Oct 23, 2026 · @Chad Engelke

Let me start with my own numbers

Pure Focus has 13 Google reviews. Every one of them is five stars.

That sounds good until you see this. In BrightLocal's 2026 survey, 47% of people said they won't use a business with fewer than 20 reviews.

So by that measure, almost half the people looking me up could pass me by. Not because my reviews are bad. Because there aren't enough of them.

I need a hundred. Two hundred. More. And if you're reading this, you might too.

Your customers sell better than you do

I check reviews before I use almost any business. You probably do too. Most people check the stars reviews on Amazon first. Local businesses are no different. BrightLocal found 97% of people read reviews for local businesses.

Here's why that matters. When you tell people you're great, they wonder if it's true. When your customers say it, people believe it.

Picture a roofing company with a review like this: "They showed up, they were professional, they got it done in a couple of days, and my problem went away." That one review does something your ad can't. It lowers the reader's guard. You don't have to convince them how good you are. Your customer already did.

One review helps. A lot of reviews saying the same thing builds real trust. That's the difference between people hearing about you and people believing you.

"But we already get plenty of business"

That's what I hear most when I bring up reviews with owners. They're busy. Work comes in. They don't see why reviews matter.

I'll be straight with you. I can't promise that 50 more five-star reviews will bring in a set amount of new business. Nobody honest can.

Here's what I can tell you. In that same survey, 85% of people said positive reviews make them more likely to use a business. Reviews don't close the sale for you. They get people to trust you enough to call.

And the people already sending you work? They're telling their friends about you. Reviews let them tell strangers too.

What to do with a one-star review

Every business gets a bad review eventually. In my experience, they usually come from one of three places:

1. You earned it. Something went wrong.

2. The customer expected something you don't actually do.

3. They reviewed the wrong business. It happens more than you'd think, especially with similar names.

Whatever the reason, reply. To every review, good or bad, and especially the one-stars.

The data backs this up. BrightLocal found 89% of people expect owners to respond to reviews. 80% are likely to use a business that responds to all of them. And 42% are unlikely to use a business that ignores its reviews.

One caution. Don't paste the same "Thanks for your feedback!" on everything. Half of people in that survey said generic replies make them unlikely to choose a business. Write like a person.

For a bad review, find out what happened. Reach out if you can. Sometimes they'll update it. Sometimes you'll learn they meant someone else. Either way, the next customer sees that you showed up.

How to get more reviews

Ask

This sounds too simple. It isn't. A lot of times we don't get what we need because we never ask for it. I'm learning that myself. Most of the growth I'm seeing right now came from finally asking.

The numbers agree. In BrightLocal's survey, 83% of people who were asked to leave a review went on to leave one.

Make the asking automatic

You won't remember to ask after every job. So don't rely on memory.

On my photography side, my system sends an email asking for a review as soon as a shoot is done. If they don't leave one, it sends a reminder later.

For Pure Focus, my CRM asks for Google and Facebook reviews, watches for new ones, and alerts me when one comes in. It can even draft a reply for me to edit before I send it. And it tracks who left a review, so I know who's talked about me.

If you already use a CRM, check whether it can connect to Google reviews. If you don't, you can still ask by hand through your Google Business Profile. If you don't have a Google Business Profile, get one. That's step one.

Try video

Video reviews put a real face and name to the words. Someone saying "I had this problem, and they solved it" on camera carries weight.

I'll be honest. We've had mixed results getting them. People don't love being on video. We're still figuring out whether we're asking the wrong questions or asking the wrong way. But I think businesses that crack this will have an edge.

Use what they tell you

Reviews aren't just for trust. They're free feedback. When someone writes "It was great, but I wish they'd done this better," that's a lesson. Use it to train your team and fix the gaps your competitors aren't fixing.

Find out where you stand

Reputation is the second of seven places businesses lose leads. If people find you but don't trust what they see, they move on to the next name.

The Full Frame Assessment scores your business across all seven. It takes a few minutes, and your results come by email.

https://purefocus.media/full-frame-assessment

And if you've worked with me, I'd be grateful for a review. I'm taking my own advice.

Next up: capture, and the leads you never knew you had.

Source: BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026, a survey of 1,002 US adults.