Online reviews for local businesses are more important than ever. They’re highly trusted, omnipresent for pretty much every industry, and are hugely beneficial for your business in a number of different ways, from increasing sales to boosting your local search presence.
In an era where the internet has taken over the world, online reviews are bound to drive customers either towards or away from your business.
Today, the first interaction between a business and a customer usually happens online. Whether it’s someone searching for a service or product, or looking up a company’s reviews on Google, that’s the moment when they will decide whether to trust the company or not.
If you have a ton of great reviews on Google, that first impression is much more likely to be positive. Reading others praise your company for its exceptional service will alleviate many of the concerns they might have had.
Why are reviews important for small businesses?
In the modern digital landscape, there’s simply no getting away from online reviews. They’re woven into the fabric of online consumer behavior so deeply that consumers who don’t seek out, refer to, or use online reviews in their decision-making process are now in the minority.
Reviews are frequently referenced by consumers searching for a local business
Small businesses are especially well-placed to benefit from a positive review profile. This is largely because 77% of local consumers always or regularly turn to reviews as a source of information when they’re researching a local business.
This means that a strong review profile can help you to highlight your excellence, especially as consumers will see your reviews when they’re looking at your products or services.
Positive reviews lead to new business
We’ve already seen that there’s a strong correlation between online reviews and building consumer trust. Trust is a currency — it’s a means of securing a sale, a reservation, or a booking.
Trusting a review isn’t a passive action and doesn’t happen in isolation. When consumers trust online reviews, they tend to do something. That action could cover anything from calling the store, visiting the location, buying online, or making a booking. These actions invariably lead to new business and help to grow your revenue. In fact, 40% of shoppers say that consumer reviews and photos make them more likely to buy a product from an advert.
Customer feedback gives you valuable insights you can use to improve your business
In essence, an online review is simply a description of an experience. It’s one consumer explaining to others how they found your business, the quality of the product or service they received, and how it was to deal with you.
Online reviews are inherently valuable because they put you in your customer’s shoes.
Google reviews are the modern equivalent of a word-of-mouth recommendation and, as such, are incredibly valuable assets that you can leverage by being proactive.
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As a recent retiree I was motivated to learn Dutch for purely personal reasons. When visiting the Netherlands over several years, I found it awkward that Dutch friends would have to stop a social conversation and translate to English for me. In July 2023, I decided to do something about it. That’s when I found Dutch of Course. Judit took the time to understand my situation and language learning needs before we started. She developed a customized approach matching my learning needs and continued to adjust it as needed. After one year of private lessons, I feel very well prepared for my pending level A2 inburgering exams.. I have found Judit to be highly intelligent, adaptive, witty and motivational on my personal journey of Dutch language study. I look forward to continuing study with Judit as I begin to learn higher level Dutch.
Jeff Keyser, Retired Partner at Deloitte
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