Gone are the days of word of mouth and traditional advertising. 
There has been a massive shift in consumer behavior and where buying decisions are made. With the rise of the internet age has come a time where consumers can communicate feelings on products and services on forums, social media, and a plethora of review sites. The modern consumer can be found developing an idea of what product or service will fit their need using these different outlets.
Depending on the depth of their buying decision, a consumer will spend time scouring the internet for reviews of the product they are looking to purchase. When a product does not have reviews, a customer will simply find an alternative with better reviews to suit their need. They will continue their search for reviews on the product to assure the trustworthiness. If a product has reviews a consumer is more likely to scan through the reviews for keywords and 4 or 5 star ratings. These separate reviews allows the consumer to get a better feel of how trusted the product and business is.
Why Does This Matter for Your Business?
Whether it be an online product, a store, or service there are websites where consumers can review your business. Having reviews can drive consumers to your product or website. Personal selling is only half the battle when trying to persuade customers to choose your product. The Internet allows fellow consumers to be the deciding factor. Having good reviews on your product promotes your business and your trustworthiness.
How Can You Increase Reviews on Your Product?
There are a few things that will aid your happy consumers to write reviews on your product. In general most people who are content with a product will not write a review unless prompted to. According to Neil Patel of QuickSprout, most people only write reviews if they hate the product, love the product, or feel like they are helping the company. To generate reviews from those customers that are content with the product and feel like they are helping the company, major sites like amazon will email its users to get a review of the product. A good way for a small company to connect with their content consumers would be to send 2 emails. The first asking if they had any issues with the product, this step will assist in finding those happy customers. The first email will also allow you to help with the issue if need be and also allow you to get a better understanding of the issues that may be occurring. The second email will prompt the consumer to rate the product and give a brief review. In email rating stars are easily identifiable and return an easy response. Making sure that the review process is user friendly will yield more reviews as well.
The Golden Rule
The most important aspect to keep in mind is a great product yields great reviews. Creating an amazing product and maintaining great customer service is the best way to have happy customers. Keeping your clientele content and providing users with an outstanding experience should be the main goal of your business.