Cvent Survey

It may or may not be news to you that when shopping online, consumers trust others opinions posted in reviews. Nielsen released the findings of their latest twice-yearly Global Online Consumer Survey. Nielsen compiled the opinions of 25,000 internet consumers from 50 countries. The survey research uncovered that 90% of survey respondents said they trusted recommendations from people they knew. The percentage dropped to 70% when respondents were asked about trusting consumer opinions posted online. Brand websites were equally trusted by respondents.

The importance of word of mouth has increased dramatically over the last few years, but so has consumers' trust in other forms of advertising: The main take away here is it's important to collect customer and consumer testimonials to include on your website. While it's not the only information consumers trust according to Nielsen's survey, it's an important part. In my book, if having a customer testimonial gets you one more sale, it's less revenue you would be able to report without it. If you don't currently have a web form to collect customer testimonials for your website, consider asking for opinions to post in your next customer or consumer survey.