Online reviews are key to getting consumers to buy these days. Your clients might be doing everything else right, especially buying media from you. To help them clear the last hurdle with prospective buyers, offer to help get their online reviews where they need to be.

A recent column on Resourceful Business makes the importance of online reviews clear. These posts are no longer optional. Nearly ¾ of consumers, 74%, go to popular retail sites just to check out consumer reviews on specific products. If shoppers are flocking to sites like Amazon or Wayfair for specific product information, chances are they are placing orders too. If your clients had the right kinds of reviews on their sites, they could capture some of these orders.

Reviews are now trusted as much as personal recommendations by 85% of consumers. The tendency to rely on online reviews is much more pronounced for consumers in the millennial and Gen X age groups.

It’s not enough to have one or two reviews posted on your client’s site. Consumers like to see continuous posting. In fact, 44% of shoppers say reviews are relevant when they’re posted in the past month. They also expect volume. This year, 88% of consumers will take the time to read ten reviews about a product, service or business establishment before they decide to buy.

When the news is good in a review, your clients can benefit. Nearly half of consumers want to see four-​star ratings before they buy. When the news is bad, your clients have a problem. All it takes is four negative articles about products or a company to turn off up to 70% of prospects.

Many business owners haven’t yet caught on to this trend. They’re busy managing the day-​to-​day operations of inventory management, employee scheduling and making payroll. Yet, their future sales depend on what’s being said about their business. Show them how your services can tackle the tricky topic of bad reviews left on social media. Engaging with shoppers who leave positive remarks can increase the overall number of reviews for a business, so offer to do that too. Explain how you can start new initiatives to encourage customers to post positive reviews about the business and its products and services.

Taking these steps now will help your clients ensure they’re connecting with younger consumers who are now entering their peak earning and spending years.