Once again, a new Study shows that reviews and ratings are the “most important” influence on purchase decisions, more important than all other factors, including pricing/discounts, business location and even personal recommendations of a friend or colleague.

Since reviews are very important, Google has made reviews a local ranking factor: “Google review count and score are factored into local search ranking: more reviews and positive ratings will probably improve a business’s local ranking.” This is SO IMPORTANT as the survey also showed that 71% of consumer read reviews before every or almost every purchase.

As the graphics from the study above shows, customers look at multiple variables when evaluating the reviews of a local business, product or service. As the graph shows, the most important factor is the “recent reviews”. Secondly, consumers tend to look equally at favorable and critical reviews.

This is obviously not the customer journey that all consumers take, but it gives us a clear indication of the importance of reviews in the buying process.

The data from this study is clear, all companies need local review strategy that will produce a steady supply of reviews.

If you would like to know more about PinMeTo works in regard to reviews, drop us a line at hello@pinmeto.com. We will gladly setup an online or physical meeting and tell you more.

* This data comes from the LSA report The Great Conversational Divide: What SMBs Don’t Understand about Reviews and How It’s Hurting Their Business.