In a word, yes.

It does take “guts” to solicit reviews, because some can be negative . . . some even unethically submitted by your competitors.

But because people put more faith in their peers then they do in advertising, reviews can be powerful inducements to business prospects. As long as the majority of reviews are positive, the negative ones can tend to make the good ones more credible.

Interestingly, studies have shown that sales increases are dramatic when the positive reviews dominate, even though there may also be negative ones. It’s important to remember that if you deserve the good buzz, the good buzz will follow.