US Businesses Lead on Reputation Management
US businesses reply to their customers at a rate of 23 percent, a whopping improvement of 10 percentage points on the country with the next best reputation habits, the UK, location marketing firm Uberall reports.
Responding to reviews makes a crucial difference in conversion, Uberall’s Reputation Management Revolution report found. The US leads the global market with 5.6 percent conversion compared to the UK’s 3.2 percent. As Street Fight previously reported, a 0.1-point jump in five-star ratings averages can boost conversion rates 25 percent.
SMBs lag behind bigger businesses on review responses. Global brands (740+ reviews per location) boasted reply rates of 30%, and enterprise businesses (10+ locations) recorded rates of 22%. For that same metric, SMBs came in at 19%.
Loyalty to local businesses may never cease to be an important factor in brick-and-mortar commerce, but the boom of “near me” searches and the emphasis on convenience in the age of mobile search make a prime online presence for the quick-querying passerby more important than it has ever been. This latest Uberall data indicate that responding to reviews can provide the slight 5-star rating bump that guides an unfamiliar customer into a store she may otherwise pass up for a higher-ranked competitor.
