Breaking Bad Reviews
How to Protect Your Small Business Online by John S. Rizzo & V. Michael Santoro
It happens all the time: The hard-working crew at a small business loses customers thanks to the sour grapes of one person.
It could be a disgruntled employee, an angry customer or even a competitor, says V. Michael Santoro, coauthor with John S. Rizzo of Niche Dominance: Creating Order Out of Your Digital Marketing Chaos (
www.NicheDominance.com).
“Anyone can post a bad review online and hurt your business,” says Santoro, who is a managing partner with Rizzo of Globe On- Demand, an internet technology company. “Unfortunately, most business owners are not even aware that these bad reviews are out there.”
72 percent of buyers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations, and 70 percent trust consumer opinions posted online, according to a recent Nielsen Global Trust in Advertising Survey.
“A bad review published in a newspaper, or broadcast on radio or TV, is short-lived, but a bad review posted online can live
indefinitely,” says Rizzo. “With consumers now researching an average of 10 reviews before making a buying decision, and 70 percent trusting a business that has a minimum of six reviews posted, business owners need to be proactive in developing their online reputation. You need several positive reviews.”
Online searches have been streamlined, combining reviews with maps, pay-per-click advertising, local business directories and Facebook Fan pages, Santoro says. As damaging as bad reviews can be, positive reviews can be equally constructive, he says.
Rizzo and Santoro offer an Internet marketing strategy called “reputation marketing,” described in the following steps:
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