Any retail jeweler owner will tell you that word-of-mouth is an important part of acquiring new business and turning those people into loyal customers. Before the age of digital marketing, word-of-mouth was one of the largest ways to bring in new clients and customers—and even today, word-of-mouth marketing is estimated to account for 13% of consumer sales.
While direct referrals certainly do exist in the digital age, a new form of “word-of-mouth” has emerged: the review site. Review sites allow consumers to share their experiences—both positive and negative. These reviews live in a space where anyone can see them, helping them make informed decisions about services to pursue, businesses to patronize, products to buy, and more. In fact, a whopping 93% of customers read online reviews before buying a product, according to Qualtrics.
So we know that having a presence on review sites is important for retail jewelers, but what websites are best? In this blog, we’ll cover 5 important review sites for jewelers—make sure your business is collecting reviews on these sites to help build trust, legitimacy, and attract new customers.
1: Google Customer Reviews
While Google may have started as a search engine, it has quickly grown into so much more. One of the most important review sites a retail business can register with is Google Customer Reviews.
Google Customer Reviews allows customers to rate their jewelry purchases and leave a review. Registering with Google Customer Reviews comes with several benefits. Putting a Google Customer Reviews badge on your website allows people to see your positive reviews right there on your website, letting them know that you are a jeweler they can trust.
2: TrustPilot
Another great review website for retailers is TrustPilot. TrustPilot has areas for every industry you could think of: from retail to banks, real estate agents to car dealerships, there is a place for anyone looking to leave or read reviews on a particular brand or service—there is even a category dedicated to jewelry stores.
TrustPilot operates with strict transparency and integrity, so you know all of the reviews left on TrustPilot are legitimate and trustworthy.
3: Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is probably the most recognizable source for finding customer reviews. It’s most certainly the oldest on our list with a founding year of 1912. The BBB is a nonprofit organization and has become one of the gold standards for finding reputable services, products, and even charities.
Registering your jewelry store and keeping a great reputation through them is one of the best ways to build trust and confidence in your company.
4: Facebook Reviews
In recent years, Facebook has made reviews and recommendations a key component of Facebook business pages. According to a recent study by Podium, Facebook reviews are 2x more likely to be an important factor in choosing a local business over loyalty, and 7x more important than traditional marketing. With Facebook showing a 2.8 billion monthly active user base in 2020, there’s a lot of potential to reach people and generate positive buzz for your business.
5: Yelp Reviews
Yelp is a go-to resource for people searching for restaurants, contractors, beauty services, jewelers, and more. As of Q2 2020, users on Yelp have contributed over 214 million reviews of local businesses, so this is definitely a website on which you want your retail jewelry business to collect reviews!
With so many consumers relying on reviews to help them make decisions, it’s a great idea to choose one (or several!) review sites and register your business to receive reviews.
At Zillion, we love TrustPilot and Google to collect feedback from our customers. You can pull up our jewelry insurance reviews page here and see why so many happy folks choose Zillion to help protect their jewelry!
