Industries Most Affected By Google Business Reviews

Google business reviews are important, they can make or break the success of a business. There are several industries that are particularly vulnerable to attracting or repelling potential customers via testimonials. Let’s dive into the statistics and notable industries of Google business reviews:

Stats You Need To Know

You need a high star-rated Google business page, according to StatCounter, +96% of internet searches on a mobile device use Google, vs just 0.64% with Yahoo. On a desktop, that number is still 84% running queries with Google, compared to just 9% on Bing because that’s the search engine that comes by default on all Windows computers. So, anytime someone searches your business online, they’re going to see your Google page star ranking. You must overwhelmingly focus on having an attractive Google business page that’s high star rated.

Vulnerable Industries

Restaurants and cafes: People are most likely to look at reviews and ratings when deciding on a place to eat. Think about it, with middle-class pockets being squeezed to the current point of just a 2% savings rate, Americans are definitely going to be picky about where they spend their hard-earned money. In their mind, they might as well spend their money in the only place that seems to guarantee good food and service, a restaurant that’s +4.7-star rated, otherwise, why should they risk spending money at your 4.3-star venue? You’re not perceived to be offering enough value at a 4.3-star rating to be worthy enough for a customer to take a chance on you. Positive reviews can attract customers, while negative reviews can deter them.

Hotels and accommodation: Similar to restaurants, people tend to look at reviews when deciding where to stay. A hotel with a high rating and positive reviews is more likely to attract customers.

Home services: Industries such as plumbing, electrical work, and landscaping are highly dependent on customer reviews because prices seem to be so arbitrary and up to the mood and perception of the customer’s net worth and perhaps race. People tend to rely heavily on recommendations from others when selecting a home service provider. Maintenance professionals that standardize their prices and have an honest reputation to back up their work go a long way to securing bigger $$$ contracts and more work, especially in recessions.

Healthcare: Medical professionals such as doctors, dentists, and hospitals can be vulnerable to negative reviews that may affect their reputation and credibility. This industry suffers from having to ask customers to pay outrageous prices, even with insurance companies in the mix, customers are cash-strapped as is, and even the majority of Americans earning over $100,000 are nearly broke. So if a customer is going to pay thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands for a healthcare service, the least they expect in return is a proper treatment job.

Retail: Online and brick-and-mortar retail stores are also affected by Google business reviews. There’s so many retail locations worldwide, all selling nearly the same things, that the customer might as well spend their money on the one that offers the most enjoyable customer service.

Overall, any industry that relies on customer trust and satisfaction is vulnerable to the impact of Google business reviews. For this reason, businesses need to manage their online reputation and proactively address any negative reviews to minimize their impact by showing class and care in the public response

What Should You Do?

Stop your business from being vulnerable to a couple of disgruntled customers that left your business a stinking rotting 1-star review. Turn your online reputation into an ironclad fortress of stellar 5-star reviews on Google.

Get started by using a reputation management system, like iReview. 

The software is excellent for businesses at scale with multiple locations. iReview enables managers to see all reviews published from across the web in one central dashboard, talk about convenience! This software ability alone replaces many tedious labor hours looking over all your business locations and searching to find a review that may not have been responded to. With reputation software, a business can hire fewer individuals to manage reviews across all locations, saving the company money and giving managers time to focus on what’s important, delivering satisfactory products & services.

However, reputation platforms don't only help manage your past, they actually focus on improving your existing reputation by capturing and converting the positive vibes your customers feel, when they first purchase your product or service, into a 5-star review. In turn, this helps accrue so many more reviews than what a human could remember to maintain that it eventually dilutes any negative feedback, this solidifies a high rating/online ranking and attracts even more customers which leads to more sales and accomplishes the challenge of outperforming competitors. Try using a reputation management system today, and feel the difference, you won’t regret it.