Online Reviews: Why Your Business Should Take Them Seriously

Picture this – it’s Friday night and my husband and I are trying to decide where to eat dinner. We are rattling off the names of our favorite restaurants before I remember a new pizza place just opened in Old Town.

Before we finalize our decision though, I instinctively reach for my laptop to check the online reviews. If the place has 4-5 stars, I’m sold; anything less than 2.5 stars and I will probably reconsider.

And it’s not just me. A 2013 study from Search Engine Land shows, not only do “85% of consumers say that they read online reviews for local businesses, but 79% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.”

Reviews are important and they are everywhere.

Have you noticed when you visit a Facebook business page a star rating is featured below the company name? Or when you Google a restaurant, rating sites are among the top results?

The truth is, customers are searching for reviews and, to have a successful marketing campaign, online reputation management is a must.

So, to help introduce the world of online reviews, here are a few basic facts every business needs to know:

1. There are multiple online review platforms.

Yelp, Trip Advisor, and Google Reviews rein the web right now. If a customer is going to write a review, they will most likely visit one of these sites.

2. Review pages are not optional.

Even if you have not created review pages for your business, assume someone else has. Review websites allow customers to create company pages if they do not already exist.

For example: If I had dinner at ‘John Smith’s Restaurant’ and wanted to write a review on Yelp, I would use the restaurant search tool. If the results show that no one else has written a review and the restaurant has not created a page yet, Yelp gives me the option to make one. Not only can I write my review and enter in the business name, but I can also upload photos, business hours, address, etc. And this is true for most review sites. In order to ensure your correct business information is listed, consider posting your business on all the major review websites for when a customer decides to write a review.

3. Review pages can be claimed and managed.

Almost every review website has a business manager portal allowing businesses to take ownership of its pages. This gives a business the opportunity to respond to reviews, quickly update business information, and receive email updates when new reviews are posted.

4. Consider responding to reviews.

While it may seem overwhelming to engage with angry or overly satisfied customers, it is important. People are reviewing your business because they either had an amazing or terrible experience and it’s important to acknowledge them. Once you claim your page, you can respond to reviews via private messages or public comments. This not only helps the reputation of the business with past and current customers, but with new customers as well. Nothing looks worse on a review website than a bunch of angry comments with no outreach from the manager.

Remember, reviews are an important part of developing an online presence and we are here to help! Stay tuned for future posts addressing questions such as: How do I get my customers to write online reviews? How do I claim and properly manager my review pages? and How should I respond to reviews?

In the meantime, if you need help with marketing your business, including online reputation management, please contact our marketing department.

Back to All Insights

Brittany Mathisen

2023-09-27

OTM has been a wonderful marketing partner for the last four years. We have shifted marketing plans over time and they are very open and explained all the details as we moved forward with new plans. They have done everything from help design and update offices, managed social media, planning marketing events, and many more things. The Hear for Holidays Event that we do each year is one of my favorite events that we work on together. Rachel and the whole OTM team have brought my marketing vision to life and I love everything they have done for my business. I look forward to what the future holds as we continue to work together.

Yvonne Myers

2023-07-30

I worked with Old Town Media (OTM) on a quick grant project that had a 6-week timeline. They were very thoughtful about whether they could meet the grant expectations and needs before accepting the work. The team at OTM then completed extensive research and facilitated focus groups to ensure the product they created met the needs of the end-users. They met all of the grant deadlines and far exceeded our expectations of the portal they created for us! I would not hesitate to use their services again and highly recommend them to others looking for a professional, high quality, and FUN team to work with.

Julie Dokoupil

2023-07-18

OTM is a locally owned firm that I have worked with for over 13 years. They are an amazing team of people who know and understand current marketing technology and strategies. My husband and I are starting a new business and they have helped us out even with small details to get our business going.

TunDesign

2023-06-20

I have seen a significant increase in community engagement which has helped bolster our brand presence, exceeding the expectations of the entire team. Carrie and her team provides consistent communication through slack and emails which has led to an effective and trusted partnership. Truly appreciate how hard-working, agile, and driven everyone on the team is. Thanks again for eveything your team has done for our company.

David Haase

2023-06-07

OTM has done a fantastic job bringing the Fort Collins Peach Festival back to the public! OTM is dealing with several volunteers on a committee and keeping everyone informed, best in business advice and a platform that will serve us for years. We didn't know what we needed and were presented with choices and educated about each before implementation. Kerrie and Brianna have done great work for us! Dave Haase Committee Chair Fort Collins Peach Festival

Dana Sednek

2023-03-15

Using their Path to Growth Model, OTM not only gave me a path forward, but they helped me clarify my strategy, direction, and actions for how to set and launch my business. I was able to launch quickly and I see the flywheel ahead that is necessary to accelerate customer intake and revenue building. Thrilled with the outcome!!!

Liza Adams

2023-01-13

As the Head of Marketing at Encompass Technologies, I considered Old Town Media an extension of our marketing team. OTM worked closely with us on rebranding and repositioning, multiple industry-first product launches, key industry events, and integrated demand generation campaigns while we grew our marketing team and acquired new companies. With the help of OTM, we grew our pipeline and bested industry benchmarks for Software as a Service (SaaS) sales and marketing efficiency metrics. We came to rely on OTM for tactical execution to augment our team but where they added the most value was in our rebranding strategy and market positioning efforts. OTM played an integral role in conducting research and deeply understanding our market dynamics, ideal customer profile, customer challenges, competitive landscape, products and innovation, key differentiators, vision, and mission. This was no easy feat with a highly complex ecosystem, multiple segments, wide variety of audiences, and a broad array of products. Armed with market insights, OTM helped us develop a compelling brand, an inspirational story reflecting our vision and strategy, a unique and defensible market position, and messaging that was relevant to our target audiences. I appreciated that the team was respectful and empathetic, intently curious, insightful with their observations and recommendations, and candid with their feedback. OTM set realistic expectations about deliverables/scope, level of effort, roles, timeline, and cost. The team was responsive, highly collaborative, and open to suggestions. OTM plugged our expertise and resource gaps which allowed us to break the compromise between doing good work and doing it quickly. On top of that, they were fun to work with. OTM was truly a partner of the business.

Eric Dengler

2023-01-11

Great team! Small company service. Big firm power and expertise.

zach fulton

2023-01-06

Simply put, OTM is a well oiled machine! Thanks for all you do

Online Reviews: Why Your Business Should Take Them Seriously

1. There are multiple online review platforms.

2. Review pages are not optional.

3. Review pages can be claimed and managed.

4. Consider responding to reviews.

Growing a business
is hard and finding the
right partner matters.

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