Customer Reviews Act as No-Cost Marketing
Having the ability to harness the power of online reviews is good news for local businesses because it’s free advertising.
Most local businesses have an advertising budget set in place to help them reach new customers. In fact, the average marketing budget for small businesses is $400 per month, and 46% of this is spent on digital marketing in the form of Google Adwords, Facebook ads, and the like.5
Outside of their own website presence (which is essential for a business owner) companies don’t need to pay to have an online review presence. This makes sense when you realize that a bounty of positive reviews, while great for the business, exists first and foremost for the consumer’s benefit.