Inbound Marketing Blog

Let’s talk reputation management. Did you know that:

1. 86% of consumers read reviews for local businesses (including 95% of people between the ages of 18-34)
2. Consumers read an average of 10 online reviews before feeling able to trust a local business
3. 40% of consumers only take into account reviews written within the last two weeks
4. 57% of consumers will only go with a business if it has 4 or more stars
5. 91% of 18-34 year old consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations
6. 89% of consumers read businesses’ responses to reviews

Let that information all sink in. Reread it if you have to. Those are real stats from BrightLocal’s 2018 Local Consumer Review Survey. These statistics were specifically compiled to help local businesses develop their online reputation management strategy for 2019.

If you’re a small business, negative reviews on Google can be especially devastating, and you can’t afford to ignore a bad Google review. If you haven’t been paying attention to your Google reviews, it’s time to wake up and take the wheel. If you don’t have time for reputation management, well, that’s what we are here for. But assuming you do, here are some tips to ensure your Google reviews are a more accurate representation of your business.

"What can you do for me?"

Site visitors will be looking at many types of content on your website to try to uncover this information, but one effective way to help answer that question for them is to include a section for testimonials that showcase customer delight. When a site visitor reads success stories and learns how your business's products or services solved problems for your existing customers, it can help the new prospect move through the buyer's journey by showing them how they can benefit from working with you.

Maybe you're aware of reviews from customers, pilling up and not necessarily receiving attention. These customers have one thing or another that they would like to share, whether positive or negative. With the vast differences you can assume between these customers, what do they all have in common? They want to be heard. So how do you go about showing them that you're listening?