People Trust Online Reviews as Much as a Personal Recommendation

Key Statistic: 84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation.

Word-of-mouth has long been one of the most powerful marketing tools.

A recommendation from a friend, coworker, family member, or acquaintance carries a lot of weight due to the trust inherent in the relationship.

More people are trusting online reviews at a higher rate than ever.

And this trust is equal to a personal recommendation from someone in their network.

The importance of this cannot be understated:

If word-of-mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tools, and online reviews are being trusted just as much, then customer reviews are also one of the most powerful marketing tools.
Source: Yeah Local