The importance of reviews for brand reputation

How many times have we read reviews left by other users before visiting a new store? According to BrightLocal’s “Local Consumer Review Survey 2022,” the answer is: very often. 98% of consumers read online reviews about local businesses, and 78% do so more than once a week.

The elements of a review that matter most to consumers aren’t just five-star ratings: factors such as the presence of a first and last name, the date, a reply from the business, correct spelling and grammar, or the presence of photos also affect how the brand is perceived.

In particular, whether or not there is a reply from the business is one of the factors taken most into account; 89% of consumers say they would be fairly or very likely to buy from a brand that replies to all reviews, whether positive or negative.

Reviews are a decisive factor in which business a given user will choose to buy from. It is therefore important to carefully manage the reviews customers leave on Google Business Profile listings and on Facebook, both to attract new customers and to improve your online reputation and search engine ranking.

However, while consumers regularly read reviews, far fewer actually write them. According to a Podium study, 81% of consumers leave a review every three months or less, and 20% have never left one.

To succeed, businesses need to find ways to encourage customers to leave reviews, given how interested users are in reading them and how important they are as a ranking factor.

RetailTune handles review management on a 360-degree basis. The platform lets you manage every review from Google Business Profile and Facebook from a single dashboard, with replies to reviews for each individual store, breakdown by category, and store ranking based on the rating achieved. We have also created a tool that lets sales staff invite their customers to review their in-store shopping experience via a link that goes directly to the local Google Business Profile listing or Facebook page.