Why You Should Display Reviews on Your Website

Reviews and testimonials are essential to the success of your business. In a world where 84% of people trust online reviews as much as they trust their friends, it’s more important than ever for brands to focus on reviews. While Google, Yelp and other review platforms are important, it’s also important to display these customer comments on your website. Here’s why:

Build Trust and Credibility

The primary reason why every business should display reviews or testimonials on their website is to build trust and credibility among potential customers.

You may have complete confidence in your business, but put yourself in the shoes of your target audience. They have no experience with your products or brands, and they’re leery of handing over their hard-earned money to a brand they don’t know.

Reviews from satisfied customers will help convince buyers who are on the fence to pull the trigger and make a purchase. When people see other people trying and enjoying something, they are more likely to imitate that behavior and follow their lead.

Use Emotion to Persuade the Mind

Reviews do more than just market your products or services; they provide you with a chance to connect with your audience on an emotional level. Emotion is a powerful thing, especially when it comes to making a purchasing decision.

Studies have shown that people rely on their emotions, not logic, when making decisions. If you can connect with your leads on an emotional level, you will be far more likely to persuade them to make a purchase.

Reviews and testimonials can trigger emotional connections with potential customers, particularly for service-based businesses, like plumbers. For example, the plumbing company USA Pipe Repair features testimonials that talk about their promptness (important in emergency situations), professionalism and quick service. If you have a plumbing emergency, the last thing you want is to have to wait around for the plumber to arrive and then wait even longer for the job to get done. By letting customers know that they are prompt and quick to finish the job, the company uses emotion to persuade customers to call them.

People Love Stories

You can talk about your products until you’re blue in the face, but you won’t capture the attention of your potential customers the same way a good story from a customer will. Testimonials and reviews are, essentially, stories from people who had a problem and found a solution with your products.

The human brain is literally wired for stories, and we are programmed to think in terms of narrative stories. Scientists have found that when we are engrossed in a story, it can become all-consuming. We are truly immersed. We don’t daydream. We don’t get distracted.

To use stories to your brand’s advantage, it’s important to make the testimonials about your customers – not your brand. Your brand is merely the guide that stepped in to help and lead the customer to their happy ending. The goal is to get customers to envision themselves in the shoes of your customers and see themselves having a happy ending.

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