Don’t Go Away Mad……..Just Go Away!

YES………I’m back to showing-off my ’80’s Music Trivia skills with Motley Crue’s hit song:  (Girl) Don’t Away Mad – (Girl) Just Go Away.   It may sound funny, but are you telling your clients – THE SAME THING?

When I speak to clients about their current website, one of the first things I ask is: ‘Why do you have a website’?  Hands-down: the number one answer is always “because my competition does”.  After I get off the floor, my second question is: “Do you feel your website best-represents your company and your brand”?  The answer (most of the time) is NO, but I can’t afford a ‘good’ website.  But, what the REAL question should be is: can you afford NOT to invest in what many consider to be your ON-LINE ‘Store Front’.

**DID YOU KNOW**:  9 out of 10 consumers use search engines like Google and Bing to do their online research before making a purchase.  That means that 90% of your clients (or prospects) are looking at your online presence before they even consider YOU.  So – IF – your site looks like crap or doesn’t put your best-foot forward, you are potentially losing thousands & thousands of dollars each month. 

WORD OF MOUTH ADVERTISING <hands down> is the most cost-effective form of advertising known to ANY business person.  HOWEVER: it can be your worst enemy, too.

Online reviews affect the purchasing decisions of 67.7 % of consumers. Positive reviews are beneficial for your business because they improve your reputation, increase sales, enhance ranking on search engines, and boost profitability. On the other hand, negative reviews have numerous detrimental effects on business regardless of the size. Here are some of them along with the latest statistics.

1. Loss of revenue

According to Womply research, bad reviews on Google, Facebook, and Yelp have a significant effect on your revenue. A business with a 1-1.5star rating reports 33% less revenue than the average enterprise. Forbes reports that 94% of consumers avoid a company with bad reviews.

2. Undermine business reputation

Negative reviews have the power to damage the reputation you have built for years. They make potential customers trust your business less. Many people do not purchase from a store with a bad reputation and questionable credibility. 50% of consumers question the quality of a company with negative reviews. Abundant negative reviews are hard to fix, making it challenging to regain consumers’ trust.

3. Drive customers away

Negative reviews succeed in chasing away customers from your business to your competitors. Research shows that one negative review drives away 22% of prospects, around 30 customers. The percentage of lost customers increases with an increase in negative reviews. Three negative reviews drive away customers by 59.2%. More than four(4) negative reviews increase your lost customers to 70%.

4. Low search engine ranking

Review ratings affect the way your business ranks on search engines. Negative ratings make your business to rank poorly because search engines recommend the best enterprises to users.

5. Decrease profitability

Negative reviews decrease your profitability by driving away customers and decreasing your revenue. Also, the cost of rectifying your tarnished reputation takes a toll on your profitability.

 

In Summary:  You can’t control what customers say about you on-line.  However, if you give them the best customer service and don’t make false promises, even customers that encounter a bad experience are less likely to go online and BLAST you.

& how do you overcome negative reviews?  Encourage your loyal clients to write good reviews for you.  Over 70% of consumers will leave a Review for a business……..when asked.  That’s IT!!   Just ask them to.

If you’d like to know more about how to incorporate this (& other ways to make you look GOOD online) give Bullseye Marketing a buzz.  We’ll be more than happy to ‘Hook You Up’

At Bullseye Marketing Group, we’re GREAT at two(2) things:

                        We’ll GET you in the ‘conversation’

                                               OR 

                         We’ll KEEP you in the ‘conversation’