As we step further into 2023, understanding the evolving digital landscape is crucial for businesses aiming to navigate it successfully. The recent "Local Consumer Review Survey" by BrightLocal sheds light on some significant trends in customer behavior, and their implications are more profound than you might think.
According to the survey, a vast majority of consumers (76%) regularly read online reviews when browsing for local businesses. However, the online review landscape isn't a one-size-fits-all, and different industries see different levels of review importance.
The journey doesn't end at simply acknowledging the importance of reviews. With a multitude of platforms and an ever-growing number of comments, how can businesses effectively manage and use this feedback? At Siftree, we believe the answer lies in smart technology solutions that consolidate comments and perform sentiment analysis, enabling businesses to quickly identify and act on relevant feedback.
In this review, we'll unpack key findings from the 2023 Local Consumer Review Survey, discuss their implications for businesses, and explore how Siftree can help you leverage these insights to enhance your customer relations strategy.
Key Findings
Consumers were asked, How likely are you to use a business that:
Respond to all reviews, positive or negative
Respond only to negative reviews
Respond only to positive reviews
Doesn't respond to reviews at all
Here are the results:
| Not Likely At All | Not Very Likely | Fairly Likely | Highly Likely |
Respond to all reviews, positive or negative | 4% | 8% | 54% | 34% |
Respond only to negative reviews | 10% | 31% | 50% | 10% |
Respond only to positive reviews | 13% | 38% | 40% | 15% |
Doesn't respond to reviews at all | 26% | 33% | 34% | 8% |
The active engagement of a business owner with both positive and negative reviews is a major deciding factor for 88% of consumers when choosing to use a business. Conversely, businesses that only respond to negative reviews still attract 60% of consumers, whereas only 50% are likely to engage with businesses that only respond to positive feedback. The importance of businesses engaging with their reviews can be emphasized by the fact that consumers are over twice as likely to consider your business if you respond to all kinds of reviews.
How Siftree can help
By using Natural Language Processing (NLP), Siftree is able to determine the sentiment of the comment and attach that attribute to the comment in the app itself.
By doing all of the research for you, Siftree allows you to focus on the conversations and decreases the amount of time spent searching for the right comment to respond to.
Siftree changes the way you engage with your customers by bringing all of your conversations to a single place, in the palm of your hand. When running a business, there can be a stream of notifications to deal with, and filtering out the noise can be difficult. Siftree acts as a conversation engine, only notifying you when YOU want to be notified, such as a negative review or a question.
Conclusion
Online reviews play a critical role in shaping consumer perceptions and behaviors. The latest data underscores the importance of actively engaging with reviews, both positive and negative. Business owners who take the time to respond to all types of reviews are more likely to win over potential customers. Even addressing negative experiences can turn a potential drawback into an opportunity, demonstrating a commitment to customer satisfaction. The speed at which you're able to address this is crucial, as having an unresolved negative comment hang on a post for too long can scare away potential customers. In the digital age, your online reputation is your business's calling card. Make sure it's one that resonates with your audience.
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