Among the 20 chiropractors someone searching in Milwaukee, WI is shown, the three answering the most of their recent reviews replied to 10, 10 and 9 of their most recent 10. Among the 20 gyms in that same set, the two answering the most replied to 9 of 10 and 4 of 10. Those five listings are the strongest answerers each trade gave us, and even across them the working assumption differs: on some, a review is the end of the conversation; on others, the middle of it.
The gyms carry the heavier listings. A typical gym in that set of 20 holds 155 Google reviews, the three most-reviewed hold 975, 507 and 247, and the median rating is 4.7. Fit Pro MKE, on 240 reviews, answered 9 of its most recent 10 — the highest answering rate we read in the trade. East Bank Athletic & Social carries 507 reviews, the second-largest count in that set, and answered 4 of its most recent 10. Those are the two gyms answering the most of their recent reviews.
The chiropractors' listings are smaller: a median of 83 reviews, with the three most-reviewed holding 484, 291 and 235. The median rating in that set is 5. Three listings under the Chiropractic Company name lead the answering. Glendale, on 484 reviews, replied to all 10 of its most recent. Milwaukee East, on 195 reviews, also replied to 10 of 10. Third Ward, on 235, replied to 9 of 10. Listing size is plainly not what decides it — 484 reviews and 195 reviews got the same treatment.
One caution on the numbers above. The reply counts describe only the most recent handful of reviews on a listing; the review totals and the ratings describe the whole of it. Across the 56 businesses we could measure around Milwaukee, a typical one answered 66% of its recent reviews. We read 460 businesses in all here.
What to do about it
If you run a gym in this set, review volume is not the gap — the median listing already holds 155 of them. The reply is the gap. Fit Pro MKE answers 9 of its most recent 10 while carrying 240 reviews, and at the top of the chiropractor group three listings answer 10, 10 and 9 of 10, so it is doable at both listing sizes.
Open your own listing, look at the last 10 reviews, and count how many carry an owner reply. If that number is under 10, it is the cheapest thing on your list to fix. Answer the warm ones by name so the specific thing the person liked is written down where the next reader sees it, and answer the critical ones plainly and once. A typical measured business around Milwaukee answered 66% of its recent reviews — a share of reviews, not a share of businesses. Answering all 10 of your last 10 puts you where Fit Pro MKE and those three Chiropractic Company listings already are.
Gyms
| # | Business | Answered | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fit Pro MKE | 9 of 10 | 240 | 5 |
| 2 | East Bank Athletic & Social | 4 of 10 | 507 | 4.1 |
Chiropractors
| # | Business | Answered | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chiropractic Company of Glendale | 10 of 10 | 484 | 4.9 |
| 2 | Chiropractic Company of Milwaukee East | 10 of 10 | 195 | 4.9 |
| 3 | Chiropractic Company of Milwaukee Third Ward | 9 of 10 | 235 | 4.9 |