Are your customers telling you the whole truth?
The effects of online reviews
Your reputation is the foundation of your brand, both online and offline. As Pacesetter can attest, there’s no marketing machine that can drown out the damage done to your brand by vocally unhappy customers.
For companies that already have a great reputation, nothing accelerates their growth faster and more affordably than happy customers sharing their stories. Take a look at some of these statistics from a recent study conducted by BrightLocal, a UK-based SEO firm:
- 97% of people search for businesses online
- 85% of customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations
- 90% of customers read online reviews before visiting a business
- 73% of consumers say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more
- 65% of people see online search as the most trusted source of information about people and companies
As you can see, consumers rely on online reviews now more than ever to research companies and make decisions. This is especially true for significant purchases, like buying a home or remodeling a kitchen.
In addition to influencing consumer purchase decisions, online reviews affect search engine rankings. Local search rankings, for example, tend to favor companies with an abundance of recent and relevant reviews.
If one of your goals is to increase your company’s ranking in search results, it’s time to implement a plan to start collecting reviews. Download Managing Your Reputation in the Digital World for tips on how to survey your customers, whether that’s internally or with a third-party like GuildQuality.