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Make customer ratings part of company’s revenue-generation strategy
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A negative review could cost a firm as many as 30 customers
Online customer reviews can usher in major opportunities for revenue growth, making it imperative for companies to pay them the necessary attention they deserve, said Stefan Toubia, Founder and CEO of Raayi.
Raayi, the Arabic word for ‘my opinion, is the UAE’s first comprehensive business reviews application. The company aims to transform the way consumers make purchasing decisions whilst supporting businesses in better engaging with their customer base and managing their reputations.
Toubia stressed that brands should leverage the influence of high customer ratings as part of their revenue-generation strategies. However, the Raayi executive also cautioned that just as an excellent rating could help increase the bottom line, a low customer score could have a negative impact on the business.
“Studies show that about 95% of customers turn to reviews before making a purchase. The number is simply too high to be ignored or dismissed,” Toubia said. “If anything, it tells us that customers today have become more empowered, demanding greater value for money”.
Available figures revealed that a single negative review could cost a company as many as 30 customers. Studies also revealed that each additional star rating correlates to about a 5-9% increase in revenue.
Furthermore, numbers showed that online shoppers specifically would likely spend 31% more on a business with “excellent” reviews, and 92% of them would choose a local business as long as it has a 4-star rating.
During this COVID-19 pandemic, more and more customers have been consulting previous customer experiences of products or services through online reviews.
According to the results of the Local Consumer Review Survey by Bright Local, about 31% of customers said that they had read more reviews in the past year due to the pandemic.
Toubia emphasized that customer reviews are only going to gain strength during this pandemic and its aftermath. It is for this reason that businesses should pay more attention to integrating customer feedback into their processes to score and sustain an “excellent” customer rating.