The Power of Online Reviews: How to Generate and Leverage Customer Testimonials
March 19, 2026 - 12 minutes read
If we asked you to think of the most powerful tool a business has, online reviews might not even make your top five. Most business owners aren’t aware of how impactful they can be!
The proof is all in the numbers. According to Capital One Shopping Research, 99% of consumers read online reviews before they make a purchase, and those reviews influence 93% of their purchase decisions.
Online reviews aren’t just something you cross your fingers to receive. They’re something you can influence. To learn more on why reviews matter, how you can generate more of them, and how you can make them work for your business, keep reading.
Why Do Online Reviews Matter?
Reviews Influence Purchasing Decisions
Think back to the last time you made a purchase, tried out a new restaurant, or booked a hotel you’ve never stayed at before. Chances are, you peeked at the online reviews before you followed through on the transaction. And we can guarantee your customers are doing that, too.
When you search for restaurants, for example, you might notice the same group of restaurants always showing up at the top of the search results. That’s because of a few reasons:
- They have consistent 4+ star ratings
- They have a high volume of reviews (When a business has 5+ reviews, conversion rates can increase by 270%.)
- They received customer feedback recently
- Management responds to reviews in a timely manner
Completing these steps helps ensure that your business shows up first (or near the top) when people Google you.
Reviews Build A Special Kind Of Trust
Did you know that 97% of people believe that companies exaggerate the value of their products and services? To avoid being swayed by that exaggeration, they seek outside voices that have nothing to gain by affiliating themselves with your brand. Gen Z especially seeks out reviews and 76% of them state that reviews are the second-most important factor when they’re deciding whether or not to make a purchase (coming right after product quality).
Reviews Help Your Business Show Up In Search
Not only do reviews build trust, they also help increase your visibility online. Businesses that have positive Google reviews see an 18% increase in their revenue rates in search results on Google, meaning that more reviews can equal more eyes on your business. And that’s all without spending money on ads!
What If I Don’t Have Enough Reviews?
You Might Become Invisible To New Customers
You might not place much stock in reviews, thinking that very few (or even no) reviews won’t hurt your business. Unfortunately, that’s not often the case, and a thin review profile can do damage.
92% of customers hesitate to consider a business when it doesn’t have any online reviews. People need to see what their peers think of your business before they can place their trust in you. If you don’t have reviews that vouch for the quality of your products, customers are not often willing to take a risk with you.
One Bad Review Can Hurt You, If You Let It
Negative reviews also carry a heavy load. If there’s a bad review on the first page, it can reduce purchase intent by around 42%, which is why review generation is so important. When you reach out to everyone who’s recently done business with you, they’re reminded to leave a review about their good experience. Unprompted, people who had a negative experience are more likely to leave a review.
“A lot of businesses wait for reviews to come in on their own,” Hannah Purucker says, “but that can leave you with an imbalanced picture of who your business is. The customers who had a bad experience are usually more motivated to speak up than those who had a good experience. So, if you’re not asking happy customers to share their thoughts, you might end up with a story half-told.”
No matter the business, bad reviews happen. After all, we’re all human and we have bad days; nobody is perfect. But you can spin the negativity of that review to work in your favor in how you respond.
If someone had a negative experience with your business, reply to their review and address their issue. Offer to make it right in a way that makes sense. Not only will this improve their opinion of you, the public response also lets other patrons know that you are ready and willing to address mistakes and correct them.
You can’t avoid negative reviews entirely, but how you respond and showing that your business’s positive reviews greatly outnumber the negative ones will make all the difference to potential customers.
How Do You Generate More Customer Reviews?
Start Out Simple; Just Ask!
When you ask for reviews, the worst thing that people can do is not leave one (and they might have done that anyway). Most customers are happy to leave their thoughts, they just need a nudge to do so.
The key is in your timing. The best time to ask customers to leave feedback is immediately after a positive interaction, whether that’s after a purchase is made, a service is complete, or a milestone is reached. Enthusiasm fades quickly and people’s memories can be short, so take advantage of their time while you have it!
Use Multiple Channels
There are a few useful ways to ask for reviews, including:
- In person
- Social media
- Text message
Instead of putting all your eggs into one basket, use multiple channels to increase the likelihood of reaching your customers where they are. And include a direct link to your Google Business Profile or attach a QR code to make it as easy as possible for them to complete the process.
Follow Up, But Stay Respectful
Reaching out to customers 2+ times (spaced out a few days apart) can improve response rates by up to 60%. But reaching out once or twice is plenty; the last thing you want to do is annoy your customers.
And while it may be tempting, never offer any incentives for people to leave positive reviews. It can damage your credibility and violate platform guidelines. Instead, focus on generating honest feedback from customers who are genuinely happy.
How Can Location Concierge Help Streamline Review Generation?
Easy Invitations And Shareable Review Links
Managing review generation is one of the many things that our experts make easy through Location Concierge. The platform generates unique review URLs that we share with your customers directly through email regularly. Through Location Concierge, we make it extremely easy to send review invitations at scale.
Review Responses And Built-In Analytics
71% of customers consider reviews crucial to their trust in a brand, and 69% expect a response to their review within a week. This lofty expectation can feel unreachable when you’ve got a thousand other business-related tasks to get to.
Our team can help. Using Location Concierge, we’ll respond to reviews for you and keep everything up-to-date. When you get a review in, whether it’s positive or negative, we’ll respond in a way that makes sense – we’ll either thank the customer, or reach out to you and ask how we can make things right with someone who’s unhappy.
Beyond that, the built-in analytics let you track success rate, average rating from generation, and conversion rate across your entire brand and on a location-by-location basis.
How Do You Leverage Reviews Beyond Review Sites?
Put Your Best Reviews On Your Website
After you’ve collected a good amount of positive reviews, don’t let them live on Google alone, put them to work on your website!
You can feature testimonials on your homepage, your service pages, or on your landing pages. It’s really up to you.
Real words from real customers are so much more persuasive than any marketing copy you could come up with (and that’s not an insult to your copy, we promise, it simply speaks to the power of reviews)!
Share Them On Social Media (And In Sales Convos!)
Social media is where potential customers go to learn about you. Make sure they’re seeing the best side by creating a post with a great customer quote. It’s authentic, it’s compelling, and it’ll resonate with your audience.
You can also include testimonials in your email marketing, in proposals, and even in sales conversations. Hearing what customers have to say builds confidence and trust in every stage of the consumer journey.
Your Business + A Stronger Review Strategy = Success
At FDS, we can help you show up better online by building a stronger reputation with online reviews. If you’re ready to take your reviews to the next level, get in touch with us today. We would love to create a customized strategy for you!