For a business owner, it's natural to analyze your number of visitors, customers or sales. They are very well measurable values. However, not all entrepreneurs are able to see the missed opportunities. Moreover, measuring their value is even more difficult.

 

How would you estimate the value of something that didn't happen without making up the numbers?

 

We will take a closer look at the estimation of lost opportunities in the next article. In the following paragraphs, we will discuss why the lost opportunities even occur.

 

Twenty years ago, as a business owner, you could have afforded to make your customers unhappy. They might have complained to their friends or relatives, but after one-two months nobody really remembered the details about the negative experience. You might even give them another chance very soon because the store or restaurant was on your way home.

 

During the past two decades, the competition is much bigger within each industry. Suddenly, your restaurant or furniture store, or grocery store is not the only one on the street. You have to compete hard for each customer. On top of that, your competitors are not only on the street, but also Online on the Internet. Of course, it is not easy to replace a restaurant with an Online business, but in other industries, Online alternatives are becoming more and more common.

 

The Online world has brought us another feature, Online reviews!

People not only like writing reviews, (especially the negative ones) but they have also learned to trust them. Websites, such as Yelp, Google Reviews, and The Yellow Pages are very popular and widely used by shoppers. Suddenly, you cannot ignore a negative review for your business because it will influence hundreds of potential customers, and on top of that, it will stay Online for years.

 

Google has even raised the significance of the reviews as they appear right within search results. Now, your potential clients do not even have to search for reviews, they are right in front of their eyes. Check the following search results for the phrase 'restaurants Manhattan'. Which one attracts the most attention? The 3.7 stars or the 4.7 stars one?

 

No business can neglect the power of customer feedback. If they do, they might be hopelessly sitting at an empty store blaming the bad economy, competitors, weather, or anything else. We will discuss this topic in more detail within our following articles. Stay with us!