The other night at a family dinner, a 12-year-old laughed at me for using Facebook.
“That’s for old people,” he said.
Then I went on to regale him with stories of “the dial-up modem” and AOL instant messenger.
He was very confused.
It got me thinking that FB marketing — which seems to be all the rage now in our little online business world — could be going out the door faster than we think.
And I started thinking of other ways the world is changing. And how us marketers/business owners need to stay ahead of the curve so we’re not left behind.
Then I realized something:
When was the last time you saw a movie without first reading the reviews? Or hearing what a friend you trust thought about it?
How often to you eat in a new restaurant without checking the ratings?
How often do you check out Amazon reviews before buying something? And how often do seeing those scores impact what you buy? (For me it’s “always.”)
It’s become a natural step in the buying process to scour online reviews before we buy anything.
So if you don’t have those reviews ready to go, you can be missing out. (Especially if your competitors are ready with a page full of success stories.)
This isn’t just me being theoretical.
Studies show that 61% of shoppers read online reviews before deciding to buy.
90% of b2b buyers say reading stories from past customers persuaded them to buy.
Neil Patel shares how he increased sales by 185% by using case studies during the closing phase.
That was a lot of numbers. So here’s the takeaway:
Reading customer reviews is a natural step in your customer’s journey. So make it easy for them!
Have them on your site ready to go. Link to them in emails. And remember, it’s not just about showing the sheer number or quotes from a big name. Those are great. But people are also looking to see what people like them have to say.
Going to movie reviews — I don’t care if a bunch of 12-year-olds like Aquaman. Or some snobby critic who uses flowery words I don’t understand says. I want to know what a semi-jaded 32-year old who likes dumb action movies but requires at least some interesting story/cool characters.
So along with having the quotes from happy customers, tell their full stories. It’ll connect with readers, build trust, and make it way more likely you’ll get the sale.