Reputation in business is crucial. People read online reviews, oftentimes before you even have a chance to provide them with great service. What's more, bad reviews can cause your business not to show up in search results, further damaging your ability to get customers in the first place. Online reviews are critical, but what can you do to make them better?
First, understand that bad reviews happen and each one is an opportunity to make things better. People have bad days, both customer and employee, and sometimes things can escalate quickly. The angriest of people leave bad reviews, so it can seem as though there's nothing that can be done about them. But when you treat bad reviews as opportunities to make things right, you can turn those angry customers into your biggest allies. All people want is to feel heard and cared about, so when you respond to bad reviews by asking how you can make things right it shows you are taking responsibility and trying to fix the problem.
Most customers only trust businesses with a four star or higher rating, and 92% of Amazon customers will only buy things with three stars or more. In fact, Amazon opened a store in SoHo that only carries four-star rated products. The concept is so popular that the store and its items have earned collectively 1.8 million five-star reviews. Since then two new stores have opened in California and Colorado, and the SoHo store has a 4.1 star rating on Google. People appreciate having trusted merchandise that has already been tested and rated for them before they buy, as it gives them more confidence in their purchases.
A good reputation can help you stand out from your competitors and can drive sales right to your door. Customers often looks at a company's ratings before choosing whether to do business with them, so a few bad reviews can prevent a lot of business if you don't handle them correctly. 90% of customers use the internet to comparison shop for every single purchase they make, and 78% trust online ratings as much as they would trust a personal recommendation from someone they know. What's more, most customers are 68% more likely to visit a business after reading positive online reviews.
What is most critical to understand, though, is that bad reviews can affect your ranking in search engine results, limiting your visibility online. Increasing your review rating from three to five stars can generate 25% more search traffic for your business, which leads to increased sales and visibility.
It takes time and skills to manage your company's online reputation, which is the main reason many businesses ignore it altogether. While only one in five brands say they struggle to respond to reviews, 65% of customers say they aren't getting the response they expect. Artificial intelligence can help pick up the slack and keep on top of customer reviews, helping you to manage your business more effectively.
By 2020, 25% of customer service interactions will be handled by artificial intelligence. AI will be finding relevant information, responding when necessary, and indexing insights into something that is searchable and usable by businesses. What's more, AI can automatically prompt customers to leave feedback after a transaction, and when that happens 80% of customers do leave feedback.
Online ratings and reviews matter, and 70% of potential customers form their opinion of your business after reading only three reviews. Make those reviews count in your favor regardless of the initial interaction based on how you respond to them. Learn more about the importance of online reputation in business and how AI can help you manage it below!
Read next: 21 Places Offering Business Freebies for Your Startup (infographic)
First, understand that bad reviews happen and each one is an opportunity to make things better. People have bad days, both customer and employee, and sometimes things can escalate quickly. The angriest of people leave bad reviews, so it can seem as though there's nothing that can be done about them. But when you treat bad reviews as opportunities to make things right, you can turn those angry customers into your biggest allies. All people want is to feel heard and cared about, so when you respond to bad reviews by asking how you can make things right it shows you are taking responsibility and trying to fix the problem.
Most customers only trust businesses with a four star or higher rating, and 92% of Amazon customers will only buy things with three stars or more. In fact, Amazon opened a store in SoHo that only carries four-star rated products. The concept is so popular that the store and its items have earned collectively 1.8 million five-star reviews. Since then two new stores have opened in California and Colorado, and the SoHo store has a 4.1 star rating on Google. People appreciate having trusted merchandise that has already been tested and rated for them before they buy, as it gives them more confidence in their purchases.
A good reputation can help you stand out from your competitors and can drive sales right to your door. Customers often looks at a company's ratings before choosing whether to do business with them, so a few bad reviews can prevent a lot of business if you don't handle them correctly. 90% of customers use the internet to comparison shop for every single purchase they make, and 78% trust online ratings as much as they would trust a personal recommendation from someone they know. What's more, most customers are 68% more likely to visit a business after reading positive online reviews.
What is most critical to understand, though, is that bad reviews can affect your ranking in search engine results, limiting your visibility online. Increasing your review rating from three to five stars can generate 25% more search traffic for your business, which leads to increased sales and visibility.
It takes time and skills to manage your company's online reputation, which is the main reason many businesses ignore it altogether. While only one in five brands say they struggle to respond to reviews, 65% of customers say they aren't getting the response they expect. Artificial intelligence can help pick up the slack and keep on top of customer reviews, helping you to manage your business more effectively.
By 2020, 25% of customer service interactions will be handled by artificial intelligence. AI will be finding relevant information, responding when necessary, and indexing insights into something that is searchable and usable by businesses. What's more, AI can automatically prompt customers to leave feedback after a transaction, and when that happens 80% of customers do leave feedback.
Online ratings and reviews matter, and 70% of potential customers form their opinion of your business after reading only three reviews. Make those reviews count in your favor regardless of the initial interaction based on how you respond to them. Learn more about the importance of online reputation in business and how AI can help you manage it below!
Read next: 21 Places Offering Business Freebies for Your Startup (infographic)