It’s easy to believe that as a retailer, you shouldn’t have to worry about online reviews. After all, the products should already speak for themselves and all clients have to do is make a purchase. You may even believe a physical location should get by without a strong online presence.
As a company with so much knowledge of reviews and online reputation, we can tell you that all businesses need to worry about reviews. Retailers may sell products they did not manufacture, offer services that speak for themselves, or use a physical location, but you still have competitors who are fellow retailers. Word of mouth and taking charge of their reputation helps them stay ahead.
Reviews equal perceptions of your business. These are important to:
Improve visibility both online and for your retail locations
Online reviews help you maximize SEO for search engines. This puts you in the right place at the right time, so clients can see you. When customers leave reviews, they unconsciously use vital keywords in a natural order. So, when potential clients look around, they can find your business easily.
Monitor and measure performance
A review is simply what a customer thinks of your service and/or products. Their kind or harsh words can provide valuable insight into what you need to improve or what you need to keep doing. It helps you measure and monitor performance over time and in real-time.
Increase engagement
Reviews are a passive form of communication that helps to humanize your business. It encourages others to buy and leave their reviews as well.
A great resource
You might not have realized that reviews can be pooled together and used as a study group. You can analyze overall experience, identify issues, and opportunities. You can see if your customers want something more from you or less.
A better reputation means more sales
Your reputation is spread across different touchpoints starting with reviews to social media pages, and other web pages. Most times there is only so much you can control. A lot of discussions about your business may take place outside all your safe practices and reputation management strategies.
The best solution is to put in consistent and effective efforts to the areas you can control.
Encourage clients to leave positive reviews after their purchase or tell a friend. Make it a priority to respond and evaluate when they leave feedback. Taking action helps to differentiate your retail business from others. This, in turn, leads to higher revenue.
If you can’t sell a better product, then offer better customer service/experience. Make purchases easier or faster. Improve the quality of service or methods you use. Establish a brand to stand out. These changes might be all you need to drive sales and revenue higher as a retailer.
