Why Online Reviews are Important for Your Business
In today’s increasingly technological world, most business owners already know how important it is to have a presence online. The vast majority of customers now turn to the Internet to find local businesses, and the reviews they find of your business online can make the difference between them shopping with you or the competition.?
The Importance of a Positive First Impression?
You know how important first impressions are when it comes to face-to-face interactions, and they are just as important online. Customers form opinions quickly when reading online reviews, and they only need to read a few before they decide if they trust a local business. A single negative review is enough to destroy that trust and send your potential customer away, putting increased emphasis on the importance of closely managing your online reputation and dealing with less than stellar reviews quickly.?
Who is Reading Reviews Online??
It is important to understand just who is reading online reviews of your business. When a potential customers gets to the point of reading reviews, he or she has already identified a need they have and determined that your product or services can satisfy that need. The line from browsing reviews online to becoming an actual customer is short, which means that having positive reviews and managing your online reputation is vitally important to converting review readers into customers.?
How Many Reviews Should I Have??
The more positive reviews, the better, but nearly sixty percent of customers read less than six reviews before forming an opinion about a business. This means that it is especially important to keep track of your most recent reviews, because these are the most likely to land at the top of a reviews page. If the first six or seven reviews are lukewarm or negative, it does not matter that the next hundred are glowing; your potential customers will already be doing business with the competition by the time it would take for them to read them all.?
Are Online Reviews Trusted??
Online reviews are also trusted nearly as much as personal reviews from friends and family, if the online reviews come off as authentic. This is a warning to anyone attempting to review their own business online ? most consumers can quickly tell the difference between a genuine review and spam, and false reviews are an even bigger turnoff than negative ones.?
Online Reviews Have a Real Impact?
The impact online reviews have on purchasing decisions is real, and seeing positive reviews helps customers build trust in a business. Reviews shed light on the true personality of a company, and they break down the wall created by corporate messaging campaigns to expose the truth. Check out this article to get more positive reviews for your business!?
