You know that online reviews of your retail store are important. But did you know that the companies that best manage their online reviews actually make more money? This is part of the results of an in-depth study by Womply, which analyzed more than 38,000 retail businesses nationwide.
Read on to find out how online reviews can help you increase your retail sales.
It's easy and free to claim your entries on online review sites. Why not? Local businesses that advertise on three or more review sites earn 21% more revenue than the average, according to Womply. Conversely, retailers who do not make their listing on any rating page earn 22% less than the average store. That's a lot of money to skip such a simple step.
Start by requesting your listing on Google, Yelp, and Facebook – the main review sites. (If you're only doing one action, start with Google because those ratings appear in your Google search results.) Retailers who claim their ads on just those three sites earn an average of $ 56,000 more in sales per year than those who do not claim any of their ads.
75% of retailers never respond to their reviews. Although this does not affect profits too much (they earn 6% less than the average company), responding to valuations can have a much more positive effect. Retailers who respond to reviews – even half-yearly – achieve 19% higher annual sales.
Set up alerts when you receive a new review so you can respond quickly. It's especially important to respond quickly to negative feedback as it shows that you are paying attention to what your customers say. Be sure you do not become defensive: Excuse yourself for the problem and ask if you can contact the customer (offline) to discuss it. If you have resolved the problem, check that the examiner is ready to update his exam. This shows other potential customers that you are providing good customer service.
Avoid posting a general answer to any positive rating. If you change your wording a little, it sounds like a real person is reading the reviews.
Womply noted that more reviews lead to more revenue. The average number of reviews for a local retailer is 43. Local retailers with more than 43 reviews generate 26% more annual sales than the average retailer.
If you do not have 43 reviews yet, focus on getting that number – and then go on! Retailers with more than 200 reviews earn 46% more than average. Therefore, it is a great advantage to broaden your valuation base. Other reviews received:
Read Google tips to get more Google reviews.
It does not help much to have 200 reviews if they all date back to two years ago. "Fresh" reviews are essential to getting customers into your business. Womply defines "fresh" ratings as having been published in the last 90 days. The average retail store has five new reviews at any one time.
Once again being above average, brings you above-average sales. Retailers with more than five new reviews earn 28% more annual revenue than the average retailer, according to the study, while retailers earn 40% more with 20 or more new reviews. In contrast, companies that do not have new ratings earn 13% less than average.
To maintain these new ratings, continue to do what you do in Tip 3 for more reviews.
You might be surprised to learn that retailers with 5-star ratings actually underperformed. They even earn less than shops with 1 to 1.5 stars. Maybe customers do not believe that the 5 star ratings can be honest? Whatever the reason, the sweet spot for ratings ranges from 3.5 to 4.5 stars. Retailers rated in this area generate 13% more revenue than the average retailer.
You can not control your star rating, but if too many reviewers rave about your business, finding more reviews should help.
Now that you know that online reviews can actually bring more money to your business, are you more motivated to manage them?
No dealer? Read Womply's findings on how online reviews affect small businesses in all industries.
Image: Depositphotos.com
