Peyton Ave

Small Business Success Stories

Online Reviews

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I am going to go back to a part of a topic I covered prior because it is such an important part of any small businesses success and continual success.  During my weekly search on ways to help improve my business, I came across the link below.  It talks about online reviews and their importance.  Online reviews can not only help drive sales, they can also drive potential sales away if the reviews are negative.  Learning how to get consumers that had a positive experience with your business or product to write a review is very important.  Whether you ask them or have a site on the receipt for them to go to or many other options.  People who have a positive experience are less likely to leave an online review than people who had a negative review.  According to the 2018 ReviewTrackers Online Review Survey, 28% of people would like leave a review if they had a positive experience while 34% of people would leave a review if they had a negative experience.

A few takeaways from the survey.

Google is #1

6 out of 10 people said they would check Google reviews before going to a business.  This means all the potential customers that are traveling in the area that have not experienced your business are going to see what other people have to say about your business on Google before going.  Google is leading the pack for online reviews so it is strongly recommended to keep your Google My Business page up to date.

Respond to negative comments.  

While you should respond to positive comments as well, people really check to see how you responded to the negative comments you receive.  It is important to try and remedy their experience if possible.  53% of people say they expect a business to respond to their negative comments within a week.  Only around 37% of businesses do so you can get ahead of the curve by caring what type of experience people had.

Work to provide a positive experience for all.

Though impossible to please everyone, it does not mean you can’t try to make everyone at least feel like you are attempting to cater to their time while at your place of business.  94% of people said they would be swayed by a negative review of your business.  I would imagine this goes especially for those negative comments you did not respond to and try rectify the situation.  The customer is always right and should be treated as such.  If you go out of your way to make their experience positive, even if they don’t like your food, products, or atmosphere, they will leave with the thought that you tried to help them enjoy it.
So to wrap, reviews are becoming more popular amongst consumers and they are being left for any type of business on Google.  They are writing reviews for your business whether or not you have a review page on your website and not going to the review websites as much as before.  Keep up-to-date on your online presence as it will make a big difference to foot and online traffic for your business.  
Also an update… I am biking around 100-150 miles a week now to prep for the #Headwaters100.  Will be going on a 30+ mile bike ride this month.  Gearing up for the ride in September.  Check out the ride if you want to join the 100’s that are riding their bikes in beautiful Northern Minnesota.  
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