Every sales call I make involves a discussion of online reviews. Small businesses are really shook by what one unhappy customer can do to their reputation. They sometimes don’t even understand what impact it can have on their cashflow.
A negative review can cost you thousands. Imagine … someone writes a scathing, but in your opinion, unfair review of your business in 2008. Every month dozens of prospects see that review and decide not to take a chance with you and choose to do business with someone else. A couple years later, how many hundreds of prospective customers have decided against you? What’s the cost?
In a report from Comscore
More than three-quarters of review users in nearly every category reported that the review had a significant influence on their purchase, with hotels ranking the highest (87 percent). Ninety-seven percent of those surveyed who said they made a purchase based on an online review said they found the review to have been accurate. Review users also noted that reviews generated by fellow consumers had a greater influence than those generated by professionals.
Although every business is different, when I’m designing an online marketing plan, I value a good, authentic online review at $500. If my customer has bad reviews, it’s worth even more. You have the ability right now to get good reviews. You have happy, repeat clients. You just have to figure out how to get them to write a review for you.
I’m starting a new project to take your good letters of recommendation and referral and put them online. If you’ve got letters from happy customers, call Julie Gallaher at 916-265-2521 to see how you can participate.
