"Consumers love to see the unedited reviews of their peers when making purchase decisions," said Neal Creighton, CEO of RatePoint. "Proactively asking for feedback and promoting it to prospective customers can significantly impact the decision-making process."
While many small businesses are seeing a positive impact from reviews, others are missing out on the opportunity. Approximately 31 percent of small-business owners say they are not sure if an online review has impacted their business.
"Participating in online conversations is a low-cost, high-return marketing tool for SMBs," Creighton said. "With the summer and hospitality business is in full swing, now is the time to capture and promote what customers are saying about you. In the reputation economy, it's in a small business' best interests to use these conversations that are already occurring as a way to build trust and stand out from their competitors."
More than half of small businesses surveyed reported perceiving a decline in business due to the current economic climate, while 20 percent report growth and 24 percent report no change. Of those who responded that a review had positively impacted their business, 55 percent reported business growth or no change in business. Of those who responded they could not be sure if a review had impacted their business, 71 percent reported a perceived decline in business.
