What do you do when your vehicle needs repair and you aren’t near your mechanic? Or you don’t have a mechanic? Who can you trust not to overcharge? How do you know if a business is trustworthy and competent? Would you feel better with a personal recommendation?
That is what online reviews are: personal recommendations by people just like you or me. The more reviews you can read, the better feel you can get for who to hire, where to shop, and what to do – especially in an emergency or when traveling in unfamiliar areas. Here’s how you can do that anywhere, any time…
A friend of mine’s pickup broke down just as she pulled into the parking garage at work. Lucky for her she was having difficulty finding a tow truck that could move it. Her plan was to tow it back to her mechanic – a tow that would have cost her at least $150 on top of what the repair would cost!
She was afraid that a mechanic she did not know might take advantage of her. I happened to call while she was still calling tow services. I immediately suggested we use Local Listings to locate a trustworthy mobile mechanic.
Any time you need to find a new business – whether that is a restaurant, Bed & Breakfast, auto parts store, drugstore, or – in this case, a mechanic – remember this simple method.
- Go to your favorite Local Listing site – I used Yahoo! Local because it currently usually has the most reviews
- Type in the type of business you’re seeking – in this case I used “Mobile Mechanic”
- Type in the location of the desired business – she was in Dallas, many miles from her home
- When the results come up click on the link for Sorted by: highest rated
- Today, Simon’s Auto Repair has the top spot for Mobile Mechanics in Dallas – even though he is actually over 23 miles away from downtown Dallas. (Yahoo! Local allows the user to reduce or increase the distance from which they want to pull results.)
Here is a screen capture for my Yahoo! Local search for my Mobile Mechanics in Dallas, TX sorted by highest rated:
See the red stars? Anyone with a free Yahoo ID can choose the number of stars and/or add a review. Notice that for some searches, only three good reviews can place your business on top for highest rated. Every good business can benefit from making sure they are listed on Local Listing Web sites such as Yahoo! Local and Google Maps.
According to a Nielsen Survey over 86% of people use the Internet now! Every business should assist the public by ensuring they are listed in the major Local Listing sites and databases.
Fortunately for my friend, several people had taken the time to post detailed reviews for Simon’s Auto Repair. His listing came up first, the reviews were detailed and obviously from actual customers, and after speaking with Simon on the phone I knew I had found a very knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful mechanic I could confidently recommend to my friend.
He got her truck fixed in less than an hour for less than her own mechanic would have charged. He also gave her an amazing one-year parts and labor warranty on the alternator replacement – something almost unheard of for electrical parts like alternators.
She was thrilled to save at least $150 on a tow, avoid the hassle of getting a ride home and back to work the next day and was able to drive her own truck home when she got off work. Everyone she worked with wanted his card. Not only can a mobile mechanic help you in an emergency – they can do routine maintenance, oil changes, tune-ups and repairs while you’re home or at work.
If you haven’t used Yahoo! Local I highly recommend it. I use it all the time to quickly look up the phone number, address, hours, and much more on businesses I already patronize. Even better, I can easily find new businesses I can trust including:
- Restaurants – especially one-of-a-kind types – with great food and reasonable prices
- Bed & Breakfasts when traveling (why stay in a hotel when you can have a private bed and bath in a B&B for less?)
- Auto Parts stores – Ever need some oil or windshield wipers while traveling?
- Hardware stores – Did you know small town hardware stores carry those hard-to-find items and often at really low prices (because their stock doesn’t get replaced as quickly as the big chain stores). Isn’t it annoying that stores that sell hardware frequently do not stock the bulbs, blades, or other replacement items. You’d be amazed at how much can fit into those small hardware stores – and how much easier it is to get assistance from someone who actually knows their stock and how to use it.
The very best type of advertising is a word-of-mouth recommendation; however, they’re not consistently available. Someone can only recommend you to friends they know who ask them or let them know what they’re seeking.
Reviews are a much faster way to grow a business because they are personal recommendations available to everyone online at the exact time they are actively searching for you.
