Today’s entrepreneurs are well aware of the importance of online reviews. Those few words, usually written by total strangers, can give your business’s online reputation a huge boost — or plunge it into a one-star muck bath you’ll spend days or even weeks recovering from.
The truth is, it’s absurdly easy to share your opinion, and most people do it when they’re either very happy or unhappy. Since the whole world can read those reviews, you need to keep a sharp eye on them and act quickly if you see something damaging.
Paying attention, in fact, is an important part of successfully managing your online image, which is a critical element in today’s business world. There are so many moving parts in this internet world that you simply must have a plan.
How do you track your reviews? How and when do you respond to them? Who writes the responses? Do you respond to everybody, or pick and choose? These are all questions that you have to consider carefully.
What you’re after is a sustained five-star rating, because that’s a strong factor in whether or not other people choose you and your business. Ditto with negative reviews. And having no stars — or no reviews — is almost as bad as having one star.
Here are some eye-opening stats from a recent study by Invespro.
- 90 percent of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business.
- 88 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
- Consumers are likely to spend 31 percent more on a business with “excellent” reviews.
- 72 percent say that positive reviews make them trust a business more.
- 92 percent of consumers say they will use a local business if it has at least a five-star rating.
- 72 percent of consumers will take action only after reading a positive review.
- A single negative review can cost a business about 30 customers.
You need five Google reviews to get your stars. Gaining 10 reviews on Google, plus 10 more on other review sites across the web, boosts your rankings. Most consumers will read at…