned several times, we would now like to elaborate on the review platforms that optimally support your feedback management. In the reviews on OMR Reviews, you can use real reviews here and now to find the optimal software for your review management.In addition to comprehensive reviews and performance overviews, we also provide you with pricing information from the manufacturers. For a practical test, you can usually arrange a demo or get the tool for a test period free of charge. More review software can also be found in our software category: Review Management Tools

.

You can use the following list as a guide when viewing the tools.

• Good software should ideally have many of these functions:
• Collect, manage, and analyze customer feedback
• Technical and manual measures to verify reviews
• Share and publish customer reviews on websites and external platforms
• Clear administration through practical dashboards
• Support at customer surveys and feedback loops

Development or control of customer loyalty programs

Review Management Software

Superchat

Retamo

REVIEWS.io

Trustpilot

Webbosaurus

ProvenExpert

Trusted Shops

Yotpo

ratedo

Sitejabber

These systems provide you full support:If you want to go a step further and find out how much your customers are worth now, you will find intensive support in our article Customer Reviews, . We show you methods and criteria to determine your customer scoring and how to implement it using CRM systems

.

Conclusion: Let the facts speak for you or work on them

There are many reasons why customer reviews are important for your business. Good comments help your target audience orient themselves, support their decision-making process and establish a loyal connection to your business. They show you what you are already doing right.