Sometimes, we may be ready to purchase an item we want. Unfortunately, there are three similar models, and we can’t decide on which to buy and wonder what to do?
If you have been in that situation, stymied as to which item to purchase, then searching on a consumer reviews site is your savior. Just a couple of features one item has that the others don’t may be all you need which item to select and make your purchase.
Unfortunately, all reviewing platforms are not equal. If you are buying an item, especially an expensive item, and are heavily influenced by various consumer review platforms, you want to make sure and use the best.
How to Find Reviews Online
Before we search for reviews online, we should understand the different types of readily available reviews. These are the most common reviews searched online; chances are your type of search will be one of the listed searches.
Everyone has a different reason to search for a review. You may be looking for a restaurant, home improvement contractors, new flavored soda from Jarritos Distributors, a new car, or other items. To conduct the most productive search for a review, we need to understand the different types. These are the most common types of reviews.
Product Review and Ratings
The rapid advancement of digital technology plays into the hands of the consumer. Information is so available for the visitor who may be searching for a review of a product. Positive reviews win over visitors, who would rather have a product positively reviewed than a product called a ‘dud.’
Shopping on websites such as Google Shopping, Amazon, and Shopify have a Review section and usually a competitive comparison matrix. Decisions can be made quicker, creating a more pleasant website for visitors selecting a product.
Business Reviews & Seller Ratings
Sometimes, we may be considering selling a business property and decide to look for a company that provides brokering services for selling your property. These are exciting times, and a lot of money can be in play, so who do you trust with your property?
If you are unaware of companies offering this service, online reviews are your savior. You can discover if the property has been well maintained or if you must call some chimney cleaning and sweeping companies to clean the massive fireplace.
The decision process is much easier when company reviews are available; one probably becomes your vendor. Comparing product reviews and customer ratings helps to relieve the stress encountered when selecting the best product.
How Trustworthy Are Online Reviews?
How often have we referred to an online review for honest opinions or ratings of a product we are interested in? Sometimes, reading reviews to find out how to purchase a product we are looking for, and we rely on the directions and recommendations posted in the review.
Would you be surprised to discover a lot of online reviews are a scam written by manufacturers to solicit business? Suppose you are searching, for example, for outdoor kitchen contractors. In that case, the review may be great for their product and negative towards competitive contractors, leaving the site visitor confused and oversold on their services.
The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) is becoming more proactive in reviewing sites abusing the review process and negatively impacting public trust. If you suspect the review is fake, let whatever review platform you use to know your suspicions. If you do not hear back from the website, then contact the FTC and report fraud at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
How to Review Local Businesses
Reviews can be the lifeblood of a business, where great reviews help a business to flourish, while bad reviews can make it flounder. When reviewing businesses, it is important, to be honest and give the appropriate review for products or services rendered.
For example, if you receive a service from chimney cleaning and sweeping companies, make sure and leave a review on their website. Most companies strive to deliver their services or products at a high standard and consequently receive commensurate reviews. Alternatively, if the products or services are unacceptable, a review should also note that.
Most businesses will acknowledge reviews, thanking you for positive ones or inquiring about what led you to leave a bad review. All companies should strive to improve by acknowledging their failure to deliver promised services at an expected level and normally will promise to perform better.
Good business reviews help build trust among customers and visitors. Building a list of positive reviews encourages more customer interactions and strengthens the business brand among its competitors.
The Benefits of Consumer Review Platforms
Did you know that a customer reads, on average, ten online reviews before developing trust in a company? Or that a product, with just five reviews, on average, will sell 270% more than products without any reviews? Consumer review platforms with reviews of company services or products are essential to their success, so companies encourage customers to leave reviews on consumer review platforms.
Fortunately, most companies post accurate and truthful reviews, which bodes well for visitors. When a positive review is done, such as a climate control rental services, the reviews alone may convert visitors into customers. Also, the business maintains its brand and trust among the public. Reviews ultimately help consumers by constantly making improvements based on reviewer feedback.
Supporting Small Businesses in Your Area
Considering that 44% of the U.S. economy comprises small businesses, it makes good sense to support them when possible on consumer review platforms and in general. The competitive landscape is challenging when, depending on the products or services being evaluated, different large chain companies consume much of the commercial market.
Fortunately, there are ways you can help local small businesses to prosper. Many good things happen whenever we can conduct business with a local company. For example, visit a local metal building contractor first rather than visiting a national chain vendor. Often, pricing is very competitive, and local buying helps strengthen the local economy more than transactions with chain companies.
These are some of the ways to support your local small businesses.
Choose a Small Business
Make an effort to shop for small businesses first, whether online or in person. The best way to help a small business is to spend your money at a local small business rather than a national chain store.
