In the 21st century, customers are no longer passive onlookers, they are active participants in businesses. The internet has armed even the least of all customers with the ability to influence and impact on businesses, whether positively or negatively. The earlier businesses recognize the power wielded by their customers, the better for them. Customers can influence a business primarily through their customer reviews and ratings. The power of customer reviews cannot be overemphasized. It can down throne a thitherto flagship business within a twinkling of an eye and it can make a startup suave and debonair.

Restaurant businesses, just like any other business, are greatly influenced by what the customer says. An online customer review is important because it shapes the mental picture potential users will have about your business and your brand; it also determines if potential customers will leverage your service or not. According to a Zendesk survey, positive online reviews influenced the buying decision of 90% of the participants while negative reviews influenced the buying decision of 86% of them.

Rewards and incentives are some of the most powerful marketing strategies businesses need to keep tabs on their customers and also attract prospective ones. However, every business would want to reward dedicated customers more than lousy and undedicated ones. To do this, businesses need to identify their top customers; this can be easily done by creating a VIP segment for your audience.

A lot of money is spent by marketers in campaigns and efforts to market products and services to customers. The primary objective of most marketing effort is to gain customer loyalty. Several analyses on customer loyalty of customers both within and outside the United States abound. For instance, statistics show that 84% of U.S. adults are loyal to their retailers while 82% are loyal to their brands. However, it appears that customer loyalty is somewhat overrated.

There are basically five sources that stem social proof. These include experts, celebrities, users, the wisdom of crowds and peers. People tend to evaluate the quality and their likeness of a product based on these sources. Social proofs are action triggers. They help consumers to take action even when they have not experienced a product or service for themselves. Several social proof examples abound. Here are 46 great examples of social proofs and each of these social proofs falls into one of the five categories mentioned above.

Whether you are a customer who is unsure if leaving a negative review will cause any trouble or you are a business owner who is curious if some reviews can be restricted, we try to provide you all the information on this topic, which is not as clear as it first seems. There is a contradiction between freedom of speech and the right to protect your business, but we try to do our best.

We have already told you how to find negative reviews of your competitors. In that article, we shared some hints about what to do when you find them. This post goes a bit deeper in the topic by showing what you should do the improve your service and get new customers. 

After reading the title, you might ask yourself why you would ever want to find the negative reviews of your competitors. Well, the answer is easier than you’d think: It is an easy and effective way to get new customers. You are jumping in at the point of a bad experience and when they need an alternative.