Did you know that 96% of customers now read local business reviews?
Neither did we. But after reading Moz’s new local business report, it’s apparent that customer reviews can greatly influence their decisions – and the health of your business.
Here’s a few more interesting stats from the same report that could help you better understand how to treat and incentivize customer reviews.
So grab five stars, you’re gonna need them later…
68% of users trust customer reviews. On the flip side, only 11% of customers believe in brand messaging, which brings us to the old saying: people trust other people, not brands.
65% leave negative reviews due to bad customer service, followed by bad products (63%), then by low-quality work on a job (38%) and false information (29%).
To prevent bad reviews, you should focus on local business listing management. Set up proper information and a first line of contact to make your customers’ lives easier.
91% of the customer journey is still in your control after they read the reviews. Most shoppers will either visit your website (51%), go to your physical store (27%), or contact the business (13%).
Try setting up a dedicated funnel for each of these touchpoints to improve your conversions.
38% want to write a positive review, but simply forget. It happens, we all get distracted. Fortunately, you can set up an email sequence to remind them, or offer some kind of incentive – a gift, discount, free shipping, etc. – for when they do.
Keep in mind that 30% of shoppers say the reviewing process is too difficult. If you suspect yours is too, it might be time to do something about it.
62% would give you a second chance if you solved a problem. If a customer points out something they didn’t like and you go out of your way to solve it, they’re willing to change their review.
An opportunity to improve your operations while also getting good publicity? Sounds like a no-brainer.
That’s just the start. If you’re running a local business we recommend checking out the entire report. We’d rate it 5 stars out of 5.
Alex Lim
Alex Lim is a certified book reviewer and editor with over 10 years of experience in the publishing industry. He has reviewed hundreds of books for reputable magazines and websites, such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and Goodreads. Alex has a master’s degree in comparative literature from Harvard University and a PhD in literary criticism from Oxford University. He is also the author of several acclaimed books on literary theory and analysis, such as The Art of Reading and How to Write a Book Review. Alex lives in London, England with his wife and two children. You can contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Website | Twitter | Facebook
