Babe Ruth, considered to be the greatest baseball player of all time, was one asked about his greatness. Humbly, the legendary Babe replied that he was really only as good as his last time at bat. That seems to be something small businesses need to consider these days; how was your last time at bat? With consumers seemingly giving great sway to online reviews and ratings, a business these days must consider every customer, every transaction, as a time at bat that just can’t be wasted. In some newly published research released at BrightLocal, it seems that your ratings just may make you or break you. The following is taken directly from that recent research:
- 93% of consumers used the internet to find a local business in the last year, with 34% searching every day
- 87% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses in 2020 – up from 81% in 2019
- 31% of consumers say they read more reviews in 2020 because of Covid-19, while 34% read fewer
- 67% of consumers say they wouldn’t use a business if reviews said it didn’t have Covid-19 health and safety measures in place
- The industries in which consumers are most likely to have read reviews: 1) Restaurants, 2) Hotels, 3) Medical, 4) Automotive, 5) Clothing stores
- The most important review factors: 1) Star rating, 2) Legitimacy, 3) Recency, 4) Sentiment, 5) Quantity
- Only 48% of consumers would consider using a business with fewer than 4 stars
- 73% of consumers only pay attention to reviews written in the last month
- 72% of US consumers have written a review for a local business – a big jump from 66% in 2019
- When writing a review, 20% of consumers expect to receive a response within one day
- Consumers are most likely to look at Google My Business for local business reviews, but trust the Better Business Bureau the most
-Written by Kevin Sawyer
SearchPro Systems
2024