Welcome back Mr&Mrs. Biz. Owner, we left off in our last post talking about the importance of online reviews to your business. The last thing we mentioned was “word of mouth” and how that will only carry you so far. Recent studies show FACTS:
76% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations – a slight slip from last year’s 78%.
89% of consumers aged 35-54 trust reviews as much as online recommendations. Among 18-34-year-olds, 81% reported trusting reviews, down from 89% last year. Consumers aged 55+ were the least likely to be trusting of online reviews – with 39% saying they didn’t trust reviews as much as personal recommendations.
Now I do not know about you Mr&Mrs. Biz owner but I know that I look at LEAST 10 or more reviews myself before I will trust ANY business. MORE than that I am REALLY paying attention to the negative reviews and what they are saying. In addition to that I am looking for responses to the positive and negative reviews from you, the Biz owner. Your response tells me if a LOT about you as a business owner and how you treat your customers or potential customer. These responses by you, or lack thereof, educates me on how you practice Customer Service, or at the very least it tells potential consumers what your business stands for and what I can expect. Again, I CAN NOT SAY IT ENOUGH, EDUCATE me (Potential Consumer) on what your business represents. And here are the FACTS about responses to reviews: A whopping 97% of review readers take in businesses’ responses to reviews. This has grown from 89% last year to include nearly every person that has read reviews for local businesses – making it a normal part of the reviews process.
91% of consumers say that positive reviews make them more likely to use a business.
Now this is not to say that you won’t get a negative review. We all know that these can And do take place. Here are some FACTS about negative reviews. We all have a negative bias. People can be on an obsessive hunt for negativity. Case in point, our current global pandemic. Fears, disasters and frustrations is what researchers have found that we as a culture are far more attuned to than seeing the positive. Some of us feel that this negative bias keeps us safe.
Trevor Moawad Is known as “The worlds best brain trainer” says that negativity is 4 to 7 times more powerful than positivity. And this holds true for online reviews. Consumers are more likely to post a negative review than they are a positive review, especially if they are posting a review for the first time.
However the more transparent a customer review is, the more likely a potential customer will trust a business.
If you the business owner get a negative review, you are being given an PRIME opportunity to respond and solve a problem. Turn that negative frown upside down, and go that extra step to let that customer know that you care in your response. When you give customers the solution, you give them relief and relief enables forgetfulness.
Online reviews are VITAL to your business. They are what your prospects needs to see in order to trust you. If you ignore this and put online reviews on the back burner, well my fellow business owner you are burning money. Do you want to see your customers advocate for your business and tell everyone they know how great your products, services, or staff are? Then get with the inbound marketing funnel program and start funneling reviews from customers.
