“Don’t worry about what other people think.” Good advice, Mom. Except when it comes to running a business. Like it or not, the prevailing opinion of others plays a powerful role in your independent insurance agency’s success. And these days, that opinion is constantly being bandied about via online reviews. Consider these statistics and what they could mean for your agency:
88% of internet users read online reviews to determine the quality of a local business.
If your agency doesn’t have any reviews, will you simply be invisible? Or worse, will consumers think it means that you’re devoid of quality?
88% trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
While anonymous, obviously fake, or vague reviews may not have the same effect, internet users find many reviews to be as reliable as a personal recommendation from in-the-flesh friends. You’ve always known the value of personal recommendations. Now you know the value of virtual ones.
72% trust a local business more if its reviews are positive.
Good reviews can have a huge impact growing your client base, so your obvious goal is to provide clients with a level of service that earns you plenty of kudos. But if you’re too scared of a negative one to open your agency up to review, consider behavioral economist Jonah Berger’s theory that sometimes even a bad review can have a positive effect at a little-known business simply by increasing awareness. And if that doesn’t calm you down, consider that you can often turn even a negative review into a positive with an appropriate response that demonstrates your attention to client concerns and commitment to customer service.
Consumers are reading online reviews and making decisions based upon what they find there. Not only do you have to care about what people are saying about your agency, but you also have to be proactive about helping them say it. Consider providing a way for satisfied clients to post testimonials on your website or Facebook page, or to review you on Yelp or Google+. In this case, consider listening to Sassy Old Oscar Wilde instead of Dear Old Mom: “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.”