January 2022 Edition

Reputation is everything!  How does your business stack up?

Online Customer Reviews Can Make or Break Your Business

by Dawn Varga

January 20, 2022

(Updated article previously published February 22, 2019)

In addition to providing great products and customer service, a company’s reputation is one of the most important aspects of business that companies need to monitor and maintain. In today’s digitally-focused market, online reputation management is something that businesses should not neglect.

Online customer reviews are important for many reasons. They are part of establishing a positive online brand identity for the business. When consumers are searching online, a company with good ratings and reviews can appear to be the best choice. Positive reviews act as personal referrals which are one of the most valuable sources of lead generation. Negative reviews are just as important, as they provide first-hand feedback from your customers about areas where your business may need to improve. If a company can resolve an issue with a customer, they may be able to get them to update their online review which can show the company in a very positive light to potential future clients. 

Publicly responding to reviews, both the positive and negative, is important for a couple of reasons. One in five consumer expect to receive a response with a day of posting a review. Thanking a customer for their review goes a long way toward building postive relationship and seucring repeat business. When a business responds to reviews, it also shows potential consumers reading the reviews that they care about their customers and their feedback. 

It can be difficult for businesses to keep up with the multitude of online social media and review sites in use today. It takes a considerable amount of time and effort to manage a company’s online reputation. That’s where digital marketing companies can help by monitoring review and social sites, providing tools to gather reviews and feedback from customers, and engaging and responding to customer feedback on behalf of the company. These services are available at a fraction of the cost it would require to hire dedicated employees to do the same work. 

Partner with OnTarget Digital Services in 2022! Request your FREE Reputation Report and give us a call or text at (951) 394-1952 to set up a quick conversation about how we can help your business succeed online.

At the dawn of marketing, companies dictated the rules of the market. Businesses would create demand and try to persuade customers that their products were the best.

Now, with the spread of social media platforms and review websites, customers are in charge. You will not be successful if your product has only 1.2 stars on Amazon and barely any positive reviews. The sound of peer-to-peer information is becoming louder and louder, and marketers have to listen to it.

But in the abundance of reviews, how do you filter the information and decide what data is valuable enough to analyze, and what can be left out? What can you actually deduce from online reviews, and why are they so important?

Why Are Online Reviews Important?

You probably understand intuitively why online reviews are important for your business, but let's look at some numbers. Nearly 87% of consumers claimed to have read online reviews in 2020, whereas the same figure was at 81% the previous year.

The significance of online reviews rose during the COVID lockdowns when going to stores became impossible for most people and products such as home workout equipment and hand sanitizers suddenly increased in importance. In fact, roughly 31% of consumers said they read more online reviews because of COVID.

It is also important to know how people read online reviews. A full 73% of online consumers said they read only recent reviews (no older than one month).

Finally, how often do people write reviews? In 2020, 72% of consumers said they left a review online, whereas 66% said so in 2019, the same study found.

So how do you extract valuable knowledge from online reviews and make smarter data-driven marketing decisions?

Here are five essential lessons marketers can learn from reading online reviews. CLICK TO REST OF ARTICLE

Ingredients:

• 4-6 cups Rice Chex cereal
• 1 8-oz bag Strawberry Candy Melts  OR  1 12-oz. bag of white chocolate baking chips plus 1 box of Strawberry Creme Jell-O Pudding (pudding, NOT gelatin!)
• Valentines M&M’s and/or Sprinkles

1. Measure out Chex cereal into a large bowl. Note: if you're using the Strawberry Candy Melts, you'll use 4 cups of cereal. If you're using the white chocolate chips + pudding mix, you'll use 6 cups of cereal.

2. Pour chocolate into a small glass dish. Add 1/2 tsp shortening, if desired, to help the chocolate coat the cereal easier. Microwave for 1 minute 20 seconds. Let sit in the microwave for 3 minutes. Remove and gently stir. If chocolate loves its shape and looks smooth, it's done. If not, return to the microwave in 15 second increments, letting it sit for 2-3 minutes each time, until melted and smooth.

3. If you used White Chocolate Chips + Pudding Mix: Add 4 TBSP of the strawberry creme pudding into the white chocolate and stir gently until smooth. Add 2 drops of red food coloring, if desired.

4. Pour the chocolate mixture over the Chex cereal and stir gently to coat.

5. Transfer cereal mixture to a large piece of wax paper. Sprinkle with M&M's and Valentines sprinkles, if desired. Let cool to set. Break pieces and store in an airtight container to save. Candy can be made up to 3-4 days ahead, if desired. It saves well!

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