Yell: 87% of UK builders suffer due to poor online presence

Yell has found that over 87 percent of UK builders it researched have wrong or inconsistent information online, including basic details such as a phone number or email.

Feedback shows 89% of customers say they will try another company if the details listed online for a particular business are incorrect, suggesting many small businesses, including builders, are missing out on a lot of potential custom.

Yell conducted research into how the 50,630 builders in its UK database appear online, also asking customers nationwide about their online habits and expectations. The results paint a gloomy picture pointing to some basic errors in small businesses’ approach to reaching potential online customers. 

Key facts:

51% of customers said when they were looking for a new service, the most important source of information was a website

Having inconsistent or non-existent information online means small businesses are missing out on potential custom with 54% of people relying on positive online reviews when deciding on a new local business or service

There are 93 builders names in the UK beginning with the name “Alan”

There are 145 builders names in the UK beginning with the name “Andrew”

There are 104 builders names in the UK beginning with “Complete”

There are 381 builders names in the UK beginning with the name “Dave” or “David”

“If a company’s information online is wrong, it’s arguably worse than not being online at all,” said Mark Clisby, Yell’s Marketing Director. “Not only is the company effectively invisible to customers, it can also seem careless or even untrustworthy.  This often happens because companies don’t always know all the listings sites where they appear, or when they move they forget to update their information.  It’s easily done, but can be incredibly damaging for business.”

“A lot of small businesses tell me they get all their business from word of mouth and don’t need to be online. However, they’re ignoring the fact that word of mouth has moved online, with more than half of all customers choosing a local business based on online reviews.  That’s a lot of work to be missing out on,” concluded Mark Clisby.

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Read the July 2016 issue of Construction Global magazine