To figure out why recommendations are important for a business, it’s critical to understand the one predominant factor that determines the company’s success – word of mouth. What many don’t realize is that these referrals have become the “holy grail” of product advertising.

More than 92% of consumers state that the word of mouth recommendations are what led them to buy a product, published the Social Media Monthly. 

Even with several advertising platforms available, people want to hear feedback about their online stores from the people they trust, friends, and family.

Therefore, businesses need to strive for recommendations. Here is why.

Why Recommendations Are Important ? 6 Key Factors

To promote and nurture your business, you need a worthwhile tactic. The products you sell need to get the attention you are looking for. This is why a positive recommendation for an online business can come in handy. 

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1. Creates Trust

To understand why recommendations are important for a business, it’s crucial to look at what consumers think about a particular product or a company. 

BrightLocal revealed that 72% of people said that reading positive reviews about a local business online makes them trust the company more. With 70% stating that positive reviews help them trust the business, it is clear how important recommendations for a business to be successful are to bring that success story altogether. Businesses need to build trust through reviews by doing the following:

  • Choosing a customer-focused review platform. 
  • Ask continually for feedback from customers to show them that you care and use negative feedback to improve your business model.
  • Reply to every positive and negative review, working to resolve the negative ones.

For a low-cost marketing tactic, it’s vital to rely on Facebook recommendations for the business. This will help share basic info about the product and publicize the company’s name. It also creates an opportunity for customers to express their thoughts about the product you sell. 

2. Increases Conversion

You want to provide visitors to your site with personalized recommendations. The statistics show:

Customers who engage with online recommendations for a business are more likely to open 3 to 6 product pages and improves the business by giving valuable suggestions. These customers are also more likely to add products to their shopping cart and will return to the store to shop again. Closeup of businessman and woman discussing an increase in conversion

3. Increases Revenue

Relevant product recommendations can increase revenue for businesses by 26%. You need to develop a product recommendations plan that should include collecting and compiling data, analyzing the data, and delivering content based on it, studying the results, and taking appropriate measures to improve your campaign.

Take the telemedicine market size, for example. Based on Grand View Research, the global market size is forecasted to grow by 15.1% by the end of 2027. With the newly implemented recommendations for social distancing and quarantine, this market has experienced a sudden spike in interest. 

4. Increase Online And Offline Traffic

Recommendations are not only used as a means of gaining more trust. It is also a highly effective strategy to increase traffic. When a business is recommended by others, the word can quickly get out. This is especially great for local businesses. One person visits the business and feels satisfied with the services provided. The individual may tell others about the company. This also serves as a type of recommendation. In turn, these individuals find an interest in visiting the business too. The result is an increase in foot traffic.  Online recommendations on social media sites can also be very helpful. Customers may find the services offered by a business exceptional. They would then talk about the brand on their Facebook profile. This is a personal recommendation that could cause friends of that individual to start looking up information about the mentioned business. The action would lead to an increase in online traffic. 

5. Affects The Entire Buying Cycle

Advertising campaigns are effective, but each strategy tends to target a specific phase during the buying cycle. A Facebook ad is used to create awareness of the product or service offered by the company. A separate campaign is then used to drive traffic or perhaps capture leads. From here, more strategies are needed for the remaining parts of the buying cycle. This helps to get the person to contact the company or perform another action. The action could include adding a product to their cart or sign up for an account. The ultimate goal would be for the customer to make a purchase.  Recent studies have shown that recommendations actually play a role throughout this entire process. Unlike other advertising campaigns that need to be focused on a specific phase, recommendations can help with everything. This ranges from product awareness up to the point where a lead becomes a paying customer. Thus, recommendations serve as a cost-efficient strategy that does not require strategies used to target specific points of the buying process. 

6. A More Economical Marketing Strategy

Setting up a marketing campaign on Google Ads or Facebook Ads can be expensive. There is also no guarantee that the business will be able to make back the funds they spend on these platforms. In addition to these ads platforms, the business also needs to invest in additional products. These products help with their advertising strategies. The combination can be costly, especially for a small business or a just starting brand.  Recommendations are not only a great way to increase brand awareness. They also serve as a much more affordable alternative to advertising campaigns. Asking a customer to leave a recommendation on a Google Business profile or another review platform does not cost the company any money. Word of mouth recommendations is also free. Businesses do not pay someone to recommend their services to friends, family members, and colleagues.  By creating a strategy that focuses on excelling in customer service, product delivery, and the provision of business services, a company can benefit in the process. The business can greatly increase the number of recommendations they get through word-of-mouth. This would increase traffic, sales, and revenue - without adding additional expenses for advertising. 

How Do You Become The Most Recommended Brand?

For a business to fully utilize the benefits of recommendations, there are a few steps to take. Simply delivering services to customers in a standard fashion may not be ideal for becoming the most recommended brand. It is important to consider this fact with both local businesses and online platforms. Instead, specific strategies should be considered. These strategies should ensure more recommendations can be expected from existing customers. 

1. Focus On Customer Service

While the actual product or service delivered to a customer plays a big role in getting a recommendation from them, other factors also count. A large number of recommendations made based on the customer’s experience with a company. Whether the business is locally based or offers a digital platform for service delivery, it is vital to focus on providing excellent customer support.  Staff members should be knowledgeable and educated on the company’s products, services, and niche. When a customer has a question related to the company’s offerings, the staff member should be able to provide a clear answer without hesitation. This can already have a big impact on the customer’s experience with the business. In addition to having appropriate knowledge, it is also important for staff members to be friendly and calm in all situations.  Even when the company is unable to immediately deliver what the customer expects, it could still yield a positive recommendation. This accounts for cases where exceptional customer service was provided.

2. Excel At Service And Product Delivery

When a customer visits a business for a specific product or service, they have certain expectations. If the business fails to meet those expectations, it reduces the overall experience. Customers are more likely to leave negative comments for a business if their needs and expectations are not thoroughly met.  For this reason, it is important to consider implementing steps that would excel at the delivery of products or services. If a specific product is not in stock right away, have suppliers ready to ship them to the store. The longer the customer has to wait to obtain the product, the less likely they are to recommend the business.  When services are offered, rather overdeliver than underdeliver. Providing the customer with a service that feels less valuable than what they paid can harm the brand’s image. With this in mind, it is also important for companies to listen to the client. Even when the staff member is more knowledgeable than the customer, input from the client should still matter. The customer appreciates the fact that their input is always taken into consideration by the staff members. This also makes it easier for the business to deliver on the expectations of the customer. 

3. Make Recommendations Easy

When a company depends on recommendations made on their online profiles, customers should know where to find the business. This includes accounts on Facebook, Google Business, and other platforms.
Hands of young repairman of maintenance car center holding touchpad with five stars on its screen while client going to rate the service
Once the customer’s needs have been met and the sale is complete, the customer’s thoughts should be considered. Ask the customer about their experience. The company should also advise the customer that they have online profiles and would appreciate a recommendation. Many customers do not immediately think about providing an online recommendation. Asking for one can help to increase the number of recommendations on the company’s profile. The business should, however, ensure their message does not come across as being forced.

4. Utilizing A Marketing Agency For Increased Recommendations

Online businesses need to develop a strategy and campaign that involves putting personalized production recommendations out there and requesting their customers to leave reviews about their products, services, and overall experience with them on their social media platforms or a third-party review site like RateUsOnline - a dedicated platform to endorse quality businesses, services or products.

RateUsOnline builds awareness by promoting businesses through written or video content and features on the RateUsOnline website.

For more information please contact us at info@rateusonline.com