Why That 5 Star Review is More Important Than You Think

Picture this: you're in a new town and looking for a place to eat dinner. There are two pizza places right next to one another (stick with me here), and you want to know which one the locals prefer. After all, no one wants to eat bad pepperoni pizza. So what do you do?

You look at reviews.

There are hundreds of review platforms on the internet. Google, Facebook, Yelp, and TrustPilot are just a few places potential consumers go to determine which stores they will visit.

According to Statista, there are 313 million internet users in the United States and 274 million mobile internet users. Each and every one of those users is also a consumer and a valuable marketing tool.

In a previous Hemp Bitch article, we discussed how Millennials are changing the marketing landscape. Reviews are part of that landscape.

According to GatherUp, a customer experience and online review engine, "Gen Z and Millennials are 99% more likely to rely on social media and online reviews than are Gen X and Boomers when choosing a restaurant".

Think about it, would you eat at a restaurant where there were numerous reviews about food poisoning? Or shop at a store where there were multiple reviews of credit card theft? These reviews can have a negative impact on a business, no matter what product or service they provide.

On the other side of that coin, a positive review can do wonders. Was your waitress polite? Did they have the perfect gift for that hard to shop for a relative? Or was it just a hidden gem? These kinds of reviews mean the world to businesses, especially small mom and pop shops.

With as much noise is on the internet, any sort of advertising is a necessity. And nothing speaks to customers like reviews from other customers. Good reviews from previous customers have the power to drive future customers right to your door.

This is an even bigger deal for the cannabis industry. With the restrictions on advertising the cannabis industry deals with, reviews are even more important.

So how can you encourage your customers to leave good reviews? The first and foremost is customer service. Your employees are the face of your company. By providing them with the tools and knowledge they need to do their job, they can make sure you have happy customers. Another way is by providing quality products or services. No one wants to buy something that will break in a month. If that's what a customer wants, they'll buy it off of Wish. Listening to your customers is another great way to improve relations and reviews. Is there a product you are constantly receiving negative reviews or comments about? What use is carrying something people don't want to buy?

Yes, there will always be the "Can I speak to your manager" types and trolls. In a perfect world, those kinds of people wouldn't exist. However, we do not live in a perfect world, making those good reviews all the more valuable.