How Much Can A Single Bad Review Hurt Your Business?
Generally, a single bad review online won’t cause you to lose sleep.
But maybe it should.
A single one star review can damage your business’s reputation and cost you money. In fact, a 2019 article from the Review Control Center reports that one bad online review can lose you 10% of potential new customers.
Popularity of Online Reviews
A one star review can hurt your business because of the prevalence and widespread reach of online customer reviews. Reviewing a company online has never been more common. According to the Review Control Center, 70% of consumers post their opinions and reviews on social media. A 2020 Bright Local study came to a similar conclusion: 72% of consumers write reviews about local businesses — up from 66% in 2019.
Specifically, Facebook has become a major hub for consumer reviews. The Review Control Center found that 55% of consumers consider Facebook a useful resource to learn about brands.
At the same time, more consumers are reading these reviews than ever before. Bright Local found that 87% of consumers read online reviews about local businesses in the last year. Because so many customers read online reviews, one bad review of your company has the potential to be seen by hundreds of people.
Reliance on Reviews
Consumers tend to rely on online reviews when making purchasing decisions. According to Bright Local, 94% of consumers are more likely to use a business that has positive reviews, and 92% of consumers are less likely to use a business that has negative reviews. Consumers also care specifically about the amount of stars a business receives in reviews. Bright Local reports that only 48% of consumers would be open to using a service with fewer than four stars, and 12% of customers won’t use services with fewer than five stars.Therefore, receiving five star reviews should be a priority for all businesses.
Customers are confident that reviews tell an accurate story about brands. Bright Local found that 79% of consumers trust online reviews from strangers just as much as recommendations from family or friends. These percentages are especially problematic for businesses because online reviews can be fake or inaccurate. This data indicates that consumers are likely to believe bad reviews, even if they do not accurately represent your company.
Loss of Lifetime Value
Because online reviews are widely read and trusted, just one bad review can lose you hundreds of customers — and potentially thousands of dollars. When you lose customers, you don’t just lose the money from their initial purchases. Rather, you lose the Lifetime Value of the customers — or all of the money those consumers would have spent on the company’s products over time. For this reason, the Review Control Center estimates that one bad review can lose your company anywhere between $3,750 to $15,000.
The Solution
Therefore, you must recognize the harm that a one star review can have on your business. Luckily, your business can take steps to minimize the effects of a bad review.
According to the Review Control Center, garnering as many five star reviews as possible can help outshine the bad review. If 90% of your company’s reviews are five stars, fewer customers will trust the one star review. Having a majority of positive reviews online boosts your brand’s reputation and credibility.
While your company must accumulate good reviews, you should also try to eliminate bad reviews. Your business should contact the person who wrote the review and ask him to change the one star to a five star review.
Rsquare Media
If the reviewer does not cooperate, call Rsquare Media, an award winning reputation repair company that helps our clients Be Seen or Not Be Seen online.
At Rsquare Media, we offer several services that will help your company minimize the harm caused by bad press and reviews:
Our other services include search engine optimization (SEO), video production, and social media marketing. Rsquare Media also helps husinesses with website design. A well-designed, informative website is vital to a successful business. In fact, Bright Local found that consumers are likely to visit a business’s website after reading a positive review. Thus, we not only help amplify our client’s five star reviews, but we also help them create excellent websites that customers will visit after seeing the five star reviews.
We also offer five steps to peace of mind:
Finally, we consider three variables that drive investment.
Don’t let one bad review cost you customers. To prevent this damage, schedule a free consultation at rsquaremedia.com. Success guaranteed or your money back!
Misery is history.
