Reviews and Ratings Strongly Influence Consumer Decisions
Online reviews can make or break a business, especially for franchises. Whether consumers are choosing a sandwich shop, yoga studio or repair service, they often go with the location that has the most positive online reviews across multiple reviews sites (not just Google). Steven Toole (below), CEO of Toole & Associates, says online reputation is one of the most powerful — and often overlooked — tools in a franchise owner’s marketing arsenal.
Toole’s firm specializes in online reputation management for local businesses, and his views are backed by recent third-party research. According to a May 4, 2025, Capital One Shopping Research report:
- 92% of consumers read online reviews of a local business before their first visit.
- 42% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Among 18- to 34-year-olds, this percentage rises to 91%.
- 73% of consumers check multiple reviews sites before choosing a local business.
- 62% of consumers choose businesses with the MOST reviews over the ones with the highest star ratings.
- Positive reviews from verified buyers increase conversion 15%.
The following Q&A covers issues that franchise owners and executives often ask about.
Q: How important are ratings and reviews to franchisees?
A: In a franchise system where brand standards must be consistent across locations, reviews serve as real-time social proof of quality and customer experience. They give each franchisee a local reputation that either reinforces or undermines the broader brand. A franchise location with hundreds of five-star reviews builds trust, while a location with only few or outdated reviews might be skipped entirely, despite being part of a trusted national brand.
Google, Yahoo, Yelp, Bing and other search engines use review activity – volume, recency, rating and responses – as ranking factors in local search results. This means franchises that actively generate and manage reviews on multiple reviews sites typically receive better online visibility that in turn increases foot traffic and revenue.
In short, reviews don’t just reflect performance, they also drive it and improve the bottom line. They’re one of the most scalable, cost-effective marketing tools available to franchises.
Q: What are the biggest mistakes franchises make in managing reviews?
A: Here are the top five I see:
- Treating reviews reactively to address complaints instead of seeing them as a proactive marketing opportunity. Replies are a powerful asset that can build trust, increase visibility and drive growth.
- Either completely delegating review management to individual franchisees, which leads to inconsistency across locations, or centralizing it without equipping staff with the tools or training to respond. This creates reputational gaps in markets where customer experiences vary from one unit to another.
- Ignoring positive reviews. Acknowledging happy customers builds loyalty and reinforces great service. Responses to both positive and negative reviews signal to potential customers that the business is engaged and trustworthy. Google and other search engines also prioritize review engagement in their search algorithms, giving higher rankings to fully responsive businesses.
- Use of templated or AI [artificial intelligence] responses. This usually comes off as robotic, diminishing the brand’s authenticity and damaging trust.
- Failing to consistently request reviews, which means missing a major opportunity. The best time to ask for a review is right after a great experience. If franchises haven’t developed a system for asking, those moments slip by. This leads to fewer fresh reviews, lower star ratings and low visibility in local searches.
Q: Can you explain the “Seven Dimensions of Online Reputation”?
A: These seven dimensions apply to all businesses, including franchises:
- Star ratings across multiple sites and search engines – not just Google.
- Total reviews across multiple sites, relative to their competitors.
- Recency of reviews. Nearly half of consumers consider 1-month-old reviews outdated.
- Frequency of reviews.
- Content of reviews.
- Responses. People are twice as likely to use a business that replies to all reviews, both positive and negative.
- Authenticity. Don’t incentivize customers for reviews, which is illegal anyway, and don’t have your staff write reviews for your business.
Q: How has AI changed online reviews?
A: AI enables businesses to automate many parts of customer engagement, including responding to reviews on platforms like Google and Yelp. But AI can backfire because responses may lack context, authenticity and emotional intelligence, which are trust factors for consumers.
A 2021 McKinsey study found that 76% of consumers say personalized communication influences their consideration of a brand, and 78% are more likely to repurchase after receiving that communication. Customer-facing responses should be written or reviewed by a real person to build trust, promote engagement and improve SEO [search engine optimization].
Q: What should franchises know about Federal Trade Commission’s regulation of fake reviews?
A: In August 2024, the FTC finalized a rule that prohibits the creation, purchase or dissemination of fake reviews, including those generated by AI or written by individuals without genuine experience with the product or service. Fines may reach $51,744 per violation. Franchises must ensure all reviews are genuine and not manipulative or misleading or incentivized with any sort of discounts, raffle tickets or give-aways.
Q: How can franchise owners encourage more authentic, positive reviews?
A: Start by creating a great customer experience and then make it easy for those customers to tell about it in online reviews. This means training staff to deliver high-quality service and afterward asking customers to leave reviews. Timing and consistency are key. The best time to ask for a review is shortly after any positive interaction. That’s the moment when customers are most likely to leave a meaningful review.
Don’t make customers search for your business; make it easy for them. To simplify the review process, franchisees should provide a direct link to their Google, Yelp or Facebook review pages via text message or email. QR codes are too easily ignored; don’t offer multiple options and hold your customers hostage at your location while they’re anxious to get on with their day.
Also, franchise owners should never incentivize reviews or filter out negative comments. These practices erode trust and violate site policies and FTC regulations. Instead, brands should focus on earning great reviews organically by letting the product or service speak for itself.
Q: Do online reviews help attract new franchisees?
A: Diligent potential franchisees are highly likely to research customer reviews to see what common issues exist, how franchisees address them, and how the brand’s reviews compare to competitors’. Checking reviews written by current and former employees at corporate headquarters on Glassdoor.com and Indeed.com can also reveal valuable insights about how a franchise is run. Checking the corporate franchisor’s Better Business Bureau reviews can also help potential franchisees see how well (or poorly) the business is run.
Q: How can franchise brands turn online reviews into a proactive growth strategy?
A: Online reviews can move beyond customer service to serve as a core marketing component. Knowing that reviews strongly influence purchasing decisions and that most consumers trust reviews as much as personal recommendations, online reviews aren’t just nice to have – they’re essential.
Correctly managed reviews drive visibility in local search rankings, improve click-through rates, and increase conversions for individual franchise units and the brand as a whole. With strategically managed online reviews, franchise brands can consistently promote two to 20 times more five-star reviews across every major reviews platform and search engine. The most successful franchise brands consistently collect reviews, thoughtfully respond, and use them as proof points in marketing, sales and franchise development.
For more information about online reputation management, visit the Toole & Associates website.
