4 ways customer reviews can benefit your company

By having an online presence, both small and large companies can build their brand awareness. Maintaining a positive online reputation can drive new leads to your business, but only if you successfully manage what people post online about your company. Your company is vulnerable to the negative reviews people leave about their experiences – with your staff, services or products, so you must be vigilant in managing your online reputation, especially in this technology-driven age.

It is increasingly easy for people to post comments about businesses on the hundreds of public review sites and through social media – tagging the company or using hashtags that sometimes cause a viral effect like what happened to Huggies in 2015. More often than not, a customer with a bad experience will leave a review over someone with a positive experience. Now, more than ever, it’s critical to encourage your customers to leave positive reviews as well as to make amends with the customers who leave negative ones.

The major benefits of encouraging your customers to leave reviews about their experiences are:

1. Receive free online advertising. When your customers post online reviews about your company, your brand awareness expands. People who come across those reviews are more aware of what your company sells. When positive reviews outweigh the negative ones, more people are willing to do business with your company.
2. Improve your SEO. If several people post reviews about your company, Google takes notice. The search engine giant ranks your company higher in search results, regardless if you’re receiving more positive or negative reviews. However, if a search for your business yields negative reviews, prospective customers may seek service elsewhere. Encourage your happy customers to leave reviews about your company.
3. Tackle the negative reviews. It’s important to reach out to customers who leave negative reviews. Apologize for their unsatisfactory experiences and try to make amends. For example, offer them a free service or product the next time they visit your company or give them a discount. When you solve customers’ issues, ask them to consider updating their reviews or to leave more favorable reviews online.
4. Form a closer connection with the customer. When a business replies to customers, it sends the message that someone is reading their reviews and is listening to them. You should try to engage with customers who leave positive reviews as well as negative ones. You might not be able to respond to everyone, but a simple thank you can go a long way. When responding to reviews, it is important to personalize your messages to ensure customers know they aren’t reading automated or canned responses.

Managing online reviews can be frustrating and time consuming unless you use online reputation management software. Online reputation management software, like ReviewMaxer, saves you time and energy. It can alert you when someone posts a review about your company, instead of you having to search for reviews yourself. ReviewMaxer makes it easier to respond quickly to negative reviews and engage with the customers who left positive ones, ultimately improving your online reputation.

Photo credit: 123RF Stock Photo

Written by: Paul Cook

How to improve your brand and increase engagement

There's a very good reason that companies include testimonial pages on their websites. Did you know that research from YouGov has shown that 78 percent of Americans look at reviews before making a purchase, and 88 percent find reviews about as trustworthy as personal recommendations from their inner circle of friends and family? Those online reviews are powerful …which is why it's too bad that more businesses don't know how to use them properly.

The testimonial page is just one tool that should be in your online review toolbox. Let's talk about how to manage a broader, more effective review strategy by tapping into the social market.

Your industry and your reviews

While social channels are a popular breeding ground for reviews, it's a good idea to start by examining which channels you should focus on. Begin by asking yourself: Where do my potential customers go for reviews? Which channels will have the most impact when it comes to posting reviews? Relevancy is different for everyone, but here are a few points to keep in mind:

• Yelp is a powerful retail/restaurant review tool, but interest is starting to fade due to overuse and concerns about spamming, poor reviews, etc. For now, Yelp is still necessary for many industries, but expect it to be supplanted in coming years.
• Google business profiles and Facebook are still requirements for nearly every industry. These are high-profile channels that directly impact both customers and your SEO. When in doubt, focus efforts here because these channels tend to have the most impact, even in B2B fields.
• Be specific. Many industries have specific sites to garner reviews – think of Zagat for restaurants or Vitals for health care. Search for review sites unique to your industry and target them.
• Use metrics. Examine your traffic: Where does it come from? What ads have the best conversion rates? This should point to social sites where you need to focus efforts.

A call to action for reviews

Once you know which social media channels you need to pursue – what’s next? A good review strategy requires effective calls to action. There are several places to put these calls to action. A solution that works for many companies is creating a landing page specifically for reviews, using simple forms that allow customers to quickly file a review. After a transaction, emails and links can point customers toward these landing pages with a simple request for a positive review about their experiences. Brick-and-mortar transactions can do the same with a little message on the receipt or an add-on to receipt emails.