Discover New Local Stores
Travel to your local area to discover any new stores you can do business with. Maybe you are looking for a metal building contractor for a building, so if possible, ask friends or refer to consumer review platforms like Yelp or Angi to find a local reseller. The simple process of asking family members or driving around your local area to discover new local stores or even restaurants is a great way to support local home businesses.
Use Online Reviews to Promote Local Businesses
When you love a small, local business, leaving a five-star review is a great way to spread the word about the business. Five-star reviews encourage customers to visit the local business, whether a metal building contractor or a new restaurant. Leave reviews on several different consumer review platforms like Yelp, Google, and Next Door reviews.
Supporting Your Local Economy
Many political pundits believe that the health of local economies is an indicator of the U.S. By supporting our local economies, we are building support for the national economy, so even small, local business support can contribute to the national good. These are some excellent ways to support local economies
Shop at Local Grocery Stores
Buying groceries from a local grocery store adds tremendously to the local economy. While it may not seem so impactful to the economy, consider the farmer who supplies produce to the store. Or, livestock and poultry producers are supplying fresh cuts of meat or eggs. Maybe you need a boat repair service for the upcoming Cobia run; always check with your local boat repair service first.
When you think about it, buying from local grocery stores feeds many diverse local families. Residents raising livestock, poultry, vegetables, jellies, honey, and even flowers may use the local grocery store for their outlet. The highly rated local grocery store you find on consumer review platforms may be the best single outlet for supporting a local economy and a huge diversity of residents’ product input.
Supporting Community Events
Community events are excellent venues for showing your support for many lives in the local area. Attending farmer’s markets, art fairs, food festivals, and other non-profit community events.
Helping Your Community Thrive
Helping your community to thrive is helping yourself to thrive. Residents working and living together ultimately create a strong, thriving community. With today’s instant access to the world via the world wide web, it is easy to lose focus in our backyard.
When we concentrate on our community and develop a strong community culture, the community begins to flourish. These are some ideas that will help grow a thriving community of residents.
Support Local Businesses
There is no better way for a community to thrive than the residents supporting local businesses. Visiting local farmer’s markets, having meals at local restaurants before chain restaurants, conducting legal transactions at the local bankruptcy law offices, using consumer review platforms, and even shopping at local grocery stores all feed money back into the community and help strengthen it.
Meet and Know Your Neighbor
A thriving community consists of caring neighbors who look out for each other. Neighbors who care, help, and know each other provide the foundation for a thriving community culture. Walk next door or across the street, introduce yourself, and help create a community where residents truly enjoy living.
Environmentally Protective Community
A healthy, thriving community maintains a clean, natural environment. Residents work to maintain green spaces, water, and air around their homes. Maintaining a healthy community environment is conducive to living a healthy life for human, animal, and plant wildlife.
Spreading the Word About Local Businesses
Today’s society is more involved than ever in small, local businesses. Each flourishing community business adds to the community’s success and, by association, its residents’ success. But, to ensure the success of local businesses, we may need to spread the word about the businesses. These are ways to spread the word about local businesses through networking and other collaborative efforts.
Participate in Referral Networks
Perhaps your business, for example providing crating services, is strong in your local area but not elsewhere. By partnering with companies in the same industry but in other areas, the referral partner may pass the clients your way when an opportunity arises. And when the opportunity arises, you reciprocate, everyone eventually wins, and the business brand expands.
Share Booth in Local Trade Shows
An excellent way to establish a brand in areas around your locality is to participate in trade shows with a booth. You may even be able to split costs with another regional non-competitive business. For example, you provide crating services and share a trade show booth with a freight company from another region.
How to Write a Great Review
When you write a great review of, for example, a concrete raising company, you want the review to be effective. So these are some tips for writing a great review.
Among the tips for writing great reviews are: 1. Include as many details as possible in the review 2. Make sure to use proper grammar and spelling 3. Don’t shorten the review; use as many words as necessary for a complete review 4. Be honest in your opinions about the review, and 5. Do not be abusive in the review, be honest but not inflammatory.
How Reviews Help Companies Improve
Customer reviews help companies prosper in many ways, like concrete delivery services. Reviewer feedback from customers provided businesses with priceless feedback confirming what works and what needs to be improved.
Positive reviews improve customer trust and strengthen a business’s brand, ultimately increasing sales. A side benefit of increasing sales based on positive reviews is to increase web search engine rankings for businesses.
Takeaway
Consumer reviews are important, maybe even the lifeblood of certain businesses. Posted reviews can help make or break a business. Consumer review platforms provide an important service that businesses should pay attention to and embrace, regardless of the intent of the review.
