Are you a business owner or the person responsible for managing your companies online reviews and reputation? Half of all small businesses are ignoring their online reputation and reviews on sites such as Google, Yelp, Facebook, just to name a few. However, for the half that is paying attention, they still have no grasp of the value reviews can add to their bottom line and they don’t have a plan for how to respond to reviews properly.
So, if you’re a skeptic or just unsure about your online reputation and your companies online reviews, I’d like to help you out a bit. Below, I’ve listed 10 of the top 50 stats you need to know about online reviews. And, if you feel some tension as you read, don’t worry. Instead, let’s turn that “shock and awe” into action that not only addresses your businesses online reputation but also adds to your bottom line.
No Pressure, But Here is How I can Help You?
My marketing agency has a fully managed online reputation plan for only $355 a month that features our Reputation Management Tool which allows us to manage your reviews from over 21 review sites in a single dashboard, plus a tool to generate more reviews on your website, and our team will respond to all of your reviews on your behalf 24/7.Â
10 Shocking Stats that Should Motivate You to Take Control of Your Online Reputation & Reviews
92% of all consumers read online customer reviews to determine the quality of a local business.
You must remind your customers to leave reviews, and you must respond to those reviews. Strive for a 4-5 star rating to establish trust and credibility. This doesn’t happen accidentally. This only happens intentionally. Â
63% of customers are more likely to make a purchase from a site which has user reviews.
What’s your current plan for placing reviews strategically throughout the pages of your website? If your plan is to have one page with a long list of reviews and testimonials then you’re gonna need a new plan.
Over half of people aged 20 to 35 say they trust online reviews more than the opinions of friends and family.
As your business prepares for its future, this demographic will be critical for you. In 24-months this demographic will make up 33% of all online consumers. In the next 5 years, this demographic grows to over 50% of all online consumers.
44% of people say a review must be written within the last 2 months to be relevant.
In order to see new reviews coming in consistently and regularly requires a plan that’s both tactical, automated, and for most business owners it needs to also be hands-free. I’ve not met a local or small businesses owner yet who has the time to manage their own reviews well or is willing to spend the money to hire an employee to manage their reviews strategy and online reputation.
76% of consumers will visit a businesses website after a positive review expecting to either purchase, get more info, or read more reviews.
So what’s the point? By simply having a reviews strategy, you can drive up to 80% more traffic to your website. And, your website MUST be able to generate leads for your business. Site visitors expect to be able to take action, read reviews, and give you their basic info to learn more about your product/service.
Yes, your specific products or services may dictate “how much” of the customer journey can happen online. But, I don’t care what you’re ultimately selling. There’s not a single industry that has a product or service that can’t at least begin generating leads through a website. Yet so many businesses aren’t doing this at all.
Only 9% of all consumers will call a business after reading a positive review.
Why? Because whether we like it or not, phone calls are being replaced by web-based live meetings, chatbots, smart online forms, and video consultations just to name a few.
Seriously, consider this: Right now, you and I could go to the website for any of the major (ie. AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, Comcast) cell phone providers and create a free account, choose a service plan, choose a new phone number, choose a device, and have that device shipped to us, activated with service ready to go WITHOUT making a single phone call. Getting phone service without using a phone? Ironic? Maybe in theory. But it’s a small but real example of the “new”
consumer experience and expectations.
94% of consumers would use a business with a four-star rating.
Truth is if you have a four-star rating then you’ve either had a least one not so good review or you only have one review that was a 4 start. The latter is less likely. Look, every business gets bad reviews from time to time. Stop panicking. Don’t fire that sales person yet. Instead, get on top of your online reputation and reviews NOW. Because getting and sustaining even a consistent four-star rating requires both quality reviews and quantity of reviews.
Three four-star reviews + a single one-star reviews = 3.25 stars
To move your 3.25 rating to a 3.8 rating = three new four-star reviews.
To move your 3.8 rating at or above a 4.0 rating = three more brand new four-star reviews.
That means to stay above a 4.0 rating you’ll need nine four-star or higher reviews for every one single star review.
This won’t happen without a solid plan executed consistently.
86% of people will hesitate to purchase from a business that has negative online reviews if the business never replied or replied more than 2 weeks after the review was left.
This is such a simple and avoidable scenario. While certain types of reviews do require a unique response, we teach our clients to live by this one rule: Good, bad, or ugly – every review deserves a response. Why? Because by not responding or thinking you can just “sweep it under the rug”, you’re potentially loosing up to 86% of the online business or new leads. And, there’s no such thing as a web-based rug in which to sweep bad reviews or your online reputation under – not yet anyway.
Did you know we can help you with all of your responses and fully manage your online reputation and reviews? It’s only $355 a month and you don’t ever have to worry about it again.
95% of consumers suspect censorship or fake reviews when they don’t see any bad or low ratings or reviews for a business.
This stats builds off the previous stat. Even online, people don’t expect you to be perfect. But they do expect you to respond and if at all possible resolve or make it right. They see the big picture because they’ve had bad experiences with brands or businesses they trust too. That’s why transparency isn’t something to run away from but rather something to embrace and manage well when it comes to your online reputation.
A +1-star improvement in your review rating could increase your chances of a sale by 37%.
There’s are many differences between companies with a 3-star rating and those with a 4-star rating.
For example, 57% of all consumers said they would use a business with a 3-star rating. But 94% of all consumers would use a business with a 4-star rating.Â
What would 37% more revenue mean for your business in the next 12 months? That’s an extra $370,000 for every $1 million revenue simply by improving your reviews strategy and managing your online reputation.
