Mpact Magic Seeing Old Stars like New Coke
Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) July 15, 2013 -- When big companies make big mistakes they can move swiftly. Just as Coca Cola returned to what the consumer understood and loved, so, soon, will Google. In fact, the change is already being deployed in the Google Maps product and will soon be visible in Google Maps for Mobile, Google search results and Google+ Local in upcoming months.
“We work with businesses on monitoring and responding to their online reputations all the time. It is nice to see that the biggest player in the reputation management space is responsive to consumer preferences,” says Jim Richardson, Mpact Magic’s Director of Opportunity. “People understand the ‘star system’ and respond to it much more easily that having to interpret a 30-point scale.”
See it now.
In fact, to see what reviews will look like under the new system, look up any business in Google+ Local and extend the URL with the character string: ?hl=en&rfmt=s
This will only work if the business has more than ten of the current 30-point Zagat reviews, however.
According to Google sources, “The system maintains the precision of the former 30-point scale while improving the readability and accessibility of the business listings. … Past ratings have been mapped to the five-star system.”
What else is new?
Currently, a business has to acquire a minimum of ten Google+ reviews to get a rating on the 30-point scale. When the stars return, the minimum will be only five reviews to show up with a rating. Further, businesses with no reviews will display an invitation to the visitor to “be the first to review” the business.
The new score will show up in bright red, matching the stars next to it.
“While Google is far too young to have anything called “Classic”, it is nice to see the company respond to the consumer,” Mpact Magic’s Richardson concludes.
Roger McManus, Mpact Magic, Inc., http://mpactmagic.com, 702-605-8787 523, [email protected]
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