YOU’VE LIKELY HEARD accounts of small-business owners, especially restaurant operators and hotel managers, who now live their lives as if at the mercy at review sites like Yelp or TripAdvisor. From the moment they wake up and take that first look at their phones until they take a final glance at their phone before turning into bed to see if someone has posted a negative review, such ratings sites have placed considerable power in the hands of the angry customer.
Well, jewelers, for the most part, aren’t like that. More than half, according to our 2019 Big Survey, check barely once a week.
How often do you check online review sites for comments about your store?
That suggests both good and bad outcomes: Jewelers aren’t feeling overly burdened by the thought that business success is chained to their online reputation, but also that they might not be fully aware of how they are being perceived on the internet.
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With studies showing that more than 80% of customers read online reviews before making a purchase, it’s obviously important to to know what’s being said about your business. But with an endless list of review sites from Yelp, to Google Reviews to comments on Facebook and Instagram and then the plethora of local listings, it’s tough and time-consuming to stay on top. Setting up a Google Alerts should be your first step. If you suspect reviews are having a significant impact on your business, consider investing in an online monitoring service, which will alert you when — in theory — a comment is posted somewhere online.
The 2019 Big Survey was conducted in September and October and attracted responses from more than 800 American jewelers. Look out for all the results in the November issue of INSTORE.
