In today’s technology-driven marketplace, your online reputation can be your strongest asset – or your weakest liability. With customers posting reviews of online purchases and local businesses, and even employees reviewing their employers online, what’s said online about your business and your products or services has more and more power over how people buy.
A 2017 study by the Spiegel Research Center found that nearly 95% of shoppers read reviews before making a purchase. BrightLocal found that 85% of buyers trust reviews as much as recommendations from their friends, with younger buyers aged 18-34 leading the way – 91% of them trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
Negative Business Reviews and Your Business
It’s better to have a few bad reviews than no reviews at all. Displaying just five reviews increases the chance of a purchase by 270% compared to zero reviews. A 2016 study by Fan and Fuel found that 92% of customers hesitate to make a purchase when they can’t find any reviews online.
While a negative review can hurt, replying quickly can actually improve your company’s reputation – 7 out of 10 customers have changed their opinion about a business after a company responded to a review. Spiegel Research Center found that customers are actually more likely to buy when a company or product has a rating between 4 and 4.7 stars than a perfect 5-star rating: negative reviews help establish credibility, and without them, 95% of consumers become suspicious that your reviews might be fake.
We Can Repair Your Business Reputation
The lesson? Online reviews are here to stay, and that can be a good thing for your bottom line – so don’t hesitate to contact us today to see how we can help repair and protect your business reputation online.
