In today’s web-based economy, consumers have access to customer reviews for just about any product or service that’s available. From review-based platforms, such as Yelp or Google Maps, to ratings and reviews left on the website of an individual business, there is a massive volume of feedback at the fingertips of anyone investigating a product or service online. The quality and veracity of these ratings and reviews may vary, and their power is diminished when they are sprinkled over a variety of websites. If you are wondering how your business can benefit from customer reviews, eKomi.com can provide solutions to make your reviews work for you.
Web-Based Manufacturing Industry and Customer Reviews
The internet has actually opened up the manufacturing industry to a whole new market: small businesses and individuals with small-scale production needs. These businesses cannot support their own manufacturing needs, but with a quick internet search they can locate a manufacturer who can meet their needs. Consider the case of Lightning Labels, a web-based manufacturer of custom printed stickers and labels. If Lightning Labels were simply a small local business, the local market for label-printing might be insufficient to support it. By branching out through the internet, their market has spread to anyone with access to a computer–a vast market, indeed!
To generate market appeal for their customer-printed labels, Lightning Labels offers quick turnaround and free ground shipping for all orders in the United States and Canada. Digitally printed orders will be completed within 48 to 72 hours of proof approval–that’s lightning fast! They offer labels specific to almost any product imaginable, from wine bottles to lip balm. With more than 15 years of experience, Lightning Labels understands what works–and what doesn’t–for customer-printed labels. By using digital printing capabilities, Lightning Labels is able to fill even small orders at a reasonable price. Their website offers the fruits of their extensive experience via their video explaining how to order, a page of Frequently Asked Questions, and if that fails, their customer service representatives. Lightning Labels stand behind their label printing, guaranteeing satisfaction for all customers.
But in the sea of label printers, how can Lightning Labels stand out? Harnessing the power of their online reviews is one way to distinguish themselves from other custom label manufacturers. Increasingly, customers turn to review-based platforms before making a purchase. Several studies point to the importance of customer reviews. One 2016 study by the Pew Research Center found that 82% of Americans consult online reviews sometimes, and 40% consult them always or almost always, before making a purchase. The content of the reviews is not necessarily the deciding factor; customers trust a website that provides reviews, period. This trust is evidenced by a study from iPerceptions.com, which found that 63% of customers are more likely to make a purchase from a website that has reviews.
Anyone who has scrolled through a page of customer reviews will recognize that the quality of reviews varies greatly from reviewer to reviewer. Without monitoring, there is no way to know whether the reviewer actually purchased the product in question. Review fraud certainly takes place. Competitors have gone so far as to instruct their employees or even hire fake reviewers off of Craigslist.com or Fivrr.com to write false, negative reviews. Potential customers do not necessarily know which reviews to trust. Even valid, positive reviews are not particularly useful if there are just a few here and there–a few on Yelp, a few on Google, and a few on the business’s website. Customers put more faith into a large compilation of reviews.
How Can eKomi.com Help with Customer Reviews?
At eKomi.com, we police your company’s reviews for you and consolidate them into one location. This guarantees that anyone stumbling across your brand’s website can get a feel for your brand in one glance. First, each review is verified to ensure that it comes from an actual customer. Then, all reviews are compiled on your Certificate Page, so that customers can read through as many as they like, in just one location. Finally, we award an eKomi Seal of Approval, ranging from Standard to Gold, based on the overall ratings and number of reviews. This gives potential customers an idea of how your customer’s view your business, without reading anything at all!
Manufacturing businesses cannot afford to stop at compiling existing reviews. In today’s competitive market, they need to actively seek out reviews from actual customers. There is power in numbers, so strategies to increase your overall number of reviews increase perceived confidence in your business. Most reviews are left by customers with a strong impression, positive or negative, of their customer experience. Those customers who are pleasantly satisfied may not feel compelled to go out of their way to write a review, but many will write one if asked. To increase your number of reviews, eKomi.com automates a request for reviews from all customers, a strategy that reaches out to the moderate customers who might not otherwise review your product.
Lightning Labels stands out as an example of a manufacturer that makes customer reviews work for them. With their eKomi.com Gold Seal of Approval, anyone looking for custom label printing can easily see that the majority of the customers are highly satisfied, with an almost 5 star rating and more than 96% of customers satisfied. By reaching out to customers to generate reviews, then verifying and consolidating those reviews, eKomi.com has given Lightning Labels another tool to reach customers anywhere in the world.
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