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Get more reviews. Get more customers. Automatically.

 

If you have not made an investment into making sure that you are capturing their feedback, take a look at the information below and see if that shifts your thinking.

It’s 2020 and you can no longer afford to ignore online reviews, it’s likely your competition isn’t. From doctors’ offices, restaurants, to software, consumers look to online review sites like Yelp, Google, and even Facebook to give them an opportunity to see what everyone has to say about your business. In fact, online reviews will influence consumer purchase decisions 93% of the time.

Online reviews create social proof, they will strengthen consumer trust, and they give you a direct line to consumers. If you’re not already putting effort into improving your online reviews, you should start now by sharing with your customers about the importance of leaving reviews, optimizing your listings on each platform, and providing excellent customer service.

At this point you should be more than convinced that your business must pay attention to online reviews, but just in case you’re not, below are online review stats to fuel your business for 2020.

Online Review Statistics

1. 97% of people read reviews for local businesses. (BIA/Kelsey)
2. 90% of respondents who recalled reading online reviews claimed that positive online reviews influenced buying decisions, while 86 percent said buying decisions were influenced by negative online reviews. (Dimensional Research)
3. 91% of 18-34 year olds trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. (BrightLocal)
4. 93% of consumers say online reviews impact their purchasing decisions. (Podium)
5. 89% of consumers read businesses’ responses to reviews. (BrightLocal)
6. 93% of people who use a mobile device to research go on to complete a purchase of a product or service. Most purchases happen in physical stores. (Google/Nielson)
7. 3.3 is the minimum star rating of a business consumers would engage with. (Podium)
8. 68% of consumers will leave a review if asked. (BrightLocal)

The Value of Positive Reviews

1. A one-star increase in Yelp rating leads to a 5-9% increase in revenue. (Harvard Business School)
2. Customers are willing to spend 31% more on a business with excellent reviews. (Invesp)
3. 92% of B2B buyers are more likely to purchase after reading a trusted review (G2.com)

The Cost of Negative Reviews

1. 94% say an online review has convinced them to avoid a business. (ReviewTrackers)
2. Only 13% of consumers will consider using a business that has a 1 or 2 star rating. (SearchEngineLand)
3. Four out of five consumers have changed their minds about a recommended purchase after reading negative online reviews. (Cone Communications)
4. Businesses risk losing as many as 22% of customers when just one negative article is found by users considering buying their product. If three negative articles pop up in a search query, the potential for lost customers increases to 59.2%. (Moz)

Industry-Specific Stats

1. A half-star rating increase translates into a 19 percent greater likelihood that a restaurant’s seats will be full during peak dining times. (UC Berkeley)
2. 64% of software buyers want to read at least 6 reviews before purchasing. (Capterra)
3. 82% of consumers read a product review before purchasing an item online. (Qualtrics)

 

Get new reviews and boost your ratings. Manage your online reputation and beat your competition.

Get new reviews

 

With BirdEye, automatically send SMS or email review requests to your customers, making it effortless to score new reviews for your business directly on Google, Facebook and any other site that matters to your business.

Your business’s reputation is a valuable asset. Online reputation management can help you leverage it to its fullest potential. In this guide, we’ll go over how you can use online reputation management to rank higher on search, get chosen by more customers, and be the best business in your area.

 

Chapter 1: A beginner’s guide to online reputation management.

Here’s what you should know before you get started with online reputation management.

 

What is online reputation management?

 

Online reputation management is the act of proactively creating and managing customer perception about your brand online. It determines how people perceive your business when they find you online. It primarily includes your online reviews and the comments that people leave about your business on social media
What’s the value of a brand reputation?

Brand reputation is how a brand is viewed and perceived by its customers, stakeholders, and the market as a whole. It is the most valuable asset that a business can have. When customers think of doing business with you, they want to be assured that not only the product will satisfy their needs, the experience of doing business with your company will be great as well.

The stronger your brand’s reputation, the greater is the willingness to pay for your product or service and that results in greater profits for your business. Your brand’s reputation is therefore critical for the your success. This is why your brand’s reputation has actual value. According to the Economist, 30% of the value of the S&P 500 comes from brand reputation.

The history of reputation management

 

Reputation management is by no means a new idea. Ever since the dawn of commerce, people have wanted to do business with organizations they’ve felt they could trust. So businesses have always aimed to build a great reputation that inspired trust and credibility.

With the rise of the Internet, reputation management moved online. Consumers gradually started seeking out the experience of others who have had an experience with businesses they are interested in on review sites and social media. In other words, they look at businesses’ online reputation.

What is a strong online reputation?

 

Of course, having a strong online reputation isn’t always as simple as it seems. When asked, most businesses will say that having a high overall star rating makes their business look great to customers. While this may be partially true, it’s definitely not the entire story.

Imagine this: If a business has 5 online reviews with an average rating of 4.5 stars, would you say that this company has a strong online reputation? Some people might say yes.

Now, if this company has a competitor with 500 reviews and an average rating of 4.3 stars, which company are you more likely to go with? Our money would be on the competitor. While both companies have a good overall star rating, customers typically also consider factors like number and recency of reviews.

So here’s the moral of the story: your business’s online reputation isn’t determined by any one metric like star rating. It’s important to take a holistic view of how customers are talking about your business online.

Why you need an online reputation management strategy

 

Building a strong online reputation doesn’t just happen overnight. It takes work from the business. Even if you are providing a great customer experience, it’s possible that your online reputation doesn’t reflect this.

There’s a reason why this happens. Most of the time, the customers who are most likely to leave a review are those who’ve had a strong negative experience. As a result, your online reputation might end up reflecting the opinion of your displeased customers.

Luckily, there’s a way to fix this. An online reputation management strategy can ensure that the reviews posted on sites like Google and Facebook are a true representation of your business’s customer experience.

Benefits of online reputation management

 

Staying on top of your online reputation can help you stay ahead of your competitors. Here are a few of the benefits of online reputation management.

• A great online reputation means more credibility with customers

We can’t stress this enough: people want to do business with companies they trust. However, if a potential customer has never heard of you before, they don’t know if they can trust you or not. That’s where online reputation can help. If you have lots of great reviews, you can build credibility with customers.

• A great online reputation means more visibility on search

Your customers aren’t the only people who value your online reputation. A great online reputation means your business will rank higher in relevant search results (more on this is the next section).

• A better online reputation means more revenue

Studies show that a great online reputation means more revenue for your business. According to the Harvard Business Review, a 1-star increase in rating can result in a 5-9% increase in revenue.

Online reputation management and SEO

 

Search engines value online reviews just as your customers do. Online reviews provide fresh, organic content for your business and are meant to show the genuine experiences of your customers. Since Google aims to provide the best search results for customers, reviews provide them with valuable information.

Of course, reviews aren’t the only factor that matters for search. Search engines are the roadways that help direct targeted traffic to your site. Think about the signs on the side of a freeway that tell you there’s gas, food, and a place to sleep off a particular exit. If you don’t have your signs up, search engines won’t know that they can send traffic your way.

So the signals you send to search engines shouldn’t just include reviews. Your accurate and up-to-date contact information is needed to be discovered online – such as Name, Address, Phone Number (NAP), opening hours and more. It’s also important to make sure that this information is consistent across the Internet.

 

Ken

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