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It’s certainly not an understatement to say that small businesses are the backbone of the Arizona economy. You could probably go as far as to say that small businesses are also the vital organs of the Copper State given how many of them there are and how many people they employ as a group.

Over the last decade, particularly, small businesses have been heavily encouraged to embrace new avenues of customer outreach. These predominantly come in the form of a website that’s mobile-optimized, has a social media presence, and caters to reviews.

Coming in many forms, reviews have seemingly become one of the most integral factors considered when customers are deciding between one business and another. This is even to the extent that businesses willingly give products away for free in return for reviews. Still, should small businesses worry about these online reviews?

Importance of well-received small businesses in Arizona

According to Boost Suite, small businesses make up over 99 percent of all businesses in Arizona, numbering some 592,000. It’s a colossal count, particularly in a state with a population of nearly 7.3 million. While a fair few of these small and micro businesses primarily target locals, many now reach further afield.

This is reflected in the total exports of small businesses. Of the $21 billion generated by Arizona from exports, over a quarter comes just from small businesses. Drawing in over $5 billion to the state, it’s clear that not only are small businesses holding up well at home, but many are also respected enough to be reeling in customers from beyond the state’s borders.

In the modern age of business, it’d be fair to assume that websites, social media pages, and online reviews will have influenced many of the sales from these small businesses – particularly those that are exported. While many will think of the power of reviews at mega-sites like Amazon, where incentivized reviews have become the norm, even just a couple of reviews across the internet can make a difference and even help to enhance a business.

Reviews make a difference in their many forms

If you’re looking to get into something new, know that you want a good experience as well as a fair price, and want to avoid a bad experience at all costs, you’ll likely turn to a review platform of some sort. Increasingly, dedicated review platforms for single industries are the go-to way to do this.

In the relatively new US industry of iGaming, an expert review site that covers everything from payment methods to game bundle reviews with bonus access. This can be seen with the review and Hollywood Casino promo code. Readers are encouraged to check out the review to not just make a good decision but also get a bonus.

Sites like this operate more independently than some review platforms. The likes of Trustpilot and Yelp have long been popular for anyone to jump in and voice their praise or grievances – usually the latter. However, they do lack a bit of oversight and moderation, which can be very harmful to small businesses.

Even so, 81 percent of U.S. citizens base decisions on online reviews and prefer them to seek expert opinions – only 31 percent of Americans prefer this route. Anyone who has shopped online will know the impact of one sour review, but the way back is through a response as nearly 90 percent of customers read these responses from the business at hand.

Responding even to poor reviews can greatly help to nullify the impact of a bad review. It’s because of this that many prefer to have on-site review sections. This way, it’s easier to keep track of reviews and respond. Doing so humanizes the business, and a personable business is why many pick small businesses over the big ones.

Online reviews, regardless of where they’re posted, can make a big difference to sales, and when you’re a small business, every little helps. So, where possible, small businesses should embrace and seek to stay on top of reviews.