Top Reasons We Love Reviews
Way back in 2013, we decided to launch GoAbroad Reviews as a new way to help our partners and their participants share authentic, real life feedback about their program experiences. But our mission for GoAbroad Reviews wasn’t just about sharing online reviews, it was and is about showcasing, inspiring, educating, and encouraging future travelers.
We wanted to offer more resources on GoAbroad.com to help users not only make a decision, but make an informed decision and choose the best travel program suited to their expectations and goals in going abroad.
At the same time, our partners gained invaluable third-party content about their programs, increasing their lead conversion opportunities exponentially. This is the key to why online reviews matter.
In the past few years, GoAbroad Reviews have skyrocketed from a mere 700 reviews in the first year to over 35,000 reviews at the end of 2018. We’ve come to love GoAbroad Reviews, and we hope you’ll come to love them too, for the reasons below and many more.
Why Online Reviews Should Matter to You Too!
Reviews Help Users Make a Decision
With “nearly 95% of shoppers read[ing] online reviews before making a purchase,” as reported by Crowd Learning Hub, it is becoming more and more important for marketing teams to prioritize getting online reviews for their products in order to convert prospective customers.
In the world of international education, products = programs, and travelers deciding between international programs require a lot more convincing than customers deciding between bluetooth speaker brands or cell phone cases.
Traveling abroad has its risks, we admit that, but the benefits clearly outweigh the drawbacks in the case of meaningful travel programs. You can’t just say your programs are great — you have to prove it to your prospects by getting unbiased, real participant reviews of the program experience that confirm what you’re saying.
GET MORE REVIEWS NOW
Reviews Support the Conversion Process
The Spiegel Research Center found that “displaying reviews can increase conversion rates by 270%.” How does that sound for your 2020 marketing strategy?
Conversions are one of the driving reasons behind our decision to add participant reviews to GoAbroad. Online reviews are a key way any program provider can improve their conversion opportunities with GoAbroad users, and it’s completely free to add them to any program!
5 REASONS YOU SHOULD GET MORE REVIEWS ASAP
Reviews Are More Powerful in Higher Quantities
Now, we know we’re always nagging you about getting program reviews. We email your marketing manager about it, we encourage your alumni within our social media network to submit an online review for you, we’re encouraging you to get verified and, you guessed it, you have to have reviews to do it.
But, this is not without good reason. We don’t just want fresh content on your program listings, we want to help you get more leads and participants by getting more online reviews for every program listing.
After all, the Spiegel Research Center has also found that “having five reviews results in purchase likelihood increasing by a factor of almost four times.” Wouldn’t you like to have four times as many clicks from GoAbroad?
LEARN HOW TO GET MORE ONLINE REVIEWS
Reviews Give You A Competitive Advantage
Online reviews can be your competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Psychological Science found that “given two products with similar ratings, consumers are more likely to buy the product with more reviews.”
So getting the lead to convert with you isn’t just about having good reviews, it is truly about having more reviews than your competitors. Some partners on GoAbroad have over 2,000 reviews; if you’re just starting to gather reviews you may have a long way to go, so start now!
Don’t worry — they don’t all have to be new. If you have past evaluations, send an example to reviews@goabroad.com and we’ll let you know if we can convert it into a GoAbroad review.
SHARE OUR REVIEW FORM WITH YOUR ALUMNI
Reviews Are an Opportunity to Engage with Past Participants
Don’t just gather reviews and let them sit pretty on your program listings, take them as an opportunity to engage with your alumni and show future participants you care.
According to Crowd Learning Hub, “41% of consumers say that brands replying to reviews makes them believe the company really cares about their customers.”
Take the time to leave a quick comment on your positive and negative online reviews, so you can throw in your 2 cents and show prospective participants you care about your participants. You can do this through your client dashboard under the “Reviews” tab.
USE GOEVALUATOR TO STREAMLINE YOUR REVIEW PROCESS
Ready to Love Reviews?
Now do you understand why we love reviews so much and why online reviews matter? We hope so!
Have questions about GoAbroad Reviews or want to get help kick starting your strategy for 2020? Contact our Reviews Team or Set up a Meeting with Carla, our expert reviews strategist!
Updated February 13, 2020 at 10:01 a.m.