USER GENERATED REVIEW CONTENT:
- BazaarVoice Word of Mouth Marketing Company: Review CaseStudies on how reviews increase conversions, sales and leads
- UK Reviewer Intent Survey Summary: Understanding Why UK Customers Write Reviews
- User Generated Content Research Brief: Retailer’s Perceptions of the Importance of User Generated Content
WORD OF MOUTH STATISTICS:
- BazaarVoice Power of Word of Mouth
Social Media Marketing White Papers and Research:
- CMOs Plan for Higher Social Media Measurability in 2010
- Get Them Talking: How Growing Participation Chains Will Grow Sales
- Maximize User Generated Content (UGC) For Search Results Across the Sales Funnel
[Originally published Nov 12, 2008; updated 5/12/2016. ]
Gail Gardner
REVIEWS are much important in advertising a business. NOW a days’s so many startup companies are trying to get more reviews to get good impression and faith from customers…
http://www.calfre.com/ is a local search engine which provides more reliable and accurate results for your queries
Agreed, reviews are a great way to improve reputation for any business. impressive article. thanks for sharing.
ramesh kumar would love you to read ..How to Pair Smart Watch
Great article, Now a days customers really want to some feedback form experienced people to trust a brand or business. Particularly for a Online business or Brand. Thank you for giving explanation about the importance of the Online reviews.
better article,do you think this trend continues in the present days?????? Now-a-days everything’s been changes and now the industry itself is highly competative…kindly do reply….
Yes, Online reviews are most important when you want to get high ranking for your page. All the users open your page and make review for that. How many users reviews to your page it increase ranking directly and business also.
Thank you for this awesome piece! Online reviews are a very powerful source of information that has a major impact on consumer behavior, consumer loyalty, and the entire purchasing process.
I agree with you..
online reviews are a great way to make a right decision for services..
This is very nice information for me..
I am currently working towards getting reviews for my new ebook I wrote which is a little bit different from getting reviews on a review site but it is still just as important because I show them on my sales page. So if people liked my book other people might want to buy it more.
Hi Adam,
Yes, it is just as important. The best way to get reviews for an ebook is to ask influencers in your niche to review and share it in exchange for a mention / testimonial / link in the ebook.
Gail Gardner would love you to read ..Profile Defenders – Stepping in to Fill a Modern Need
Aside from the personal recommendations of family or friends, one of the factors that influence your target buyer or client’s decision to choose your offer is online reviews. Online reviews are a very powerful source of information that has a major impact on consumer behaviour, consumer loyalty, and the entire purchasing process.
George would love you to read ..TIME MANAGEMENT IN BPO COMPANIES
Reviews are vital for every type of sales online for all products and services. It’s really helpful for finding the best product.
Regards,
Mazahar Khan
Yes, You are right. Some times reviews helps us to find frauds and it’s a great way to make a right decision about service or product.
Very informative article Gail ! Receiving online review for your service and doing something to get a positive review from a client- both are important in the present age of Internet. For small business owners, providing quality service is utmost important to acquire new clients and retain the old ones.
In my opinion, small business should also focus on their online reputation- even if it limited to a particular city. Because, as was the case in this article, you never know at what time somebody may need you and then- it will be your online reputation that will decide the case in your favor.
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This is a very useful article. Writing online reviews for various products is a great way to attract traffic and promoting various products. Most of the affiliate marketers are making money by writing reviews various products online only.
Thanks for this awesome piece.
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Hi Santanu,
Thank you for taking the time to comment. Writing reviews is not a strategy I would have thought to use because I don’t focus on affiliate marketing myself. I do go out of my way to review businesses I buy from so they get more business. I also share them on social networks and write about them.
Making money with affiliate marketing is so much more challenging today than it used to be. Some players made a ton of money – like TheFind before Facebook bought and killed it. I still miss that site bcause I used it to find small businesses to buy from directly.
Smaller affiliates find it much more difficult if merchants don’t prevent affiliates from joining who use toolbars to steal commissions from other affiliates. That is something to look for when choosing merchants. Another way to check would be to avoid whose conversions are low.
Gail Gardner would love you to read ..The Broke Guy or Gal‘s Guide to Starting a Business
I don’t know about others but I cannot leave without online reviews. Before buying anything I look for online reviews and user experiences and then select the product. I know there are many like me, so nowadays online reviews are the crucial part of any product/service/business.
I think genuine reviews will definitely help the customers rather than fake reviews.
Yes, online reviews will ensure you to whom you are dealing with and what is their customer satisfaction ration.
Reviews are a great way to grow a reputation for your business. Great information. Love reading your blog.
Chanel would love you to read ..Welcome
You are abosultely right because online review is such that you will be able to knwp all your strength and weakness of your product.
