Internet Reputations Are Ignored By Small Businesses [Study]

A recent survey performed by Yodle suggests that many small business owners downplay the true value of online reviews and their internet reputations. According to the study, many small businesses belittle the effect that their internet reputation has on their company’s ability to appeal to new customers. Hopefully you’re not one of them, but if you are, then it’s time for a quick lesson on online reputation management.

The highlights of Yodle’s survey reveal a lot about small business owners and the aloof sentiment many have about their online presences.

About 50% of small business owners believe that positive online reviews are not important.

Half of small business owners don’t believe that somebody seeing positive online reviews about their business is important when it comes to attracting new customers. Even more important are the people you’re driving away who search for your business and find negative comments. You win business online by having a flawless internet reputation and by showing that you offer better products or services than others in your industry. That’s the gist of it, and we haven’t even discussed SEO yet.

The majority of small business owners don’t ask for online reviews.

It’s pretty unbelievable that most small business owners don’t ask customers, clients, or patients to leave them a quick review online. This is especially odd since 43% of survey respondents didn’t ask because they “haven’t thought about it.” Asking customers to post reviews for you online is a huge hassle – that’s why JMR offers a Review Posting Campaign. You run your business while we post your authentic positive reviews online. That’s internet reputation management made easy.

68% of small business owners don’t monitor their online reputations.

We’re all crunched for time, every day, all day. Running a small business is so time consuming that regularly monitoring what your business looks like online can be difficult to fit into your hectic schedule. One bad review in a visible location could really damage your internet reputation and in turn cause a significant amount of traffic to invest in your competitors instead of you. Perform weekly checks, even if you can only find 5 minutes a week to do so, it could save your business.

Your internet reputation is too important to be left up to a rogue customers, clients, or patients. Worrying about negative reviews is a pain in the neck, but you can take control of your internet reputation and prevent damage from future negative reviews. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.