In this post, I’d like to give you a little information about statistics on customer reviews. These days it seems as though business survives or fails based on their reviews, and customers play a large part in what gets reviewed.
Customer Reviews are becoming increasingly important to the success of businesses. This is nothing new, nearly ten years ago, on October 7th 2012, Consumer Reports released a report that revealed that companies with higher ratings have increased sales by 13% on average. And customers want great customer service as well as low prices.
More recently, another study conducted by Dimensional Research found that more than 50% of customers say their buying decisions are influenced by online reviews from other consumers.
So the question is, how do you get those great reviews from your customers? And what should you do if your customer service is not up to par? Let’s take a look at the statistics:
A study done by GetFiveStars.com revealed that 98% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, and 89% of consumers believe that positive reviews directly impact the buying decisions of other buyers. In addition, 64% of customers who’ve had a bad experience with a business will tell at least five to six people about it, compared to just 4% who will share positive experiences.
Email marketing provider GetResponse reports that about 65% of shoppers read online reviews for their purchases before deciding which product to buy, and 64% consult online reviews after making their purchase.
And here’s a more recent survey from Consumer Reports that looks at the impact of good and bad reviews on sales. It reveals that every 10% increase in one star rating for a business is associated with an increase of about $4,800 in annual revenue. And every 10% decrease in star ratings is associated with an average revenue loss of $17,000. Businesses that get their negative reviews fixed are even able to recover some sales after the negative reviews have been removed (on average about 15%).
Your customers want great customer service. In the words of Annette Simmons, “NOBODY BUYS FOR PRICE ALONE!” If your prices are higher than your competitors and you’re not delivering amazing customer service, you’re going to lose to a competitor who does.
In fact, statistics show that 67% of consumers say great customer service is more important than price when it comes to selecting a product or company to do business with. And 76% of customers have stopped doing business with a company due to bad customer service.
But here’s where it gets interesting… Customers are no longer willing to forgive and forget poor customer service experiences if they can publish their grievances online. So they’ll drive out of town to do business with a competitor with great customer service before taking their business elsewhere.
This year, US consumers plan to spend close to $300 BILLION online, up nearly 15% from 2012 (EMarketer). So, the time has come for your business to focus on customer experience. You can ignore the statistics and lose sales, or you can focus on delivering an amazing experience and gain customers for life.
There are a few different ways you can go about this. For one, you could enlist the help of a customer happiness specialist. But even before that, it’s important to be honest with yourself and your company. Are you already doing everything in your power to give your customers an amazing experience? If not, there’s no time like the present to change that.
If you’re in business because you have a passion for helping people and offering great service, then it shouldn’t be too difficult for you to become one of the most reviewed businesses on Yelp, Google, and other review sites. Your customers will love you for it, and you can use that to your advantage when it comes to getting your business higher ratings.
Customer Reviews not only increase revenues and provide a positive brand experience, they are also great feedback to use when revamping or expanding your business. Businesses who follow up excellent reviews with excellence in their service will see the results in a positive way.
The statistics are clear: many businesses are losing out on sales because they’re offering bad customer service, either by not listening to the reviews customers have written, or through poor handling of shipping products.
The good news is that the statistics show that it is possible to recover from bad reviews by making the necessary changes to improve your business. So, with all this in mind, take a look at your business and see where you can make improvements.
Knowledge is power – but only if you actually use it! Will you take immediate action and start implementing what you just learned?