Why Consumers Turn to Digital Reviews

Purchasing an item or service online can be overwhelming. Many factors play into what makes someone comfortable shopping online, from past experiences to what they intend to buy. For example, it's easier to commit to purchasing a blanket than a couch. 

Consumers who want to purchase big-ticket items or products with various brand options will often turn to reviews for help. When it comes to online reviews, people are looking for reassurance, and they want to know that the products they plan to purchase are worth their hard-earned money, and as an equally hard-working business owner, you probably understand. 

Digital reviews aren't all bad, as a positive recommendation can boost business and increase conversion rates, client trust, free advertising, improved search engine results, and better feedback. 

However, online reviews don't fully encompass the emotional and mental states that go into a transaction, and because of that, their accuracy is limited. Now that you understand why consumers utilize digital reviews and how they can help, we'll discuss the aspects of digital reviews that make us cringe. 

The Negatives of Digital Reviews

Online reviews can certainly be a thorn in the side of any business owner, marketing team, or company publicist. We must remember that the internet is a place where anyone can say anything, regardless of what or who they might be misrepresenting. 

Digital reviews definitely have their downside, so let's discuss how they can negatively affect your business. 

Reputation

First and foremost, business owners are often concerned about their business reputation when it comes to online reviews that paint their products and services negatively. While tools like BusySeed reviews can assist with this issue, poor online reviews can cause significant damage to a brand's reputation in a relatively short amount of time. 

Negative reviews tend to encourage your potential customers to turn away almost immediately. Modern consumers compare everything online, from prices to brands. Even just a few reviews that paint your product or service in poor light can damage the reputation you've spent years building. 

Bad reviews tell consumers they shouldn't trust your business and ask them to question your credibility, even with limited knowledge of your company. A large number of negative reviews make it challenging to regain the trust of consumers, especially those who have yet to work with you. 

Revenue

Negative digital reviews can quickly lead to a loss in revenue. Consumers can leave a bad review in many places, depending on where you list your business and what you sell. From Google to Yelp, the internet is full of dark corners that harbor harmful reviews and put your income at risk. 

A whopping 94% of consumers avoid companies that have negative digital reviews. This number is staggering, mainly because we're unsure of many of the factors that led to a negative review and, often, how the company in question stepped in to make things right with the consumer. 

Consumers tend to leave poor reviews right after dissatisfaction with the product or service occurs. The amount of emotion that fuels poor reviews motivates others to look elsewhere for a similar product. Before you know it, your revenue drops significantly compared to the competition. 

Customer Loss

A drop in revenue means a reduction in customers. Negative reviews are almost always successful in chasing away potential new clients, and it only takes one negative review to begin driving customers into the arms of your competitors. 

If you experience a sudden customer loss or decrease in conversions, your digital reviews are the first KPI you should check. It's crucial to attend to negative reviews as soon as you receive them, so consumers can find reassurance in your business attempting to correct the situation. 

Though customer loss is an inevitable side-effect of a bad review, you can fix it through transparency and outreach. Never be afraid to question those who leave a poor review, and ask them how you can help make things right. This level of customer service shows consumers you care. 

Low Search Engine Rankings

Unfortunately, Google and other search engines, though not as commonly utilized, put a lot of weight behind digital reviews. Search engine bots will crawl the reviews associated with your business, and if they're negative, you won't rank highly in search engine results pages. 

Google prides itself on providing its users with the best match possible for their internet search. For example, suppose you own a tax business and have a few negative reviews. In that case, Google will not recommend you to possible clients searching for a tax business near them because those negative reviews might make your company a risky suggestion. 

Ranking high in search engines is vital to your online presence and overall success as a company. Losing the SEO strategy you've built and spent a great deal of time executing due to a negative review or two can be heartbreaking.

Mitigating the Effects of Negative Reviews

Working with a top-notch digital marketing agency can help you mitigate the effects that your negative digital reviews have had on your company. In the meantime, there are some steps you can take to reverse the damage of a poor online review. 

Respond

Don't waste any time responding to a negative review. When businesses ignore negative reviews or don't have a strategy to handle them effectively, things get out of hand. It's good practice to respond to all reviews, but try to resist skipping over the negative or, worse, leaving a snarky comment. 

Streamline Customer Service

Many companies can avoid negative reviews by solving consumer issues before they make their way to the internet. While this isn't always possible, especially for those who sell on marketplaces like Amazon, addressing a less-than-desirable consumer experience right away can make all the difference. 

Be as professional as possible in your response, and show plenty of empathy and understanding. If you demonstrate how badly you want to make things right, consumers will take notice and share that with others. 

Offer a Solution

Offering to fix the problem, before or after a bad review, can be a significant step toward resolution. You can continue the conversation offline if the customer has already left the review, providing them with your direct line or email address. In some cases, consumers cannot delete online reviews, but they can update them!

Invest in Reputation Management

Digital marketing is essential to running a business, and every company should have an in-house or outsourced marketing team to manage its online reputation. These services can provide you with the tools you need to handle negative feedback, and BusySeed reviews are the perfect starting point. 

Encourage Positive Reviews

You can always ask your customers to supply you with a positive review to even out the effects that negative reviews can have on a business, increasing your overall ratings, improving your brand reputation, and helping you climb up SEO rankings. 

Even before possible negative reviews pop up, execute a solid strategy early on to collect positive reviews from your most valued clients. A marketing agency can help you with this as well!

BusySeed Reviews and Driving Growth

Working with a digital marketing agency like BusySeed can help your company develop a branded and strategic digital marketing campaign that will assist in the mitigation of poor digital reviews and establish a positive brand reputation. BusySeed will help you build brand coherence from social media to digital ad management, as a brand easily recognized can bounce back from negative reviews while maintaining a solid reputation. 

If you take a moment to look at BusySeed reviews, you'll see that we're successful across various platforms, collecting reviews from clients worldwide. We aim to do the same for each of our customers, creating digital ads that bring a return on investment while managing how you reach the customers that need you. 

Working with BusySeed will help you build brand strength, making it more challenging for the occasional bad review to destroy your customer base and ruin your revenue and SEO rankings. We're waiting to support you as you aim to bring your brand to the next level, helping you fuel growth in any way possible. Contact BusySeed today to get started!