Perception is everything. Your branding efforts are extremely important to your survival and need to be an ongoing project. One of the most critical aspects of your branding is what customers, and potential customers, think about your company and what they say about your company. Online reviews and social media comments and posts are more influential than many small business owners think. In some recently released research, BrightLocal found out exactly why online reviews matter. The following findings are taken directly from their published research:
- “We sent a questionnaire to our local consumer panel and received 2,104 completed survey responses. All respondents are from the USA (90%) and Canada (10%). The purpose of the survey is to understand how online reviews influence the attitudes of consumers toward local businesses and how they directly influence the purchase of local business services.”
- 88% have read reviews to determine the quality of a local business
- 39% read reviews on a regular basis
- Only 12% do not read reviews
- 67% of consumers said they read up to 6 reviews
- 85% of consumers said they read up to 10 reviews
- 7% of consumers said they read 20+ reviews
- 72% of consumers say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more
- 10% of consumers don’t take any notice of online reviews
- 88% of consumers say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations
- Only 13% said they do not trust reviews as much as personal recommendations
-Written by Kevin Sawyer