Another powerful tool, especially for targeting specific networks, is a set of share buttons to allow customers to instantly share their reviews or visit the business profile where they can provide star reviews and messages for a particular social media site.

You should also consider incentives, especially when it comes to larger clients. Offering deals and discounts in exchange for reviews is common in many business circles; so don't feel bad about including rewards.

Using reviews when you have them

Positive reviews are starting to roll in thanks to your well-placed calls to action. Now, what do you do with them? It's smart to separate them into four different categories:

1. Testimonials to share through website and email.

These are longer, more detailed positive reviews that are great for sharing in the right formats.

2. Short reviews to share on social media.

These reviews are shorter and have excellent blurbs, ideal for posting on social media with a link to the review and a note about happy customers.

3. Reviews that deserve a response.

These are reviews that raise important questions or comments that you should answer.

4. Reviews you can ignore.

These reviews are far from useless and they contribute to overall review scores, but there's nothing much you can do with them, so don't waste energy on them.

Creating conversation

Finally, let's talk a little about poor reviews. Studies have shown that 4 out of 5 consumers back off from purchase decisions if they run across a negative online review. Here's what to do in response: answer poor reviews when possible. It doesn't matter if the review is unfair or doesn't make sense, post a reply, comment or apology. You aren't doing this for the poor review itself (although any toxic customer that you can convert is a win); you are doing this for new customers who are checking out reviews. If they see you are explaining or at least answering the negative reviews, they will be much less likely to let those reviews affect them!

Obviously, a successful review strategy requires a significant investment of time and labor (and it's probably not something you want to leave to interns). If you currently don't have the time to spare, consider using review management software to manage customer feedback and encourage positive customer reviews. ReviewMaxer is an affordable way to effectively manage your company’s reviews and online reputation – and it is extremely easy to use. Sign up for a free demo to see how this cloud-based software can save you time and promote your company online.

Photo credit: 123RF Stock Photo

Written by: Nick Rojas

6 online review sites your company should target

Today’s consumers are becoming increasingly technologically savvy. From determining which product to buy to which restaurant to try, consumers are relying more on online customer reviews to help make their purchasing and dining decisions. In fact, according to a survey by Search Engine Land, 72 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. So which review sites should your company pay attention to?

1. Google My Business.

When consumers search for a local company on Google, reviews posted about that company show up in the search results. The reviews and star ratings help consumers decide whether that particular store or restaurant is worthy of their business. In 2014, Google began using the Pigeon update, which is an algorithm that uses the location and distance ranking parameters to improve search results. Google takes all the information from a company’s site as well as its reviews to produce more content, which makes the business appear more reputable.

If you want your business to show up in search results, you need to optimize your site. Set up accounts with local directories and online review sites, particularly with Google My Business. Your sales and the visitors to your site will increase as people post more comments, reviews and pictures of their experiences with your business.

2. Better Business Bureau (BBB).

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a nonprofit site that examines several types of businesses, comparing their products or services with best business standards and depicting the customer satisfaction rate. The Better Business Bureau does not endorse a certain business or recommend it to the public as the best, but it provides people with information about businesses and if they meet with the site’s accreditation standards.  

The site evaluates both non-accredited and accredited businesses. A general Better Business Bureau profile of a company contains information about the business, its accreditation status, a list of complaints and reviews posted by customers and information on its dissolution. The Better Business Bureau rates businesses from A (highest) to F (lowest) based on the business’s complaint history; the type of business it is; how long the business has been open; how transparent it is; licensing and government issues; and known advertising issues.

3. Yelp.

According to Yelp, Yelpers wrote more than 102 million reviews by the end of Q1 2016. Yelp allows people to rate a company and post reviews about their experiences, while allowing companies to respond. A company can create a Yelp profile, which includes its hours and location, and users can register to review the company for free. Companies can only respond to a certain number of reviews or messages each day.

Your business should work toward attaining positive reviews so that they appear at the top of your Yelp page. Having a profile on Yelp increases your company’s chance of showing up on Google’s search results.

