How’d We Do? Why Reviews and Testimonials Matter

 

You’re online and you’re about to buy that shiny new laptop you’ve been eyeing for a while now. Your cursor is hovering over the “Place Order” button, but something’s keeping you. What is it?

You can’t find any customer reviews because there are none. The doubt starts to creep in and you begin to wonder if you should bite the bullet or save your money.

If this is you, don’t worry—it’s completely normal. A survey conducted by global marketing firm Mintel reveals that nearly 70% of online consumers depend on online reviews before purchasing a product or service.

 

This is Jerry. He’s frustrated because he didn’t read any reviews before buying his new (and now broken) laptop. Don’t be like Jerry.

What’s the Big Deal with Reviews and Testimonials, Anyway?

According to a survey by BrightLocal, 88% of consumers place an equal amount of trust in online reviews as they do in a personal recommendation. That’s pretty amazing when you consider that most online reviews are posted by people you will likely never meet in your life. Here are some great reasons why people depend heavily on reviews and testimonials:

1. Reviews can seriously influence how customers perceive a business because, in one way, they’re indicative of customer relations— the ways in which businesses develop and maintain relationships with their clients. A single review can make or break any company’s image.

2. Customer reviews play a vital role in the buying decision process. A good review can do 2 things: (1) it can give a business the edge it needs over the competition and (2) it can be the decisive purchasing factor for on-the-fence customers.

3. Testimonials, especially informative ones that mention specific benefits of a product, can substantiate a company’s claims. If a service purports that it can do this or that, a well-written testimonial can back it up.

4. Testimonials are written by people just like you and give prospective customers peace of mind during the selling process. They’re candid, relatable, and from people who are not getting paid to write them.

Taking the Good with the Bad

There’s value in criticism. If a review or testimonial is negative but constructive, it can actually encourage companies to improve their services.

Addressing critical feedback is an excellent way to show current and potential customers how companies handle problems. It shows initiative and that they are willing to take the extra steps to ensure everyone is happy. Keep in mind that the most passionate customers are usually the most vocal, so listening to ostensibly poor reviews should always be a priority.

A few negative reviews thrown into the mix can also complement the positive ones and lend more credibility to them. That’s because people become skeptical of perfect 5-star reviews across the board.

Joomag Reviews & Testimonials

Now, we definitely practice what we preach. So we’ll leave you with some Joomag reviews and testimonials from our very own satisfied clients. Enjoy!

“With Joomag, we found a platform that was easy to use and provided our readers with a rich, curated experience. We looked at several other solutions, but none offered such a design-friendly solution with one template translating across iPhone, iPad, and desktop.” – Troy Dunham, Art Director of Huffington Post

“[Pathways] has been a huge success as the call to action for employees to take control of their own career development was clear and simple. [It] is an innovative and invaluable tool that was presented in an interactive format. We made a decision early on to take risks with the content and borrowed from learnings in usability to focus on the people rather than the programs to engage the reader.” – Paolo Galleti, HR Director of Ernst & Young’s financial services (in regards to using Joomag’s platform to create Pathways)

“Joomag, Plug and Play’s Hottest Company of the Month, offers an incredibly easy way for publishers to digitize their content. With Joomag’s free service, publishers are able to create and distribute interactive digital magazines, photo albums, catalogs, and eBooks by simply uploading a PDF file. Their solution streamlines the process of digitization, enabling users to polish and publish their work in mere minutes.” – Plug and Play Tech Center

FAQ