Manage & Monitor Online Reviews
According to Inc.com, online reviews impact the buying behaviors of individuals as much as 84% of the time. With so many people paying attention to online reviews when determining what product to buy, what company to shop from, and whom to do business with, it is imperative to manage and monitor your online reviews. Paying attention to what people are saying about your company could cost you potential customers, or could bring you thousands of new customers. Since it is easy for people to share their options online, managing your online reviews has never been more important!
Are You Tracking Reviews?
One of the first things to do is start tracking your reviews. If you have not read any reviews of your company, start with your Google My Business page.
As you can see, when you Google your business name, it should have some reviews (if not, you will want to claim your business listing and start getting some customer reviews to strengthen your online reputation). On the reviews, click on the hyperlink showing how many reviews you have to browse through them and read about what your customers are saying.
Paying attention to your online reputation can help you deliver the best image possible to strengthen customer relationships.
Do You Respond to Reviews?
If you are actively managing your online reputation, how are you dealing with the reviews? Do you respond to each review? Do you only respond to negative reviews? How and when should you respond to reviews? In most cases, there are many review websites, discussion boards, and areas that people look to when they are researching your company and products. It is important to keep tabs on all of them so you can ensure you are providing excellent service.
As this is a time-consuming task, some people look to software services to help. The trouble with automating processes like this is how easily it can miss that “human element” people seek. Performance Driven Marketing specializes in online reputation management, and we can help manage your online reviews and respond properly when informed of the situation (for negative review problems.)
The Star Rating
Online reputations are built upon a star grading method. If people see a 3-star rating and compare the company to a 5-star rating, it’s easy for people to become swayed by the higher rating. Sometimes one single-star rating can completely jeopardize the reputation of a good business. Here are some important things to know about that star rating:
- Businesses with excellent reviews have a higher trust factor, with 31 percent of consumers saying they would spend more at a business with a higher star rating.
- Positive reviews are a deciding factor 72 percent of the time when a person is considering a business to deal with
- Local business owners are impacted heavily with 92 percent of consumers stating they will visit the local business if they have a five-star rating
- One single negative review can cost a business 30 customers
With so many relying on others’ experiences with businesses prior to their own, it is essential to manage and monitor your online reputation carefully. Set a goal for your business to obtain 10 reviews on Google, Facebook, and several other websites to help increase your ranking, and strengthen your business presence online.
How Do You Manage Your Online Reputation?
In the past, you only needed to worry about Google and a few other sites. As the Internet becomes more and more crowded, there are hundreds, actually thousands of different review websites. How do you check your reputation on all of them? Doing the work without the help of software is almost impossible and it could take months to get through, only to start right back at the beginning as new reviews come in.
Performance Driven Marketing saw a need to help local business owners learn how to manage and monitor online reputations. We do use software to help track your online reputation and use it to help target some reviews that may be inappropriate or even misleading. Our goal is to help clean up the misinformation and provide the customer with the best experience possible.
A good review from a satisfied customer is worth its weight in gold. A single bad review from an upset customer normally means that a person will not return to the business 89 percent of the time, and they could influence others to join them.
Review Driven Reputation Management
We put together a strategic thinking plan to approach online reputations. We track every online review and respond to them effectively. We focus on a well-thought-out plan for each business we work with, and we start by learning about your industry and the customers you typically work with. Gaining insight is critical for our team to ensure your company voice is heard correctly.
We take all the data and pass it along to our clients. Learning about feedback directly from the customer can assist in developing better products, and services, and giving your company an “edge” in your industry. One of our critical components is making sure your customers hear from you, and provide good information is given to your customers. We want to ensure your key audience can trust your business to provide expert information and service.
One Simple Review?
Is it really just one simple review that could destroy your business? Based on the previous information, a single bad review could cost the business 30 customers. Factor in how much the average sale is, multiply it by 30, and you are left with a large number in the thousands for most businesses.
The first 48 hours following a bad review are the most critical for an online review. Why? In many cases, the situation a customer was upset about could be repaired, and the person is willing to remove the bad rating or update it. The problem with that bad review being ignored is the harm it has on the future of the business. People will make decisions based on that review, so you must act no matter what.
Finding the best way to respond to online reviews can be difficult for most business owners. The review needs a response that is from the business includes empathy and is courteous, short, and professional. Finding a way to respond to a review and include all these elements can be challenging. Experts in handling online reputation are best suited for this situation, which is why Performance Driven Marketing has an in-house monitor and review experts to meet all these elements of a one-star review response.
Removing Bad Reviews
Some marketing firms try to tell you that there is a “loophole” to removing those bad reviews and they have all the knowledge and experience to do it. Here’s the truth, certain reviews can be removed if the evidence is submitted to support the reason for the removal. However, most review platforms will not remove old or bad reviews as they are consumer opinions. If a bad review cannot be removed, there is a procedure we follow to help embrace the bad with a proper response. We provide important, positive content that is shared to help other people reading a review to gather information from “both sides” prior to making their buying decision.
Reputation Management Software
Contact Performance Driven Marketing to ensure your online reputation is not being ignored. Our experts want to help polish your online image to generate a stronger presence in the industry, and ultimately watch your company become more connected with your target audience. Contact our Ogden marketing company today to discuss managing and monitoring review software and programs available for local businesses.
PDM Quick Tips For Better Customer Reviews
If you want to work on building your brand and reputation, use our quick tips to get started:
- Claim multiple listings to create places for customers to leave their reviews
- Clean up your website to make it more user-friendly
- Create compelling content and share information on your website and social sites
- Ask loyal and satisfied customers for reviews
- Ask open-ended questions to gain insight into your customers’ mindset
- Share positive reviews on social sites to recognize your customers’ support
