Most small business owners know having an online business presence on sites like Yelp, Google My Business, or TripAdvisor can help you attract new customers.
But did you know only 1 in 3 small business owners have claimed their free business listings on these sites?
Time is a big concern for small business owners, and the thought of adding another item on their to-do list isn’t very appealing.
The truth is managing your business doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming, and much of the day-to-day management can be automated.
The takeaway: Managing your online business presence is necessary to the success of your business, but managing time efficiently is vital to your personal success (and sanity). By utilizing the latest technology, business owners can win on both fronts.
Online review sites are used by more than 9 in 10 people and are a great tool small business owners can use to attract more customers, so they’re impossible to ignore.
As you may know, Womply provides tools for small business to help them stay on top of their review management. Today, we want to talk about three of the biggest misconceptions small business owners have about managing their online reviews.
Misconception #1 – Managing reviews is too time-consuming
Understandably, small business owners are wary of bringing on new tools, especially technology-based tools that seem hard to use. Historically, tools developed for small business owners have required robust training, and that meant they required lots of time and money. Combine that with the misconception that reviews are just a place for angry customers to vent, and it’s no surprise that many business owners mistakenly assume online business review management is a time-consuming process.
The truth is, managing reviews can be quick and easy. You can automate notifications and alerts, and even some responses. And once you’ve set your alerts, you can forget about. Managing your reviews can have a profound and positive influence on your business. As more customers rate and review your store, you’ll attract new customers.
Plus, with just a few clicks, you can even invite your past customers to leave a review, so you can maintain a consistent flow of reviews coming in, which is a proven method for attracting even more new customers.
Misconception #2 – Review sites don’t apply to my business
Admittedly, when review sites first emerged, there was a heavy focus on businesses in a few industries. For example, in many cases, people automatically associate Yelp with the restaurant industry. But did you know there are more than 20 different business types on Yelp alone?
Whether customers are looking for the most affordable roof-patching company or the best salon in town, they start their search for local businesses online. In fact, 97% of them will turn to online reviews about your business before they visit.
It’s unlikely that your business will need to claim or use all the review sites out there. But every local business needs to pay attention to the most popular ones, like Yelp, Google, TripAdvisor, and Facebook.
Misconception #3 – There are too many online review sites to manage
To be fair, there are dozens of online business review websites where your business may be listed. But as we just mentioned, there is no reason you should feel the need to actively manage all of them, especially if you’re just getting started with online reviews. Still, no matter how many review sites you chose to use, you can manage them all from one central location.
Rather than spending your time bouncing between websites to read and respond to reviews, tools like Womply can help you manage all your reviews from one central location and even set up notifications to alert you to new ones, so you’re always in-the-know.
Take action
Online reviews can be a great asset to small business owners without the time commitment. If you’re looking to get started or you want to take your review management to the next level, learn more, plus get free reputation monitoring and customer insights when you sign up for Womply Free!