how to generate online reviews<\/a> and respond effectively to those reviews.<\/p>\nIf you adopt the following approaches, you\u2019ll be in a better position to boost your brand perception online and build your customer base.<\/p>\n
How Can Your Business Effectively Manage Online Reviews?<\/h4>\n
Now that you understand the power of online reviews, it\u2019s time to create a strategy that will help you more effectively manage those reviews.<\/p>\n
Here are just a few strategies you\u2019ll want to implement to build your brand reputation through online review management. Let\u2019s start with a number of ways to encourage customers to share their feedback:<\/p>\n
Ask in Person<\/strong><\/p>\nOne of the easiest ways to encourage customers to share their support for your business is to mention it to them during an in-person visit or transaction. You can also put up signage or physical reminders that can showcase the power of online reviews.<\/p>\n
Although customers will often be eager to leave a review after a bad experience, they\u2019ll easily forget to do so when they\u2019ve had a positive interaction with a brand. By voicing the impact reviews can have on your business during their visit, that can translate into action once they leave your establishment.<\/p>\n
Send Out Emails<\/strong><\/p>\nEmail blasts are another great way to ask for customer reviews. You can send out an automated email after a customer has made a purchase, for example. Alternatively, you can include a link to your profile on Yelp or to your Facebook reviews in a monthly newsletter. Since the recipients will already be at their computer or using their smartphone, they\u2019ll be even more likely to follow through.<\/p>\n
Post Social Media Reminders<\/strong><\/p>\nSocial media can allow you to connect in a personal and consistent way with your target audience. Most consumers will admire a brand that chooses to be transparent and personable, so there\u2019s nothing wrong with creating a post that will help your customers see just how important their reviews are. You can even include a direct link to the review site in your Facebook post, tweet, or Instagram profile to make it easier for followers to navigate to the right place.<\/p>\n
Add Links On Your Site<\/strong><\/p>\nMost business websites have links or buttons that drive traffic to their social media pages. But it\u2019s also a good idea to add a link to your profiles on review sites like Yelp, Angi, or other industry-specific platforms. You don\u2019t necessarily need to put these links front and center on your homepage, but keeping them in your footer or on a contact page can serve as an important reminder to visitors to share (or read) these reviews.<\/p>\n
Remind Them on Customer Calls<\/h4>\n
If you run a B2B organization or you handle customer service inquiries for your business, the phone calls you have with consumers can be another option for review generation. You can close out a call with a simple reminder or request for a review; simply state that if they\u2019re happy with their experience with you, sharing their feedback on Yelp or your Google My Business profile can help your brand continue to grow. While you don\u2019t want to put them on the spot, sharing this information at the end of the interaction can encourage them to take immediate action.<\/p>\n
Once you start to see the new reviews roll in, you might think your work is done. But review management is essential. That requires you to respond to all reviews (both positive and negative!) in a timely manner and in a way that makes the customer feel valued.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, many business owners do their brands a disservice by failing to manage their reviews in the right way. Here are a few rules you\u2019ll want to keep in mind:<\/p>\n
Respond Promptly:<\/strong> You should never rush to respond to your reviews, as this rarely results in a helpful interaction. However,it\u2019s best to post a reply within 24 to 48 hours. This window will provide you with an opportunity to improve the customer relationship and show that you care about their experience while alleviating the pressure to respond within minutes. Waiting any longer than a day or two will lessen your chances of making an impact, so make sure to stay on top of these platforms and get notified of any new entries.<\/p>\nLeave the Emotion Out:<\/strong> This is especially important if you\u2019ve received a negative review of your business. It\u2019s difficult to not take criticism personally, but you need to make every attempt to leave your emotion out of it. Resist the urge to get defensive; if you feel yourself starting to respond in anger, close the browser window and take some time to calm down before you formulate a response. Even if what they\u2019ve said is hurtful to you, remember that how you respond will usually matter more than what the review actually says. Instead of taking the feedback as a personal attack, use this as a chance to showcase your customer service skills. Cooler heads will always prevail.<\/p>\nHelp the Customer Feel HEARD:<\/strong> When responding to reviews or any other kind of feedback, keep the acronym \u201cHEARD\u201d in mind. Hear the story uninterrupted, Empathize with the reviewer, Apologize for the circumstances that occurred, Resolve the problem, and Diagnose what went wrong to avoid mistakes in the future. Remember to practice active listening, even when you\u2019re reading online reviews, to ensure the customer feels valued and that you\u2019re taking their concerns seriously.<\/p>\nBe Careful About Review Removal:<\/strong> Say an irate individual leaves a bad review for your business. In some cases, the feedback might be warranted. In others, their account of the situation that took place is inaccurate. It could even be completely fabricated. If you can confirm that the reviewer is not a customer of yours or that they\u2019re lying about their review in any way, you may be able to petition the platform to remove it. Unfortunately, there are people out there who will try to harm a business in this way. By all means, make an effort to have these reviews taken down. However, the majority of negative reviews businesses receive are legitimate. You shouldn\u2019t try to remove honest reviews or comments, even if you don\u2019t agree with them. Attempting to remove or hide reviews just because they\u2019re unpleasant won\u2019t help you build trust. Instead, use those reviews as motivation to turn things around.<\/p>\nGenerating and managing online reviews will prove paramount for the success of your business. If you want to improve your brand perception and build customer loyalty, these efforts should be included as part of your marketing strategy. With these tips in mind, you\u2019ll be able to boost your brand reputation and trust with your customers for long-term growth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Whether you own a small business or are the head of a large company, you\u2019ll want to create a positive buzz about your brand. According to Australian based digital marketing company, Clicks Marketing, online reputation management has become a service that more businesses and key individuals have been seeking assistance to solve. Especially when negative […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6412,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[2671,5654,35,37,5656,5660,5659,5661,55,5648,5651,5647,5506,5652,5650,1568,5653,1557,1177,285],"class_list":["post-6411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-branding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.logodesignteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.logodesignteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.logodesignteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.logodesignteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.logodesignteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6411"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.logodesignteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6411\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7552,"href":"https:\/\/www.logodesignteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6411\/revisions\/7552"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.logodesignteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.logodesignteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.logodesignteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.logodesignteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6411"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.logodesignteam.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=6411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}