A recent Black Mirror episode “Nosedive” provides a harrowing take on our reviewing culture as the backbone for future society. The insightful episode reflects on our interaction with social media, reviewing fixations, and the fear in those subjected to the increasing demand to provide perfection and the perceived entitlement that came with it. Interestingly, in an ironic twist to today’s customer service obsession, businesses could not be rated and no judgement could be placed on institutions.
In our consumerist society, customers rely on user reviews and the opinions of others to make informed choices about a product or service. A positive catalogue of reviews is one of the strongest marketing tools a business can have. Statistics from a 2016 BrightLocal survey provides a staggering reality of customer reliance on business reviews.
Reviews for restaurants and cafés are the most commonly searched for and read on the internet but almost every local business industry is covered in the findings.
Customers have an active online presence with only 5 percent of people having never searched for a business online. More and more people are reading reviews on a regular basis and are proactively searching for reviews before they make their purchase. Businesses need to keep up with the evolving digital age and ensure their websites are up to date and usable on desktop and mobiles. Businesses need to reflect on how they can improve their online customer service and find ways to increase their overall star rating. 58 percent of consumers pay most attention to overall star rating. Local businesses will benefit from having reviews across a number of social media platforms and review sites.
The reviewing culture is a bitter sweet part of business ownership but one that is very apparent and should not be overlooked.