Data science team conducted an in-depth analysis of transactions and online review data for more than 200,000 U.S. small businesses in every state and across dozens of industries, including restaurants, salons, auto shops, medical and dental offices, retailers, and more.
Businesses that claim their free listings on at least 4 review sites earn 58% more revenue
Businesses that reply to their reviews at least 25% of the time average 35% more revenue
5 star rated businesses have below-average sales—the sweet spot is 3.5 to 4.5 stars
Businesses with more than the average number of reviews across all review sites bring in 54% more in annual revenue
Businesses whose total number of reviews are 15-20% negative average 13% more annual revenue than businesses whose reviews are 5-10% negative
Potential customers use review sites like Google, Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor to discover and learn about all sorts of new local businesses. As these sites have grown more important and ubiquitous, many business owners feel like they’re at the mercy of anonymous reviewers and star ratings.
The good news for business owners: our research reveals that a few simple actions, directly within a business owner’s control, can make a significant impact on revenue.