Businesses may think that online reviews aren’t important. This is especially true for already established businesses with a high reputation and loyal following.
Some businesses though think that a bad review is capable of crippling them entirely. If you’ve watched the Jon Favreau movie, Chef, you probably have an idea of how a single bad review can spiral into something terrible for a business’ reputation.
In reality, online review experts are important. Online reviews can reach a much wider audience than expected. On Yelp alone, about 26,000 reviews are posted by users per minute. Here are some aspects that highlight the importance of online reviews:
Online Review Experts Have a Great Impact on Customers
Expert reviews have a great impact on a business brand. A study shows that about 90 percent of customers read online reviews before visiting a business.
Because customers find the expert reviews valuable, businesses must regard them with importance. Each one-star increase translates to around 5 to 9 percent increase in revenue.
Customers Regard Reviews as Credible Information
Customers think that online review experts are trustworthy and credible. A study on customers’ spending habits indicates that 84 percent trust online reviews similar to that of personal recommendations.
Consumers Get Information from Online Review Experts
Restaurants receive much of the bulk of expert reviews. Potential customers take advantage of these reviews to know about the food, serving size, price range, customer service, and overall dining experience. Review experts help consumers to decide on a restaurant, service, or product by providing their relevant knowledge.
Online Reviews Can Help Businesses Adapt
Businesses need to evolve. Even the top brands must keep up with the changing trends to retain and attract more customers. An honest and constructive review is what businesses need so they can tweak their strategy.
Expert Reviews Affect the Success of Businesses
Online reviews are proven to impact around 68 percent of purchasing decisions. That’s a lot, considering that more than half of potential customers are swayed by an expert reviewer’s feedback alone. This is especially helpful for small businesses who initially rely on word-of-mouth and viral recommendations from customers’ feedback.
Reviews don’t simply boost conversion rate. They also drive traffic to your site. Businesses, especially restaurants, don’t always churn out content. But with consumer-generated media from expert online reviews, your site will become more active.
Dealing with Negative Online Reviews
Even for five-star rated businesses, it’s not unheard of to receive a few negative reviews. Handling unsatisfied or underwhelmed customers requires much attention and patience.
Respond promptly, but think of the most tactful and pleasant way to handle the situation. Don’t be defensive. Instead, be real and admit your mistakes, if warranted. Offer better services and promise to improve.
You should correct inaccuracies. Check if your online menu is updated and if it reflects the actual and current price.
Check reviews in different platforms. With the boom of influencer culture in YouTube and Instagram, it’s also wise to check if the channel or person that highlighted your establishment featured accurate information.
Take for example this food review, which initially said that a restaurant offers an all-you-can-eat menu. The manager was quick to reach out to the reviewer and correct the inaccurate claim, which prevented a potential problem.
Take Advantage of Online Reviews
Reach out and encourage customers to share their experience. Make it a point to respond to expert reviews. When you do, write like a person and not like a corporation. If you know you’re in the wrong, provide restitution, and for worse-case scenarios, take the issue offline.
To know more about the power of expert reviews, read up on other reviews by fintech blogs. Knowledge is power, and you can take advantage of expert reviews by understanding how rating and review sites work.