9 Reasons Why Local Businesses Ignore Reviews
Here’s a list of major pain points preventing small businesses from effectively monitoring and responding to their online reviews, along with supporting stats where available:
1. TIME CONSTRAINTS
· Small business owners often wear multiple hats and struggle to find time for review management
· 33% of small business owners work more than 50 hours per week (Guidant Financial, 2021)
2. LACK OF DEDICATED RESOURCES
· Many small businesses can’t afford to hire a dedicated person or team for online reputation management
3. NUMBER OF REVIEW PLATFORMS
· Businesses need to monitor multiple sites simultaneously (Google, Yelp, Facebook, industry-specific platforms)
· 94% of consumers say an online review has convinced them to avoid a business (BrightLocal, 2022)
4. INCONSISTENT REVIEW NOTIFICATIONS
· Not all platforms provide timely, or any, alerts for new reviews
5. EMOTIONAL TOLL OF NEGATIVE REVIEWS
· Criticism can be personally difficult for any business owner to process
· 82% of business owners say negative reviews have taken an emotional toll (Uberall, 2021)
6. UNCERTAINTY ABOUT HOW TO RESPOND APPROPRIATELY
· Lack of training or guidelines for crafting professional responses
· 45% of consumers say they’re more likely to visit a business that responds to negative reviews (BrightLocal, 2022)
7. FEAR OF ENGAGING WITH NEGATIVE REVIEWERS
· Concern about escalating conflicts or drawing attention to criticism
· Difficulty in removing false or malicious reviews
· Platforms often have strict policies about review removal
8. LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF REVIIEW’S IMPACT ON PROSPECTS
· Some businesses underestimate the influence of online reviews on consumer decisions
· 93% of consumers say online reviews impact their purchasing decisions (Podium, 2021)
9. TECHNICAL CHALLENGES
· Some owners struggle with using review management tools or accessing analytics
All of these reasons are understandable.
But we have a system that can help you overcome all of these concerns and build a 5-star reputation for your business.
Contact Us to learn more about it.
