The overwhelming majority of buyers look online before making a purchase decision. 93% of consumers say online reviews have an impact on their purchase decisions. Business reviews play a significant role in providing unbiased information about a business and can influence buyers in a variety of ways.
Obviously, you want positive reviews that demonstrate to potential customers that your products or services are of high quality. However, you can have a long list of positive reviews, but if they aren’t recent, they may be discounted.
According to the BrightLocal Consumer Review Survey, 69% of consumers say that a review left within the past three months has the biggest impact on people’s decision to use a business. Further, 26% say they trust reviews the most when written within the last month and 22% say reviews are only relevant if they are from the past two weeks.
Clearly, recency is important.
It makes sense, especially in light of the uncertain conditions we’ve all dealt with over the past few years. A company may have struggled during the pandemic but is doing fine now. Conversely, organizations may have had a stellar reputation in the past, but have gone downhill recently.
A study published in Total Retail found that recency can even overcome volume. Nearly two-thirds of consumers said they would be more likely to buy a product that has fewer but more recent reviews vs. products with a high volume of reviews that were published more than three months ago.
Recency is even more important when acquiring new customers. 86% said the recency of reviews is crucial when they haven’t purchased a product from a brand previously.
The Benefits of Recent Reviews
Reviews are a snapshot of service or quality at any particular time and, as we know, things can change over time. So, consumers want the most recent reviews to determine the current state of things.
The benefits of maintaining recent reviews include trust, relevance, and rankings.
Trust
A consistent flow of reviews sends several important signals. It tells customers that your products or services are being consumed and indicates a level of quality. When these reviews are consistent and recent, it builds trust in the accuracy of the reviews.
91% of people think reviews are important enough to sway their purchasing decision.
Relevance
Hundreds of positive reviews for a restaurant, for example, might be powerful. However, if reviews within the past month are all negative, it can indicate a downward trend in service and make a significant difference in someone’s decision on where to go for dinner.
The same applies to B2B and product reviews.
Gartner’s 2022 Global Software Buyer’s Trend Survey revealed that more people trusted software ratings and review sites than vendor websites, sales reps, or webinars.
Ownership, staffing, and processes can change quickly in business. Customers want to know how your business operates now.
Brand Awareness and Lead Generation
With better SEO, companies benefit from increased brand awareness. This makes it easier to influence consumers and has a compound effect. Highly ranked businesses on search are generally viewed as more favorable by searchers. Recent, positive reviews make it easier to drive consumers to landing pages or enter the marketing funnel.
Differentiate Yourself from Competitors
If you’re comparing two companies and one has plenty of recent, enthusiastic buyers while the other hasn’t had any activity in several months, which do you think is likely to make a better impression? When you have recent reviews, it indicates a higher level of activity. If more people are buying and posting reviews most recently, it shows you have a continuing customer base.
This can help differentiate you from your competitors, allowing you to position yourself as a thriving company rather than a stale one. By consistently showing proof that you deliver high-quality products and services, you are setting yourself apart from others.
People tend to trust reviews as unbiased. Recency validates your popularity and quality.
Improve Conversion Rates
Products with reviews convert at a significantly higher level. A study by Medill Spiegel Research Center at Northwestern University uncovered that products with reviews can increase conversion rates between 120% and 270%.
Online Rankings
Along with star ratings, search and social algorithms also measure recency and consistency as part of their formula for ranking businesses. Search engines want to deliver the best answers to searchers’ queries. They also know that people want to know how a business is performing now, so recency may be playing a role in search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine results page (SERPs) rankings.
Making Reviews Work for You
87% of people have either written reviews or say they are willing to review a business. The number one reason they say they create reviews is to help others when making decisions. User reviews provide social proof that products or services have been put to the test by real consumers and approved by others. It helps take the risk out of making a purchase decision.
So, how do you keep a steady stream of reviews flowing? Here are a few tips to frame your review strategy.
Consistently Ask for Reviews
One of the best — and easiest — ways to maintain a consistent supply of online reviews is to ask for them. If you’re not asking your customers to provide reviews of your business, you’re missing a big opportunity.
Strategies to solicit reviews include:
Email outreach
According to a study by eCommerce Fastlane, nearly 80% of all customer reviews are generated from email requests sent to customers after a purchase.
Website solicitation
Showcase reviews on your website and encourage customers to add their reviews.
Automated review gathering tools
Automate the collection of reviews. For example, Sitejabber offers a suite of tools to collect authentic reviews from your customers.
Monitoring for recency
If you find that recent reviews have slowed, it may be time to launch a new review generation campaign.
One important thing to note, however, is that you should be careful about offering incentives to your customers for leaving reviews. Some platforms prohibit this practice. You’ll want to make sure you comply with the terms of the platform you’re using.
Ensure Authenticity
Buyers today are much savvier about online activity. They can spot a fake or attempt to manipulate reviews. For example, if businesses suddenly get a huge influx of positive reviews only for a very short period, many will assume the reviews are fake. A steady stream of reviews over time that are recent is your best strategy.
A Sitejabber survey showed the top factor for consumers when looking at reviews is legitimacy. When consumers feel a review is authentic, it carries more weight. The next most important thing is recency.
Respond to Reviews
You also need to keep an eye on reviews as they come in. Thanking customers for positive reviews shows you pay attention to what people are saying about your products and services and that you are interested in maintaining quality.
At the same time, it’s important to address poor reviews promptly.
Bad reviews aren’t necessarily bad for business. This may seem counterintuitive, but a polite and thoughtful response lets others know you take complaints seriously. Negative reviews can be turned into a positive if businesses respond properly. When consumers see that you take complaints seriously, work to resolve them, and make things right, it can improve trust. Every company makes mistakes from time to time. What sets great businesses apart from others is recognizing when there are issues and taking steps to overcome them.
At the same time, you’re signaling to others that you will work to resolve any issues they have. You also have the opportunity to turn customers around. One study showed that 95% of unhappy customers are willing to return if a company solves an issue quickly and efficiently.
Transparency goes a long way to establishing trust.
Review Strategy: Recency Matters
The best strategy for reviews is to maintain a steady flow of reviews over time. This demonstrates to potential customers that quality and service are at a consistently high level.
Recent reviews will carry more weight than others as they indicate your current situation. As such, it’s important to focus on ensuring a consistent stream of recent reviews.
