Influence Trust

Reviews

• 97% of Canadians rely on online reviews to decide who they can trust.
• 41% of consumers now always read reviews before even browsing.
• 74% of people only care about reviews written in the last three months.
• 47% of consumers will not look at a business if it has fewer than 20 reviews.
• 45% of consumers will still visit a business after a negative review if the company responds with a human plan to fix the situation.

Employer Reputation 

• 86% of job seekers research company reviews on sites like Glassdoor and Indeed before they even consider applying.
• 80% of prospects change their purchase intent immediately after seeing negative information about how a company operates behind the scenes.
• 62% of consumers avoid brands that are involved in censoring or hiding negative employee feedback.
• 76% of people have a more favorable view of a company when they see the owner responding to employee reviews with a human touch.
• 50% of candidates will avoid a company with a poor reputation, even if the pay is higher than the competition.

Social Media & Branding 

• 89% of Canadians use at least one social media platform every single week.
• 73% of consumers say they will switch to a competitor if a brand fails to respond on social media.
• 40% of consumers expect a response on social media within one hour of posting a complaint.
• 54% of Canadians have unfollowed a brand because its social media interactions felt automated or generic.
• 71% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand after a positive, human experience on a social platform.

Influencer & Creator 

• 73% of people can spot a fake or scripted influencer endorsement within seconds.
• 82% of consumers trust an influencer more when they show the "behind the scenes" of their life rather than a polished ad.
• 71% of consumers say they are more likely to purchase a product based on an influencer's recommendation, but only if the voice sounds real.
• 77% of people now prefer creator-led content over traditional brand advertisements.

The Impact of Response & Silence

• One unaddressed viral complaint can drive away 30 out of 50 potential customers before the business even speaks.
• 96% of customers specifically look for negative reviews to see how a business handles the conflict.
• 80% of people will abandon a brand they once loved after just one instance of poor or robotic service.
• Only 15% of consumers will forgive a poor experience if the response feels generic or unhelpful.
• 66% of people expect more personalized service now that AI is everywhere, not less.

When a customer or a potential hire sees the same canned response left for every person, it confirms the feeling that the business treats everyone as just another number on a list.

Influence Trust helps you break that cycle by replacing automated loops with human intervention. We stay on top of your social media monitoring, job board presence, and influencer brand maintenance to ensure that when people look at your business, they see a human being on the other side.