The author’s views are entirely his or her own (excluding the unlikely event of hypnosis) and may not always reflect the views of Moz.
Today, we’ll be learning more about customer preferences by age group surrounding local business reviews, taking a deeper dive into some of the data from The Impact of Local Business Reviews on Consumer Behavior | SEO Industry Report. In our initial report, we covered the leading characteristics of customers as a whole, but here, we’ll surface some intriguing differences that appeared when we segmented survey responses by age.
I want to preface this by stating that age discrimination of every kind is unacceptable. I’m not a fan of the fight over crumbs that underlies divisive and disrespectful slogans involving “okays” and “boomers” or “millennials” and “avocado toast”. Particularly in the US, these types of groupings only serve to divide and dishonor friends, family, and neighbors. Instead, let’s look with respect at the preferences of local business customers when it comes to reading and writing reviews so that we can operate and market local brands to suit the needs and tastes of lots of people in our communities. Honoring everyone is the best basis for great customer service.
Similar review habits and preferences
Breaking down the survey by age groups of 18-29, 30-60, and 61+, we saw more commonalities than differences in behaviors and preferences surrounding reviews. For example:
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About ⅓ of all three groups say their commonest habit is to read reviews on a weekly basis
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A little over ½ of all three groups say reviews are somewhat important in the process of deciding whether a business can be trusted
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About ½ of all three groups visit the business website as their next step after reading enough positive reviews of a brand, about ⅓ of the youngest and eldest groups say their next step is to visit the business in person, with a ¼ of the middle group doing the same.
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Over ½ of all three groups will definitely seek out a business if its owner responses to reviews resolve stated problems, with the two older groups being slightly more willing to do so than the youngest group.
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About ½ of all three groups require a minimum 4 star rating to consider doing business with a local brand, with the eldest group having slightly higher expectations than the two younger groups.