New Survey Reveals Heavy Use of Online Ratings Web Sites Among Small Business Owners and Consumers

The vast majority of small business owners and consumers are active users of review and ratings Web sites for various professional and personal reasons, according to a new survey. More than 90 percent of small business owners polled and 80 percent of consumers surveyed engage in some kind of activity on review and ratings Web sites, but respondents revealed significant concerns about the reliability and trustworthiness of current resources.

The 2009 Online Ratings Survey was commissioned by LexisNexis^® Martindale-Hubbell^®, a leading global provider of ratings services for the legal community. The survey is the first of its kind to examine the general use, attitudes, and experience in using review and ratings sites among small business owners and consumers.

Patterns of Usage Among Respondents

Of the various professional and personal review and ratings Web sites in the market today – from travel and medical to food service and local interest, small business owners are heavier users of review and ratings Web sites than consumers. Additionally, small business owners are significantly more actively engaged than consumers:

• 82 percent of small business owners surveyed use review and ratings Web sites for a variety of professional and personal reasons including: legal needs, travel/tourism, local interest/activities, food service/restaurant, trade and medical needs; whereas only 49 percent of consumers said they use review and ratings Web sites for the same reasons.
• 87 percent of small business owners surveyed have provided feedback on review and ratings Web sites; only 63 percent of consumers said they have engaged in the same action.

Perceived Value and Advantages of Current Resources

According to the survey results, small business owners place a greater value on ratings and review Web sites than consumers.

• 57 percent of small business owners find review and ratings Web sites useful when making purchasing decisions, compared to 41 percent of consumers.
• More than half of small business owners agreed that ratings Web sites give customers even more control over the quality of goods and services – and 40 percent of consumers agreed.
• More than half of small business owners also agreed that review and rating Web sites mean businesses are held to higher standards – whereas 43 percent of consumers agreed.

Small business owners and consumers alike see many advantages of review and ratings Web sites, from customer testimonials to easy access of information. Advantages include:

• Allowing customers to share their own experiences (85 percent of small business owner respondents, 82 percent of consumer respondents)
• Giving users access to customer testimonials (72 percent of small business owner respondents, 67 percent of consumer respondents)
• Comparisons across different goods or services (68 percent of small business owner respondents)
• Providing information in addition to ratings and reviews (63 percent of consumer respondents)

"Review and ratings Web sites are being used to a greater extent than ever before to inform buying decisions,” said Alfredo Sciascia, a vice president with LexisNexis. "Ratings offer consumers valuable insight into a wide range of goods and services, and they can be a powerful tool used by business owners to differentiate their goods and services from those offered by competitors.”

Reliability and Trust In Question

Although usage of ratings and review Web sites is high among consumers and small business owners, according to the survey, the reliability of current resources is an issue among respondents.

• 60 percent of small business owners and consumers surveyed agree that ratings Web sites can be easily biased by very positive or very negative reviews.
• 55 percent of small business owners and 54 percent of consumers surveyed agree that it’s too easy for a business to post "fake” positive reviews for itself.

Additionally, there are differences among respondents in the level of trust from independent third-party ratings versus customer testimonials.

• 58 percent of small business owners surveyed said they believe ratings from independent third-parties (e.g. J.D. Power & Associates) are most trustworthy.
• 53 percent of consumers surveyed said they believe ratings from actual customers to be most trustworthy.

Solutions for Business

When asked what kind of evaluation would be most valuable, nearly 80 percent of small business owners and consumers find that a blend of both numerical scores (overall ratings score) and written feedback (verbatim comments/testimonials) would be the most valuable type of evaluation from review and ratings Web sites.

"The survey indicates that in order to offer a trustworthy, complete resource that provides significant value to business owners and consumers, providers of ratings will need to incorporate a combination of qualitative and quantitative evaluations,” said Sciascia.

About the 2009 Online Ratings Survey

The 2009 Online Ratings Survey was commissioned by LexisNexis and conducted by Lightspeed Research, an independent research firm. The survey of 200 small business owners and consumers was conducted online in April of 2009. Findings are available online at: http://www.martindale.com/xp/legal/News_Events/Research_Findings/research_findings.xml.

About LexisNexis

LexisNexis® (www.lexisnexis.com) is a leading global provider of content-enabled workflow solutions designed specifically for professionals in the legal, risk management, corporate, government, law enforcement, accounting and academic markets. LexisNexis originally pioneered online information with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. A member of Reed Elsevier (NYSE: ENL) (NYSE: RUK) (www.reedelsevier.com), LexisNexis serves customers in more than 100 countries with 18,000 employees worldwide.