Reviews have always been a crucial factor in a company’s success, but this is more true than ever in the era of the burgeoning online environment. Here, your customers can be your brand’s greatest ambassadors or your fiercest critics. Online review such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Citysearch, along with a multitude of others, are growing in popularity as consumers go online to check out the opinions of others before purchasing products and services.
This presents a challenge for business owners who need to manage their company's online reputation.
Here are some tips for managing your company's reputation on review sites.
- Continuous monitoring
You need to know what is being said about your business online . You can start by doing regular checks by searching Google for mentions of your company. You should also set up your Google alerts to receive an email notification every time your business is mentioned online.
Alternatively, you can hire one of the many companies that monitor and analyze social media conversations about business.
- SUBSCRIBE
Responding to reviews can be tricky, especially if they are negative.
If the reviews are positive, the key is to simply say thank you in a short and sincere way. This means you should avoid the temptation to try to make another sale, address minor points in the review, or offer rewards like a coupon, discount, or invitation to an event, says Yelp's guide to responding to reviews.
In the case of really great comments, you may want to ask the customer if you can use what he or she said as a review on your website or a showcase of your services.
Responding to a negative review is obviously the most dangerous thing for your business's reputation. It's important to respond promptly and maintain a polite, calm, and neutral tone, regardless of the language the other person uses.
Be honest and transparent. Correct any wrongdoings – yours and theirs, but don't delete bad reviews unless they are offensive, unfounded, or malicious.
Because reviews are anonymous on many websites and the information is not verified or filtered. Readers will judge the validity of negative comments on their own merits and in the context of other comments. Research has shown that a negative comment can actually add weight to positive ones, as consumers become suspicious if reviews unanimously paint a rosy picture of a business.
- Be honest.
Don't post fake positive reviews. This completely wrong approach will probably be discovered and then you are truly viewed as a company that does not provide quality services.
- Act on feedback
Customer reviews are excellent business intelligence. Constantly listening with an open mind to everything that is being said about your business gives you the opportunity to improve your products and fix problems. And don't forget to always listen to what customers are saying about your competition - there's a lot to learn there too.
