Exploring the role of customer reviews in driving business growth

Abstract

Given the ubiquity of social media platforms and review sites, the popularity of online reviews has grown sharply over the past few years. These reviews have proven to help customers decide where to buy, where to eat and where to travel. Many studies have, actually, reported that up to 80% of customers trust these online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Therefore, our objective in this paper is to explore the business opportunities of using this valuable customer feedback. In this vein, it has been revealed that these reviews can boost business growth in a variety of ways. In fact, they help businesses gain invaluable insights on how customers perceive their products and services and enable them to identify areas for improvement. Using online customer reviews can also contribute in building branding, engagement, trust and connection between the business and its current and prospective customers. Moreover, since customer reviews rank high as important drivers of Search Engine Optimization, they can improve business online rankings. Taking into account all these benefits, we strongly believe that an effective use of customer reviews will not only enhance a business online reputation and credibility but will also boost its sales and revenue.