In the past we’ve written about online review sites like Yelp, and how you should not only pay attention to them, but interact with the customers on them to effectively handle complaints and gain valuable feedback about your business.

But what about actually allowing customers to review your products and services on your site, or better yet, soliciting reviews to be seen on your site by everyone who visits?  Amazon pioneered this practice over a decade ago, but since then many others have mimicked the behavior with impressive results.  But is it possible that even not so positive reviews can help your sales?

In a recent piece on CNNMoney’s Small Business section, Jennifer Alsever examined the trend, and actually found a small business – AlpacaDirect.com – that benefitted from reviews being on the site, despite the review being mixed.  Hobart went with PowerReviews as a service, and saw a 23% increase in products that had reviews attached them  on the site.
The story also examines how the price point for installing such review services on small business sites has dramatically decreased in recent years.  For example, PowerReviews used to charge $1,000 to $2,000 a month for its services, but has since implemented a service that charges just $80 a month for small businesses.

So it might be something for you to consider, at least in the long run, to boost your business and show how transparent you are about your products and services.

Is this something that you would consider, or have done and had success with?