The first thing that any business should do is to Google its own business name. Click through the first few links that pop up about your business, just to get a feel for the type of things being said about your company.

Note if it’s good or bad, what kind of things people are saying and where they are saying them. Don’t panic! No matter how good or bad things seem; everything is repairable.

While you’re doing this, consider what a potential customer would think about your company if he or she was learning about you for the first time on the web.

Are these feedback giving you positive social proof? Or are they like the people badmouthing you at the party?

The next thing you should do is continue with a search on your business name and add the term reviews. Check out each review site returned to get into the nitty-gritty of customer reviews. But first; brace yourself!

Some customer reviews on sites like Yelp are notoriously harsh. Even the best businesses in the world are bound to have at least a few negative review. A certain amount of negative customer reviews are fine - to be expected, even - so long as they are balanced out by some good ones. A potential customer will need to see some good reviews if he or she is to take a chance on your company.

You can’t find any reviews about your business, your products or services? Do not think that this doesn’t matter! A prospect who has the choice will move to a competitor who has reviews!