According to research conducted by Deloitte, 75% of shoppers use reviews to discover and evaluate products. From food and beverage and apparel to health and beauty and hardware, to everything in between, reviews play a crucial role in the buying process. Not only can reviews increase your sales and profits, but they can also help increase brand loyalty.

While ratings and reviews are the main online features shoppers rely on when making informed product decisions, they do not just use reviews online. The vast majority of shoppers research products online before going in-store, and over a third read a product’s reviews on their mobile phones while looking at the same product in-store.

Reviews are also proven to improve your brand’s trustworthiness, but it’s not enough to display your reviews. You need to make sure they are authentic. If shoppers suspect that a review is fake you will end up doing more damage to your brand. The age-old saying “if something seems too good to be true, it usually is”, especially applies here.

So where do you start?

Google Business Profile, previously known as Google My Business (GMB), is the starting point for any online review marketing strategy. Reviews submitted to your Google Business Profile determine your star rating that customers see in Google Search & Maps results. The total number of customer reviews, and overall star rating, is a critical factor in ranking your Google Business Profile in the local pack within search results.

But knowing that your Google profile needs reviews and actually earning them are two different things. It should go without saying that an excellent product and superb customer service are a must here. An emphasis on customer service should be part of your company culture. Customers are likelier to leave a review after a bad experience than a good one.

Here are a few suggestions for collecting reviews:

1. Include a link in your email signature.
2. Send follow-up emails after a purchase is made.
3. Add a widget to your website.
4. Run a contest or giveaway.
5. Use social media platforms, such as Twitter, Google or Facebook.
6. Give discount codes to customers who leave a review.

Happy selling!

The Publisher Management Team