As a business owner, it’s important to realize that the reviews you get on Google could make or break your brand. While there are many reasons why Google reviews are extremely important for business owners in every industry, these are five of the most important ways that Google reviews will impact your business in 2021:

1. Your Google Reviews Could Be the First Thing Potential Customers Will See

Not only will potential customers read Google reviews to determine whether or not to choose your company, but the information that they find will help them form expectations for the products and services you offer.

This can play a critical role in determining whether or not they’ll enjoy your products and stick with your brand. That’s because a customer’s expectations are likely to significantly affect their experience with your products and/or services.

2. Your Competitors Are Paying Close Attention to Their Google Reviews

It’s important to realize that your business will not be the only company in your industry paying very close attention to their Google reviews. In fact, nearly all business owners are paying more attention to Google reviews than ever. That’s because they have an extremely powerful impact on just about brand, which means that optimizing your reputation on Google My Business will play a pivotal role in helping you stay ahead of your competitors.

3. Positive Google Reviews Can Improve Your Search Rankings

While you might not be aware of the relationship between Google reviews and your search rankings, it’s important to realize that the impact can be significant. In fact, business owners with primarily good or excellent reviews on Google My Business are far more likely to rank on the first page of the search results than others.

4. Positive Google Reviews Can Improve the Perceived Trustworthiness of Your Brand

Positive reviews can be an incredibly powerful tool to improve your company’s reputation, which can lead to a dramatic increase in both leads and actual sales. In fact, many prospective customers will have no information about your company other than what they learn from reading your reviews. In many cases, what they find on your Google My Business page will be what determines whether they buy your products or hire you. In fact, your reviews can allow your customers to determine the quality of your products and/or services, customer support, and much more!

5. Negative Google Reviews Can Your Brand Far Quicker Than You May Expect

It only takes a few negative reviews to cause serious and immediate damage to your company’s reputation. In fact, a single bad review can cause your sales to decline by as much as 22%, which could lead to a devastating loss of profit. If you have three or more negative reviews, the impact is far more severe. In fact, you could lose nearly 60% of your customers. Furthermore, a whopping 86% of people say that they will not purchase products or services from a company that has negative reviews online.

Luckily, you aren’t helpless against negative reviews that have already been posted. So, even if your reputation on Google My Business is currently poor, it’s still important to do everything that you can to improve it. You may be surprised at how much of an impact you can have on the reviews that you get by improving customer satisfaction. If you’re wondering how to get Google reviews that improve the reputation of your brand, these tips can help:

• Encourage your customers to leave reviews of your products and/or services. If they are satisfied with what you offer, they’re likely to post positive reviews on Google, which could help to mitigate the impact of negative testimonials.
• Make sure that you provide exceptional service 100%, and ensure that it’s easy for customers and potential customers to contact you. This means offering customer support via email, online chat, and phone. Offering 24/7 support can dramatically increase customer satisfaction for many businesses.
• Always pay close attention to the quality of products and services that you offer, and realize that investing in quality control technologies can dramatically improve customer satisfaction. This can lead to a substantial improvement in the reviews that you get online.

Google Reviews Can Make or Break a Brand

In many cases, the reviews that a business gets on Google will play an integral role in their success or failure. Fortunately, any business owner can take steps today to improve them, which means that it’s important to act now and do everything in your power to improve the reviews you get online!

• Technology