Many online retailers cite a fear of negative customer feedback as a primary reason for turning off the review function on their online store. But there are crucial reasons why some of the biggest online retailers activate review functionality. If you’re not making the most of your customer reviews, you could be missing a huge opportunity to build customer loyalty and help your search visibility online.

In fact, a study by Foresee Results claims that reviews drive 18 percent higher loyalty and 21 percent higher purchase satisfaction. That means reviews offer traction that you can’t ignore. Here are five reasons why your online store needs customer reviews.

The absence of customer reviews could have a negative impact on how customers review your store. From a customer point-of-view, missing reviews can imply the wrong thing—specifically, it can imply that you have something to hide. By empowering customers with a voice, you build trust in your brand by showing trust in your customer base. Sure, they aren’t all going to be positive—but the reviews that reflect well on your product or brand are going to help you make more sales. Featuring the best reviews under each product is a great way to gain a little traction from the good ones. Case studies are a great way to add more content to your site and tell a story that appeals to your customer base. When someone leaves a good review on your site, chances are they’ll include a story with it. Reaching out to those customers can help you build stories that will help you get better traction out of your marketing. Customer reviews offer you great insight on your business. If you get a negative review, you have a chance to respond to the customer and fix the problem so other customers won’t encounter the same problem in the future. You gather great insights into your business and learn how to run it more efficiently. When you enable your customers to offer reviews, they build free written content that usually contains keywords you want associated with your website. In turn, the content and keywords placed on your site make it a more search friendly place, driving more potential customers to your product pages.

When you're contemplating on buying a particular product, it's but natural for you to wonder what other buyers or current users think about it. This is mainly why numerous online stores have made it a point to incorporate product reviews within their very own product pages. After all, it's better for potential customers to read the feedback right there in your site without having to go elsewhere.

If a customer is faced with a choice between two products from different online stores, both with well-written, enticing descriptions but only one with product reviews, which do you think will he or she pick?

Indeed many surveys and studies prove that user-generated feedback is a lot more trusted by shoppers than manufacturer descriptions. It is thus helpful to include multiple reviews that will give your visitors a better idea as to the real value of your product.

Did you know that product reviews can also contribute to much better SEO for your site? This is because when users submit or post write-ups about products, there is fresh content added. These add up to a more unique page and also ensure that there's no duplication between your pages.

You must know that the search engine giant Google does not appreciate identical content. Hence, if you have constant product reviews being uploaded, this will provide something new every now and then and will guarantee distinct pages.

When people look through search engine results, they are more likely to click on those that come with a product photo or even the writer's picture. They are also more likely to click on an entry that shows four or five stars. This means that the product has been ranked or reviewed.

In using the 3dcart platform, you don't have to install a separate application to enable product reviews. We have this built-in feature for our merchants and their customers to enjoy. Hence, you can be assured of enriched SEO, enhanced conversion, and improved sales.

It’s bound to happen. Whether you have an active review feature on your site or you’re mentioned in a forum or blog, you’re going to run into negative feedback. No matter how much time and effort you put into your online store, you can’t have total control of everything all the time.

When you receive a piece of negative feedback publically, you’re actually getting a great opportunity to turn that negative comment into positive marketing, potentially saving a customer and inspiring respect for your brand in other customers. Below are five steps to take in responding to negative feedback.

It’s human nature to jump on the defensive (and even the offensive) when criticized. Ignore that impulse. Negative feedback might evoke a litany of emotions, but don’t let your anger get the best of you. It could reflect poorly on your brand. On your site or social networking channel, you may have total control of feedback—but the rest of the web is an open venue for criticism. If you silence your customers, they’re voices will be heard elsewhere, and it’ll reflect poorly on your company’s commitment to excellence. Negative feedback requires a response, and it requires it in a timely manner. Instead of feeding criticism by trying to defend your actions, offer your help in solving the customer’s problem. Perhaps your product arrived in bad condition. Maybe it took a much longer time to arrive than it was supposed to. Whatever the problem is, reach out to the customer and offer some sort of consolation, like free stuff or a coupon. You may save yourself a customer and add a powerful voice to advocating for your word-of-mouth and social media marketing. Like all criticism, negative feedback is meant to help you better your company. If you haven’t learned from the scenario, what’s to keep it from happening again in the future, perhaps in a more destructive way?