A traditional study describes the market from above. Reviews describe it from the customer’s seat. How to read them as an indicator without turning them into market share.
A feasibility study usually answers size questions: how many residents, how many competitors, how much it costs. It rarely answers the question that decides a project’s first months: why do customers return to your competitor, and why do they stop?
What reviews reveal
Complaints repeated across several competitors point to a gap in the whole area, not in one business. Repeated praise tells you what has become a baseline rather than an advantage. Review dates tell you who is active today and who lives on an old reputation.
What they don’t reveal
A competitor’s share of reviews is not its share of sales. A small business may collect many reviews because it asks for them, while a large one may ignore them. That is why we call it review share and use it only as an indicator of visibility and general impression.
How to read them in practice
Pick the direct competitors within the radius, read a sample from the last 12 months for each, and sort every review into three buckets: what is praised, what is complained about, and what is requested but missing. Then ask: which of these gaps can I actually fill at a cost I can bear?
Reviews are an indicator of the market, not a substitute for testing your decision in it.
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