5 minute read
In this article you’ll discover:
- Why great reviews don’t always translate into new customers
- What people look at after they’ve checked your star rating
- How photographs and presentation reinforce—or undermine—your reviews
- Why trust is created by the complete picture customers see online
Most business owners understand the importance of Google reviews.
And they should.
When we’re choosing a restaurant, dentist, hotel, contractor, chiropractor, or almost any other local business, one of the first things we notice is the star rating.
A business with dozens—or hundreds—of enthusiastic customers has something valuable:
Social proof.
People we’ve never met are essentially telling us, “I’ve been here. I trusted these people. I had a good experience.”
That’s powerful.
But here’s the part that’s sometimes overlooked.
Reviews may get you onto a customer’s short list. They don’t necessarily make the final decision.
What Happens After They See Your Stars?
Imagine you’re looking for a dentist.
You find three practices nearby.
One has a 4.8-star rating.
Another has 4.7.
The third has 4.9.
All three have plenty of reviews.
At that point, the ratings aren’t helping you very much. All three appear to be good choices.
So what do you do next?
You start looking around.
You look at the photographs.
You look at the office.
You may visit the website.
You read a few recent reviews rather than simply looking at the average.
You look at the people.
You start trying to imagine what it would actually be like to become a patient there.
That’s when something interesting happens.
The decision moves from reputation to reassurance.
Reviews Tell You What Other People Think
Reviews answer an important question:
What did other customers think of this business?
But they don’t necessarily answer another equally important question:
How do I feel about this business?
That’s where the rest of your online presence becomes important.
Consider a restaurant with hundreds of excellent reviews.
Now imagine that its Google profile contains dark photographs of an empty dining room, an outdated exterior, blurry food pictures and a few customer photos taken years ago.
The reviews say one thing.
The photographs say something else.
Suddenly there’s uncertainty.
Is this place still as good as everyone says?
Does it actually look like that?
Are those reviews recent?
Customers may not consciously ask those exact questions.
But they’re trying to reconcile everything they’re seeing.
Customers Look for Consistency
Trust tends to grow when all the pieces tell the same story.
Strong reviews.
Current photographs.
Accurate business information.
A professional website.
Recent activity.
Thoughtful responses to customers.
An inviting physical environment.
When those elements reinforce one another, the decision becomes easier.
- The reviews say the business is good.
- The photographs make it look good.
- The website feels professional.
- The information is current.
- Everything makes sense.
That’s very different from having a 4.9-star rating sitting next to a collection of outdated photographs and a website that hasn’t changed since 2016.
Customers aren’t evaluating these things separately. They’re forming one overall impression.
A Five-Star Rating Can’t Show Someone Around
Without reservation, I recommend Jack von Eberstein and Online Business Tours. Our Google Tour produced by Jack has been a great marketing tool and we are booked all summer! It has been a pleasure to work with Jack as he has even called a couple times after shooting the tour to make sure we knew how to effectively use this gem. Thanks Jack!”
Shawn Hamilton – The Orchard at Sunshine Hill, Chehalis, WA (wedding/event venue)
This is particularly important for businesses customers physically visit.
A review can tell someone that your dental staff is wonderful.
It can’t show them your waiting room.
A hotel review can say the rooms are beautiful.
It can’t let someone see the room they’re considering.
A restaurant review can praise the atmosphere.
It can’t show whether the dining room feels intimate, lively, elegant, casual or family-friendly.
A wedding venue may have spectacular reviews, but couples still want to see where they might actually get married.
That’s why visual information has become such an important complement to reviews.
Reviews provide validation.
Photographs provide familiarity.
And familiarity can reduce uncertainty.
Don’t Forget What the Reviews Actually Say
There’s another mistake businesses sometimes make.
They focus almost entirely on the number.
4.8 stars.
That’s certainly valuable, but prospective customers often read individual reviews—especially recent ones.
They’re looking for experiences that matter to them.
A nervous dental patient may look for comments about whether the staff made people comfortable.
A hotel guest may look for comments about cleanliness or noise.
Someone choosing a restaurant for an anniversary may look for comments about service and atmosphere.
A business owner should occasionally read reviews through that same lens.
What are customers consistently praising?
What questions are they answering for future customers?
What themes keep appearing?
Your reviews are telling you what people value about your business.
That’s useful marketing information.
Your Responses Are Part of the Picture Too
Customers aren’t only reading what reviewers say.
They may also notice how the business responds.
You don’t need to write an essay beneath every review.
A simple, genuine thank-you tells people there’s a human being paying attention.
Negative reviews are even more revealing.
A calm, professional response can sometimes tell a prospective customer more about a business than another five-star review.
Things occasionally go wrong.
Most customers understand that.
What they’re watching is how you handle it.
Take the Five-Star Test
Here’s another simple exercise.
Search for your business on Google.
For a moment, ignore your star rating.
Pretend it isn’t there.
Now look at everything else.
Your photographs.
Your business information.
Your website.
Your review responses.
Your overall presentation.
Ask yourself:
If I couldn’t see the stars, would this still look like a business I’d want to choose?
Then reverse the exercise.
Read several recent reviews and ask:
Does everything else customers see online support what these reviewers are saying about us?
If customers describe your business as beautiful, welcoming, modern, professional or exceptionally clean, can a prospective customer actually see that?
That’s where reviews and presentation begin working together.
Great Reviews Deserve a Great Presentation
There’s something unfortunate about seeing an excellent business with hundreds of positive reviews represented by mediocre photographs and outdated information.
The business has already done the difficult part.
It has earned people’s trust.
Customers have taken the time to publicly recommend it.
That’s an extraordinary marketing asset.
The rest of the online presence should reinforce it.
If your customers consistently say you’re exceptional, make sure what prospective customers see supports that conclusion.
Final Thought
Reviews matter enormously.
They’re one of the strongest forms of credibility a local business can have.
But they’re not the entire story.
A prospective customer isn’t simply asking:
“Do other people like this business?”
They’re also asking:
“Does this feel like the right business for me?”
Reviews can provide the proof.
Your photographs, website, Google Business Profile and overall presentation provide the context.
When all of those things tell the same story, something important happens.
The customer doesn’t simply see a highly rated business.
They begin to picture themselves becoming your customer.
About the Author
Jack von Eberstein is the founder of Online Business Tours and has spent more than a decade helping Washington businesses improve their online presence through professional photography, Google Business Profile optimization, and immersive 360° virtual tours. His work has been viewed more than 250 million times on Google.
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