Online reviews accompany almost any product, business and service today.

While it’s true that some reviews online are fake and combating that is something many companies are working on, it doesn’t mean that online reviews are something to avoid…

It’s actually the complete opposite.

Many people use online reviews when considering purchasing something online, whether that’s a particular product or service. In fact, no matter how small or large the purchase, people are looking for the confidence that it’s a wise investment.

Reviews are an undeniable force today – and if you’re not looking to build your bank of online reviews, you might be missing a trick.

According to the Local Consumer Review Study 2024, 49% of customers trust an online review as much as a personal recommendation.

We know how powerful a personal recommendation is, which shows just how crucial online reviews are in the minds of your customers.

The fake reviews are relevant here, too.

Because everything we do as customers online is about building trust with the brand or person we’re buying from. Fake reviews are something we’re all aware of, which means it’s even more important that genuine and verified reviews are prominent.

Photos are a great way to verify a review – if someone’s had a great experience with you, a photo of the job you’ve done or the product they’ve purchased can speak a thousand words.

The digital world today is vast and cumbersome at times and if you’ve ever tried to purchase anything, you’ll know that you can quickly become bombarded with a million and one choices.

Differentiating between them can come down to the smallest of things – and trust is perhaps the biggest one.

All things being equal, people will buy from their friends.

That’s true but what it also tells us is that by building trust, we can establish a relationship with customers and potential customers that build familiarity.

There will be certain products you only buy from specific places because you’ve done so for a long time, and you know the quality is what you’re looking for. It’s about replicating that exact relationship with your potential customers…

And that’s where online reviews can do a lot of the hard work for you.

If a friend recommends a film, you’re more likely to watch it than if they’d never mentioned it.

After all, they’re risking their credibility by recommending something to you, which they’d only do if they believed it was something you’d really enjoy.

It’s the same with online reviews.

People will only write online reviews if they’ve had a strong experience one way or the other with you. There are not many people who will write a review from an experience that met their expectations…

Which is why reviews can often veer one way or the other – and as customers, we all recognise that is the reality with online reviews and testimonials.

Genuine reviews act as a bridge between your business and the people looking for your products or services, and that can be priceless.

Legitimacy can be hard to come by in a world saturated with marketing and advertising messages. You only have to search for anything online to be met with sponsored results, targeted adverts and content that isn’t organic.

To combat that, authenticity through real people leaving real reviews can be a tonic to customers.

Crucially, though, the best reviews go beyond the simple ‘I liked this product, 5 stars’ type reviews. The real golden nuggets are the reviews that explain exactly why they’re rating you 5 stars, because of the excellent service you delivered, the competitive price, the friendliness throughout the process or because the product solved specific problems for them.

That reassurance can be the difference between someone deciding to buy or not.

If you’ve decided that reviews are something you want to add to your arsenal, that’s a great start. But the next question is: how do you generate online reviews?

While most people won’t leave reviews, some will. Reminding customers to review you in a follow-up message or email can be a great way to softly ask for a review in a way that isn’t intrusive.

Many will be put off if they receive email after email asking for reviews, so balance is key.

But here are a few tips to help get your customers to leave invaluable online reviews:

• Don’t be afraid to ask for reviews! Follow up, include links in marketing emails and on your website
• Share reviews in your marketing content and on social media where relevant – if it’s a great review, shout about it!
• Build authenticity – reach out to any loyal customers specifically and ask if they’d be willing to leave a review
• Consider incentives – it might be that you offer a reward or entry to a prize draw for leaving a review, but don’t overstretch your offer, a small incentive is more than enough

If you’re wondering whether you should be embracing online reviews or not despite fears of fake reviews, we’d very much advocate going for it.

You can choose where you want your reviews to sit depending on where your customers come from – it might be Facebook, Google, TrustPilot or many other places.

And it might be ALL of the above.

The people who rely on reviews are the ones who matter most here. Your potential customers might simply need that extra level of trust and reassurance that online reviews can provide to get them over the line.