As in online every one tells the truth.
Thanks
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Besides knowing what is good about a place, reviews could also help in knowing what are not really the good traits in a place. I believe these kinds of reviews aren’t there to make them look bad but to actually help future clients to really know what they could expect from the place.
It’s actually very complicated in this active life to listen news on Television,
thus I just use web for that reason, and get the latest information.
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I think online reviews can render great help because we also get a chance to read about experiences from other users who’ve experienced using the product or service. Sometimes these reviews prevents us from getting cheated because a customer who’s well informed about the product never gets cheated.
I usually read reviews on products and services before I purchase. It really helps when the reviewer is honest and gets into details. I’ll definitely check into Yahoo! Local.
Thanks for the heads up!
Kelly would love you to read ..Bagless Stick Shark Cyclonic Action Vacuum- Product Review
Nice to hear this kind of information. I really enjoy reading your blog post. you really never fail amaze me more and more.
than you for posting information. hope to hear more interesting articles from you.
But if you want to shop securily on www, please, check the answer for all the above questions, and besides that, trust your instinct.
If you don’t feel good about an website, don’t shop there! It is safer!
Well as long as you get a good one, then online reviews can be an excellent source of information about a prospective product or service for yourself.
aretha would love you to read ..Healthy Weight Loss Ideas
Nice post, its very essential thing is today’s world, for selling a product or advertise a poduct we must do online reviews. its a very easy to get peoples,
Thanks for sharing with us…
Reviews are very important.
Most people prefer seeing/reading some reviews first before hiring a certain company.
In reviews, people will know the way a company treat their customers and how they do their service.
Of course, if a company has good reviews there are great chances of winning the people’s heart in giving you the project.
I think that’s a great story that highlights how powerful these local directories have become. And with every second person walking around with a smart phone now they should only become more useful when you’re on the run or away from home as in your story.
James would love you to read ..Weight Loss 4 Idiots
Yes, search engines and the users themselves have made it really hard to push the low quality products to users.
I can’t believe that I rarely, if ever, use this service! I played around with it and found a Chinese restaurant near us that we didn’t know existed. It has excellent ratings and decent prices. I love Chinese food, but I need to be careful of eating too much because I’m trying to lose baby weight right now.
Also, my husband found a muffler repair shop close to us that gives a 10% discount if you mention their online ad. Since it’s time to get the state inspection done and we need the repair, that is another great find! Thanks growmap!
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The significance of online reviews is on a topnotch. It helps a lot to many online business.
Online reviews are becoming a must for selling products online as it has become the main thing to gain peoples trust…
I agree. While many still think all reviews are phony that is definitely NOT true. I use them all the time and it is pretty easy to tell the difference between reviews written by real customers and those written by negative trolls or PR machines.
.-= growmap´s last blog ..New Weekly SMM, WOMM, Affiliate Columns =-.
I think that on-line reviews are very importnat as you can read up on a company before you use them and with the general public having access to this info 24 hours a day it works really well, oh and Yahoo local is superb out there.
Welcome to GrowMap, Ester,
You may be interested in more recent posts on how to write reviews for businesses including at Yahoo! Local and Google Maps and how businesses can get more free Listings in Local Search Directories.
You might also read the post I’ll feature in CommentLuv about why marketing is critical to all small businesses and to those who want to hire them.
.-= Gail @ Support Small Businesses´s last blog ..Why Marketing is NOT Evil =-.
Thanks.. this has saved me a LOT of time and helped a lot!
Hi John,
I hope you read the other posts for growing your business, especially the ones about maximizing your Local Search Directory Listings.
Internet Strategist’s last blog post..How to Add Your Free Business Listing to infoUSA
You are right, online reviews are a great way to make a right decision about a product or service.
Welcome Trailblazer,
I am surprised more people don’t use them and am sure they will continue to grow in importance. I know a mobile mechanic whose Google Maps reviews were hijacked. The drop in his business while his Google listing was gone was immediately noticeable and substantial.
Every business should make it a point to get listed in as many free Local Search Directories as possible so their happy customers will be able to review them. The Local Search tab at the top of every page here explains how and the Special Offer tab provides Nielsen statistics showing how widespread use of online Yellow Pages already is.
Good reviews are better than offline Word-of-mouth recommendations because they’re always available when your potential clients have searched.
InternetStrategist’s last blog post..Be Pro-Active and Take Calculated Risks