How does Yelp/Google Reviews factor into your search for service business?

May 04, 2023

by a searcher from California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo in Oakland, CA, USA

Hey all, I've just started searching and are seeing a lot of service type businesses. Electrical, HVAC, etc. Some have pretty suboptimal reviews on Yelp/Google, should I avoid these completely? Or can they be considered at significantly reduced valuations?

What are the best practices around this? Thanks

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Reply by a searcher
from College of William and Mary in Champaign, IL, USA

I don't avoid them completely. If the business is still consistently profitable despite poor reviews, it likely means it's a pretty durable business. Many older sellers don't worry about their reviews and hence the only reviews tend to be dissatisfied. As long as it's not a trend of reviews getting worse, I usually see it as an opportunity for a new owner to improve by pushing for happy customers to leave good reviews.

Reply by a professional
from Texas Tech University in 2400 Aviation Dr, DFW Airport, TX 75261, USA

Having done this, I will say that it is fine as long as you know that you will have to work extra hard to improve or reset that reputation. After that, there are ways to bring those reviews up.
Then, your demographic is important. Some demographics find those reviews more important that others.

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