The power of reviews.

Your business is getting sales, all systems are in place, what could go wrong?

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Reviews.

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Reviews do so much for a business, anyone researching your business is virtually guaranteed to check out your reviews, why would they not? They are researching if your business is the right choice for their project and reviews are the best way to see what it will be like working with you, it's to check out what other people are saying. It is a very important job to maintain your reviews that you are receiving. You should continually invite customers to review your business to provide as further proof that you are the right business for the job! 

Now a bad reviews, or a series of them, can turn a consistent sales flow, into a dead business. Reviews affect the way that customers view your business and whether if they would even want to do business with you. Sometimes you might argue that the bad review is justified, or it could even be fake. It is important to understand the impact that this can have on your business.

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What happens if I get a negative review?

Hopefully, this never happens but sometimes a negative review can appear, maybe for a job that just went out of your control and there was nothing you could possibly do. It is important to address the reviews, even more so

than the positive reviews. One negative review has the power to turn away future customers, so your response is needed!

You should address the issue that the client had and discuss potential resolutions that would solve the issue at hand. Just this response alone shows that your business is honest, maybe it did make a mistake, but you are here to fix it.

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What happens if I get a fake review?

It happens, unfortunately we do not have a large amount of control in the situation, however, the best plan of action is to simply report the review and state the issue at hand and then also reply to the review stating that it is fake. By doing this, we give ourselves some respect back while the review is being removed.

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Do people read reviews?

Nearly nine out of ten consumers read reviews before making a purchase - Trust Pilot 2020

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This statistic will help you understand the consumers buyers journey, the steps they take and the boxes you have to tick.

Nearly nine out of ten (89 percent) of consumers make the effort to read the reviews before buying the product / service. Not only does this imply that reviews are an integral part of consumers’ purchase process, it also indicates a high level of confidence and faith that buyers have in fellow consumers’ opinions.

There doesn’t seem to be a big difference in reviews consumption between men and women. Just slightly more women (90 percent) read reviews compared to men (88 percent).

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What is Social Proof?

We’re more likely to make a purchase if others around us—even total strangers—agree that it is a good decision. Today, online reviews are the biggest source of social proof, and they have a clear impact on sales. This is very easily seen with eCommerce platforms such as Amazon, however equally applies to the construction industry. Construction project are always costly, starting the project means you client has to set aside funds and time. They do not want to get it wrong. Social proof shows your worth and shows you are the right team for the job.

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Importance of Businesses’ Response to Online Reviews

When evaluating a business, consumers aren’t only influenced by the reviews that others leave but also how businesses manage their reviews. As many as 97 percent of shoppers who read reviews online also read responses from businesses.

Responding to negative reviews is part of providing good customer service to your clients and it results in benefits for your business. Addressing their concerns shows that you, as a business, care for your customers.

It also helps to placate any angry customers, which increases the chances of retaining them. Plus, as many as 45 percent of consumers are more likely to support businesses if they see that they’ve responded to negative reviews.

Do not overlook the simple act of responding to a review. It could hurt you in the long run as bad experience with customer service is often shared with others.

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