What happens if people don’t love you on Yelp? Online peer reviews have become the go to resource for consumers who want to find specific information about a company they might do business with. If you want to find out if a restaurant is affordable, makes good food and has excellent service, you can go to a number of online guides to see how high their ranking is, which is usually done by stars or a number system. The higher your business is in the rankings, the better your chances of a possible customer finding your business. These sites have become make it or break it vehicles for many restaurants, retailers and more. Businesses are quickly having to reshape their practices to increase their ratings online. Moreover, an abundance of negative public commentary can be even more scathing. One slip up that wasn’t to the customers liking and it can test the survival of your business. But how much are negative business reviews really costing your business?
A whopping 83% of consumers say that reviews influence their buying decisions. Also, travelers are up to 3 times more likely to book a hotel room that has 5 stars. Online reviews can cost your business more than you think. In today’s cutthroat, competitive market place, unfavorable online peer reviews can actually kill your business. Most of these poor reviews are prompted by people who are unhappy with the functionality or price of a certain product and also the quality of food at a particular restaurant. More and more, businesses have to do better quality control and restrict their hiring process. One nasty comment by a waiter and a customer might go home to complain about it on the multitude of review websites that will be read by thousands of people online. Another statistic says that 69 percent of people have just as much confidence in trusting an online review as they do a personal recommendation.
These staggering numbers should be proof that businesses should shape up if they want to increase their rating. However, many businesses don’t even know that they have been talked about online. If you are a business owner, the chances are that your company’s rating is on one of these sites for everyone to read. While these websites are a boon to consumers, because they allow them to make more informed purchasing decisions, they can be a big headache to your business. Yet, there are a number of ways to build your ratings online to have better reviews and garner more customers. For instance, stats say that 10 favorable reviews will offset one negative review. You can offer your customers your services for a discount or find creative ways to encourage your patrons to go home and give you a great review. The more you actively pursue a good online image, the better the odds of your business thriving. Also, sites like Reputation.com do a great job of cleaning up your online identity, because having a good rep online can mean the world of difference to your business’s continued success.
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