Why Online Reviews Are Essential For Your Business In 2021

Did you know that 93% of people read online reviews before buying a product or service? This means that 93% of people are going to have some kind of opinion about your business before they ever engage with you. Online reviews matter!

There is no business that is immune to the online comments of prior customers. In fact, these online posts and comments are the very things that could be drawing in, or scaring away, potential customers.

If you’re looking to learn more about how online reviews impact your business, keep reading. You’ll find that those short review posts hold a lot of weight.

Today’s consumers reference review platforms hoping to find positive things about your business. However, they’re likely to take the negative comments more seriously. This is especially true if those negative comments detail experiences with your business. Negative comments may roll off of your back, but they will not roll off of the back of potential customers.

We strongly suggest responding quickly to every negative review. We encourage our clients to reach out directly via a phone call, when possible, to try to solve the problems presented. By doing this, you’ll show potential customers that you care about your customers’ experiences. Plus, you’re likely to repair the relationship with the customer who submitted the negative feedback.

Even if nothing comes of the response, others will see that you tried to rectify the situation.

Rather than taking every review with a grain of salt, consumers are trusting online reviews wholeheartedly. In fact, many people view an online review like a personal recommendation. This is especially true of younger audiences who have grown up with online reviews.

While consumers trusting in these reviews from complete strangers may sound strange, it is relatively valid. To understand it, you must put yourself in the average consumer’s shoes.

If you were looking into a new company or a new product, it’s useful to have some information about how others liked or didn’t like the product. Online reviews are the best way to get some intel before buying a product or service.

By having this information, you’re ahead of other companies. You know that consumers look at and trust in online reviews, so you know that you need to control your business’ online reputation. The importance of online reviews is undeniable.

Besides being helpful, reviews are also entertaining and interesting. Just like unboxing videos and trials, online reviews give consumers a look into what a product is like without them having to buy the product themselves.

Consumers can fall down the rabbit hole of looking at hundreds of reviews. They look for good ones, bad ones, funny ones, and informational ones.

On this note, we should mention that your product and business need to have a ‘wow’ factor. If one of your customers has a ‘wow’ moment with your company, he or she is six times more likely to tell someone else about your company and the experience.

Having some kind of ‘wow’ factor that sets your business and its products and/or services over the expectations of your customers will make your business stand out. You’ll make an impact through online reviews and in-person experiences by focusing on creating that ‘wow’ factor.

When it comes to getting online reviews, you need someone to write them. In a perfect world, your customers would go out of their way to write reviews for you. However, it’s not always that easy. That’s why we work with businesses to find the best solution for this. We help our clients ask for reviews for their business.

Based on their industry, this may be through a text, an email, a postcard, a face-to-face request, or another form of communication. We do all of this work because we want to see you and your business succeed. We work on improving customer interactions with your business. In turn, this creates a system that works seamlessly for owners, managers, and employees.

With this, we also help our clients find out where to ask for reviews. Google may seem like the obvious choice, but people use other platforms like Amazon and Tripadvisor, too. In fact, Siri searches on Yelp.

The best search engine depends on your industry. But, you shouldn’t worry, because we can help you figure all of this out.

With a rise in online reviews and online platforms in general, it’s becoming more and more difficult to control an online reputation. Managing your online reputation is extremely important for maintaining how consumers view your business and its products and/or services. Luckily, The Barbauld Agency can help you manage your online reputation.

First, we will work with you to develop an effective system for your business to ask for online reviews. Solutions vary from industry to industry. When your new online reviews start to post, we’ll help you manage them. We post custom responses to both positive and negative reviews.

If we are met with a negative review, we work directly with clients to ensure that the situation is handled quickly and kindly. Our goal is always to diffuse the situation and prevent further online negativity. We provide report monthly reporting to show the number and quality of new online reviews that your business is getting.

If you’d like to work with us on managing and improving your business’ online reputation, feel free to contact us. The sooner you contact us, the sooner we can start improving your online presence.