4. Yellow Pages.

Yellow Pages, a partner of Yelp, is a leading local marketing solutions provider in the U.S. Yellow Pages provides listings, coupons and reviews for millions of businesses. Yellow Pages uses an online reviews and ratings system so that customers can share their experiences with everyone else.

5. Facebook.

Facebook provides users with the option to review a business by clicking on “Facebook Ratings & Reviews,” which users can find on the left-hand side of their pages. Users can choose to make their posts public to all, only to friends or only to them. People can also post a review on a business’s Facebook page, which automatically goes on its wall for all to see.

6. TripAdvisor.

Businesses in the travel, tourism, entertainment, hotel and restaurant industry should check out TripAdvisor to see what people are saying about them. The site has more than 225 million opinions, pictures and reviews posted by consumers and customers. The review site offers information on airfares, rental listings, travel guides and advice forums. It’s useful for customers who are deciding where to visit and eat while they are traveling.

A great way to remain aware of what people are saying about your company online is by investing in an online reputation management software like ReviewMaxer. ReviewMaxer collects reviews from more than 500 review sites and puts them into one central database where you can respond to the reviews and share them on social media. 

Photo credit: 123RF Stock Photo

Written by: Paul Cook

Hint: Don’t do this!

It’s no longer enough for an organization to create a basic website and call it a day. In today’s digital world, if your business isn’t active on social media, you’re missing an essential marketing component.

The same goes for customer reviews. In fact, according to a recent survey, while 35 percent of consumers say that one negative review can convince them not to purchase a product, an overwhelming 92 percent of consumers will hesitate to buy if there are no reviews at all. This means that having zero customer reviews is actually a much bigger problem than having one negative review among the positive ones.

Even the best companies receive negative reviews, and they know there’s a right way to go about addressing customer complaints. Lots of companies struggle with how to deal with negative feedback on Yelp, but that’s just one platform. Many companies now rely on their Facebook pages for business listings, ad promotion and customer reviews. Because it’s a social site that’s fraught with oversharing, you need to be especially attentive when dealing with unfavorable feedback. If you aren’t careful, you could easily be swept up in a commenting storm that has serious consequences for your brand’s reputation.

The most famous example: Amy’s Baking Company

After Scottsdale, Arizona, restaurant Amy’s Baking Company appeared on an episode of Gordon Ramsay’s “Kitchen Nightmares,” the owners took to the company Facebook page to defend themselves from an onslaught of negative comments. On the show, Ramsay actually gave up on the couple and walked off for the first time in the history of the series, deeming them too difficult to work with. After the episode aired, the owners proved that they were not, in fact, victims of clever reality TV editing. Their social media updates quickly escalated to the point where they verbally attacked commenters, threatened legal action against them, and then – like so many social media cautionary tales before them – claimed their page had been hacked.

Amy’s Baking Company was already in trouble; it had garnered dozens of negative reviews on Yelp and Google and further unsavory details emerged about the couple after their “Kitchen Nightmares” episode aired. Their infamous Facebook meltdown pushed things over the edge. The company eventually closed its doors.

What happened with Amy’s Baking Company is an over-the-top example, and it certainly doesn’t represent the norm. But it’s a lesson every business should learn about how social media practices impact customer loyalty and brand image.

The number one rule of online reviews: You should always respond to negative Facebook posts, comments and reviews. By choosing to stay silent, you allow the consumer to have the last word and give the impression that you simply want the problem to go away. You should also fight the temptation to remove negative posts, which could actually backfire, as consumers will be suspicious if every review is overwhelmingly positive.

Use caution when responding

In the same way that you should never write an email while angry, you shouldn’t respond to a negative review if you’re feeling angry or hurt. If you need to, take a few hours to calm down before responding. Be respectful of the customer’s opinions and respond in a way that shows you want to make it right. When you respond to negative reviews with patience and sincerity, you send a clear signal to your other customers.

Dishonest reviews

What about the times when a customer is actually dishonest in a review? While your first instinct may be to aggressively defend your reputation, don’t. Apologize for the customer’s experience, point out any false details without addressing blame or becoming defensive and make every attempt to make it right. Even if there’s nothing you can do to change a customer’s mind in a particular circumstance, other customers will see how well you handled the situation.

