Why Your Internet Marketing Agency Should Encourage Customer Reviews

While the old adage that the customer is always right may not be completely correct, the customer does hold the keys to the way others see you, and is therefore always seen as being right. Nowhere does this hold truer than when it comes to your ecommerce site and customer reviews. Your internet marketing agency should understand this and work with you to develop space for such reviews.

The internet is a space of competing contradictions. While more people than ever before are using ecommerce sites created by excellent web marketing agencies, to buy a wide range of goods and services, mistrust of new sites is on the increase. If customers don’t trust you, they don’t part with their hard-earned money. Simply having customer reviews on your website increases your sales by around 20%. Hiring an internet marketing agency that understands this, and that can make the most of your customer reviews is essential. One of the reasons why it is some important is because when your customers buy online they are unable to try, or even really see the product beforehand, they do not have the kinaesthetic experience that they would have in a bricks and mortar shop. Your internet marketing consultant should recognise that reviews from previous, and returning customers, provide a viable alternative. The previous customer becomes the expert, the guide to what is trustworthy and what is not. This provides peace of mind, and aids in moving them through the buying cycle, in the same way that a personal recommendation from another shopper standing next to them in a shop would.

Providing space for customers to leave feedback offers more than just this however. SEM Websites that encourage customer reviews, and publish such reviews – positive and the not so positive, also benefit from higher rankings on search engines. Changes to algorithms on the most popular search engines take notice not only of what a business says about itself, but also of what its customers are saying. While this makes it tempting for businesses, and the online marketing agency that supports them, to remove negative, or less than positive reviews, this is a mistake. A customer is more likely to believe the authenticity of a site where not everything is perfect and 5 stars are given by every customer. This type of user generated content supports your website and aids it in gaining more unique visitors, further boosting your SEO. But, it’s not just about reviews on your own site. It is also about encouraging your customers to leave feedback on independent review sites. Reviews on these sites demonstrate your reliability and in turn reduce bounce rates and increase conversion rates. Such reviews on third party independent site also provide you and your marketing agency online to engage more with your customers and create greater customer focused branding. This is one of the many benefits of publishing negative reviews.

A company that published negative reviews, acts on the concerns and replies publicly to state the issue has been solved, develops even greater trust from its customers. An excellent internet marketing agency will see the value of these reviews and be able to develop your approach accordingly, making the most of your website and associated business.