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According to an expert in local marketing, online reviews should play an integral part of local business marketing efforts.
“All too often, I see local business owners ignoring online marketing, when in truth, it should be the most important aspect of their marketing efforts,” says a spokesman from FindUsLocal.com, a free small business directory that creates customized home pages for every visitor that logs onto the site. “Many small local business owners are under the false impression that they should concentrate their marketing efforts offline, when in reality, it’s just the opposite.”
He’s relying on a recent survey to make his point that shows 97 percent of consumers use local business directories to find US local businesses.
“After creating a free local listing, it’s imperative that local shop owners ask customers to leave online reviews for their business, because without them, today’s shoppers won’t visit their stores.”
Surveys show that 85 percent of people trust online reviews just as much as they trust a personal recommendation from a friend or family member, and they also want to see more reviews than they have in the past. “The most recent survey shows that shoppers need to see at least 7 positive reviews from a local business, and that’s up from 6 reviews last year,” he says.
When asked where local business owner should start with local marketing, he suggested that they create a free business listing on a good local business directory, and then ask their customers to leave reviews there. “Most will if you ask,” he says.
About FindUsLocal: FindUsLocal uses geolocation technology in visitor’s browsers to construct a home page focused on their city, town or community. Right there on the front page, they’ll find local weather, sports results for their favorite teams, and announcements of the top musical acts and events coming to their city. Smart business owners list their businesses on the site to be seen by those who are specifically looking for businesses in their local area.
Release ID: 314398