Above all, you shouldn’t take personal offense to Facebook comments and reviews, but you should take them seriously. By responding in a prompt and thoughtful manner, you can turn a bad experience into a positive impression.

Consumers expect businesses to be active on social media, and they use customer comments and reviews to help them make buying decisions. Every business should take steps to generate customer reviews and carefully respond to negative reviews. (It’s a nice touch to respond to positive reviews – a simple “thank you” will do.) A reputation management tool can help you keep track of your online customer reviews and your all-important online reputation.

Watch this free demonstration video to see how ReviewMaxer software works and how it improves your online reputation.

Photo credit: Pablo

Written by: Matt Harding

Matt Harding is the founder and creative director at Fan & Fuel in Carlsbad, CA. The design and digital strategy group creates branding, e-commerce, social media and digital marketing solutions to connect audiences in the manufacturing, service, retail and lifestyle trend markets.

Reputation management software helps companies hear what customers are saying

In the real world, you hope that your satisfied customers would be kind enough to spread the word about your services or products. Unfortunately, you have no way of knowing if your customers actually use the power of their voices to tell others how amazing your company is.

But you can find out if they spread the word virtually. Customers are frequently leaving feedback on popular review sites such as Google+, Yelp and TripAdvisor for the entire world to see. Have you researched your company online? Did you know that 87 percent of people will not choose your business if it has a one- or two-star rating and/or several negative reviews?

Why your business needs online review management software

Through review managing software, you will be able to give your customers a voice. The concept is simple: After they do business with you, customers will receive a notification to review your company. With positive reviews, they will have options to post their feedback on the most popular and trending review sites, earning your business recognition and trust among consumers. And here’s the best part: If customers leave negative reviews, the software conveniently provides them with options to post on lesser-known review sites.

Reviews aren’t the only thing you should be concerned about; the stars play an important role too

Would you eat at a restaurant with a three-star rating? If given a choice, you would most likely select another one with a better rating. A three-star rating only convinces 57 percent of people of the credibility of a business, and most customers will pass on anything below that. Here’s the kicker: A business with a four-star rating will entice a whopping 94 percent of consumers.

What happens if your business has negative reviews?

According to researchers from Cornell University, unfavorable reviews can mean the death of your business. It’s harsh, but research doesn’t lie. New businesses are especially at the mercy of customer reviews if they want to remain in the race, but all business owners should seriously consider investing in online review management software to help them encourage positive feedback to counteract the negative reviews.

Don’t gamble with your business’s future!

It’s critical to manage and control online reviews and complaints on your business in order to protect your reputation. It’s also useful to increase your company’s star ratings and positive feedback on review websites to grow awareness of your brand. ReviewMaxer can do both. This powerful, cloud-based software provides its users with a proactive review strategy to quickly and easily manage reviews and comments from more than 500 sites. Sign up for  a demonstration to see how the ReviewMaxer software works and read the blog for more tips and resources to protect your company’s reputation and increase consumer recognition and trust.

Photo credit: 123RF Stock Photo

Written by: Paul Cook

3 ways your company can gain more positive reviews

Facebook mobile now includes a company’s review star average, making positive online reviews even more important to businesses. The review star average is prominent, so when potential customers go to your Facebook page to decide whether they want to eat at, buy from or do business with your company, having a high review star average will be crucial.

According to Entrepreneur, a three-week survey of U.S. internet users revealed that more than one in three wouldn’t eat at a restaurant that had less than four stars. The internet plays a huge role in the consumer’s decision-making process. Let’s say you’re on vacation and you use Facebook to research the restaurants recommended by the front desk. One restaurant has three stars and the other has four and a half. Which restaurant would you try first?

Company reviews are very important to modern consumers, which is why Facebook made them even easier to access.

Here are three ways you can encourage more positive online reviews:

      1. Offer an incentive.

This is a win/win situation. The customer receives a coupon after leaving a review – positive or negative – for his or her next visit that encourages him or her to come back to your business, which could result in another purchase from that same customer. 

      2. Engage with your customers.

Customers want to be heard. For positive reviews, responding with “Thank you for the great review!” or simply liking the review goes a long way. For negative reviews, responding quickly and genuinely is important.

      3. Turn negative reviews into positive ones.