Want to know what really drives SMB sales in 2025? It all comes down to how their customers use reviews. A recent survey of over 1,200 North American consumers reveals some surprising insights about how people interact with local business reviews in 2025. Here’s what your sales team needs to know to close more deals and build trust with prospects.
The data: 59% of consumers are spending more time reading local business reviews than they did five years ago.
What This Means for Your Sales Team:
Actionable Tip: Start sales conversations by asking prospects how they currently manage their online reviews. The growing importance of reviews makes this a natural entry point for discussing your solutions.
The data: Only 31% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from family and friends.
What This Means for Your Sales Team:
Actionable Tip: Show prospects how your solutions can help them encourage satisfied customers to share their experiences online, bridging the gap between word-of-mouth and digital reputation.
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The data: While 46% of consumers aged 45-60 expect responses within one day, younger consumers (18-29) are surprisingly more patient with review responses.
What This Means for Your Sales Team:
Actionable Tip: Create demographic-specific pitches that highlight how your solutions can help SMBs meet their specific customer base’s expectations.
The data: 52% of consumers use Instagram to find local business recommendations.
What This Means for Your Sales Team:
Actionable Tip: Use this stat to open discussions about comprehensive digital presence management, especially for SMBs targeting younger demographics.
The data: 92% of consumers consider owner responses to reviews as part of good customer service.
What This Means for Your Sales Team:
Actionable Tip: Frame review management solutions as customer service enablement tools, not just marketing features.
The data: Only 34% of review readers highly value detailed explanations of improvements in response to negative reviews.
What This Means for Your Sales Team:
Actionable Tip: Show how your tools can help SMBs maintain professional, consistent review responses without requiring extensive time investment.
Equip your sales team with Insites‘ comprehensive auditing tools that can help them:
Book a demo today to see how Insites can help your sales team close more deals with SMBs.