Running a retail store is tough these days. It’s hard to compete with online stores, and it’s even more difficult to grab the attention of online customers that are willing to look at physical retail stores. The internet has become a staple in our lives and it’s only getting more popular by the day. It’s no surprise that most people start their search for new products at the search engine of their choice before they even start driving to go to the store to physically buy what they want. In today’s internet-savvy world, people are looking up reviews and ratings on their favourite stores before they even leave the house.

Online reputation management is a very important aspect of virtually every business, and the same goes for physical retail stores. Customers now have many more options to choose from when they want to buy something; they can go in person to a physical store or they can shop online. Regardless of the avenue they choose, customers are going to be looking up your business on a search engine before they make a purchase, which means that you need to have an online presence. There are many misconceptions about the importance of online reputation for retail brands. When in reality, it should be just as important to have a clean and positive digital footprint for your physical store

Since the pandemic started, there has been a drastic change in consumers’ purchasing patterns. More and more people are relying on online information to decide which brand or local business to engage with. This means that online reputation management for your retail store is more important than ever. If you have a negative review online, potential customers will be less likely to visit your store. Therefore, it’s important to regularly monitor your online reputation and take steps to improve it.

Search is the gateway for online information. For physical retail stores, managing presence and getting discovered on local search is important. Globally Google is the most prominent platform of choice when it comes to search, with over 3.5 billion searches per day. In the U.S., nearly two-thirds of consumers say they start their product research on search engines like Google. Of those product searchers, almost 80% say they never go past the first page of results. Local search is also important for retail stores. A study by Google found that four in five consumers use search engines to find local information and that nearly one third of mobile searches are related to location.

Thus one of the ways that potential customers find out about businesses is through Google’s location search results. These results are powered by Google Maps ( known as your Google Business Profile ) and Location Pages. If a business doesn’t have claimed and verified listings and these pages, they could be missing out on a lot of potential customers. Local search is especially important for retail stores since people are often looking for nearby businesses when they’re ready to make a purchase

Verifying and claiming your Google Business Profile is an important step in online reputation management for your retail store as well. Monitoring and responding to customer ratings and reviews is an important part of online reputation management for your retail store. By verifying and claiming your location’s Google Business Profile, you can stay on top of what people are saying about your business. You can also use this information to improve your customer service, product offerings, and overall business operations.

It’s no secret that having a good reputation can help improve business in many ways. But did you know that a positive online reputation can also help increase a businesses discoverability? That’s right – potential customers are more likely to find your business online if it has a good reputation. We have seen this trend across industries where if the listing has more than 100 reviews then the visibility and request to calls, directions tend to go up. Which eventually impacts the leads, inquiries and footfalls to that business.

Whether it’s a small business or a bigger enterprise, brand perception in the eyes of consumers remains to be the top priority for businesses. As we all are living in the age of an active audience, where anyone can speak their mind online, it’s now more important than ever to make sure your retail store has a good online reputation.