Are Online Reviews Important for Teen Programs?

In today’s digital age, online reviews have significantly replaced the word-of-mouth method that was once enough to gain customers. Now, customers have access to a seemingly endless amount of companies that offer countless products and services. Online reviews are what help potential customers navigate this sea of products to determine what they want to buy. 

So the question is, are customer reviews important for teen programs? Of course! When teens, parents, and school counselors are looking for the best teen programs, they check reviews to learn from past participants’ experiences. In this article, we’re revealing how online reviews impact your business and how you can make the most of your customer reviews.

How Online Reviews Impact Your Business

So how important are customer reviews to your potential customers? Very important! According to Qualtrics, a whopping 93% of consumers report that their buying decisions are influenced by online reviews. Additionally, 91% of consumers report that they trust customer reviews just as much as personal recommendations.

Reviews don’t only impact customer purchasing decisions — they can also impact your company’s rankings in search engines. Customers use search engines like Google to find specific information as quickly as possible, and the faster and more effectively search engines can do this, the better. The quantity and frequency of online reviews contribute to whether your company shows up in these searches, which in turn affects your web traffic. If your business isn’t showing up in top searches, potential customers aren’t finding the amazing products or services you’re offering.

How Companies Underestimate the Importance of Online Reviews

Despite how important online reviews are, not every company realizes the significance reviews have on its business. According to Yodle’s Small Business and Online Reviews Survey, 55% of small business owners reported not receiving online reviews at all, and, even more surprising, only 50% thought that online reviews were actually important for their small business.

For those companies who do receive customer reviews, not all of them post their reviews to their websites. Only 14% of respondents with company websites reported posting these reviews to their websites — that’s a scary 86% of companies missing out on potential customers and feedback.

Making the Most of Online Reviews

So, how do you avoid these mistakes and make the most of online reviews? Let’s count the ways!

1. Receive/Ask for Reviews 

The first step is creating an opportunity for customers to voice their opinions. Whatever the product or service you’re selling, existing customers want to tell others what they think about it, and potential customers want to know what others think before spending their money. Ensure that your website, and online directory or third-party site that your teen program is listed on has the capability to receive and showcase reviews.

2. Post Reviews

If you have it, use it! Leverage reviews by posting them to your website. Existing customers don’t want to waste their time writing reviews that never get seen. Posting will also help your online marketing and SEO strategies by increasing your company’s online visibility and web traffic. Positive reviews are also a great way to showcase your program’s success stories on social media, through email marketing, or other marketing means.

3. Monitor and Respond to Reviews 

This is a perfect opportunity to engage with customers. Not only do reviews influence customer decisions, but they also reveal how involved the company is with its customers. Regularly respond to customer concerns and show appreciation for their business, even if the review is negative! Or we should say, especially if the review is negative. The best way to combat negative feedback in customer reviews is to respond to their review in a timely and respectful manner. For more information on responding to negative reviews, check out our blog, Turning a Negative Into a Positive: How to Respond to Bad Customer Reviews.

4. Use Your Reviews to Improve Your Business

Remember, reviews are a valuable source of information. Read your reviews for feedback on what you’re doing right and what can be done differently to make your customers happy. Use this feedback to improve your company and gain more happy customers! 

Final Thoughts

In addition to company websites, reviews can be written through resources such as TeenLife, Yelp, and Glassdoor that provide comprehensive assessments of different companies, services, and products. By upgrading your teen program listing on TeenLife, you’ll be able to receive and respond to reviews on each program listing. Get in touch with us to upgrade your listing today!