How we turn public reputation signals into practical priorities.

The evidence we look for

• Business identity and market: confirm the correct company, location, service category, and relevant public profiles.
• Reviews: record the platform, rating, visible count, recent review dates, and observable response activity.
• Competitors: compare businesses competing for similar customers in the same market, rather than unrelated national brands.
• Trust and contact details: inspect public profile completeness, visible inconsistencies, and how someone can contact the business.
• Priorities: distinguish directly observed facts from interpretations and recommended next steps.

A comparison needs context

A large review count can reflect a long-established company, several locations, or a different service mix. A lower count is not automatic proof of poor service. We consider review recency and business relevance alongside totals.

Public platforms and profiles change. Findings should state the date observed and reference the available source. Missing or inaccessible information should be labeled unavailable.

An illustrative example

Hypothetical example—not a client result

Imagine a neighborhood business whose newest visible review is six months old. Two comparable nearby businesses have recent feedback. The owner also has several unanswered public complaints. These observations suggest a review-request and response process worth investigating; they do not prove a specific amount of lost revenue.

Sample one-page audit comparison

Illustrative only: every business and figure below is fictional. This demonstrates the format, not a CLT customer result, market benchmark, or revenue estimate.

Interpretation: The example competitor has fresher visible feedback and more response activity. That suggests investigating a consistent review-request and response process; it does not prove better service, lost calls, or lost revenue.

First actions: Confirm the comparison is relevant, introduce a neutral request after completed service, and assign someone to review and respond to feedback. A real audit should identify its observation date, sources, and any unavailable information.

What the audit cannot establish

Public reputation information cannot tell us exactly how many calls you lost or how much revenue competitors captured. Any financial scenario would require explicit assumptions and should be labeled an estimate.

An audit does not guarantee review removal, Google rankings, sales, or protection against every unauthorized profile change. It identifies visible risks and a process for addressing them.

Who is behind the work

Create Local Trust is led by Rob Delgado, owner of High Response Media. Our approach is to diagnose the public reputation gap first, then discuss whether a managed system fits. Learn about CLT.