When customers are choosing between products, the one with the better reviews wins

With today’s technology, it’s easy for consumers to check online reviews before making a purchase. It’s no surprise that products with the better reviews get purchased and brands with the better reviews attract customers. For this reason, it’s crucial for you to motivate your customers to leave online reviews, thereby giving your company a competitive edge.

Often consumers are wary of marketing that claims best results. Online reviews give consumers real results and opinions about the products they’re considering purchasing.

How can online reviews impact a customer’s purchasing decisions?

When comparing purchase options, a customer is going to lean toward the brand that has more and better reviews. Consumers search for online reviews while shopping in store or online to help them make purchasing decisions. Reading independent personal reviews of how a product has benefitted others will motivate unsure buyers to make the final purchase.

How can I improve my brand’s online reputation?

It’s important for brands to establish and promote a positive reputation online to build trust with consumers. Brands are becoming more aware that their customers are interested in real-life results and personal recommendations. This has led to the increase of influencer marketing. Brands collaborate with social media influencers who have strong followings to test new products. These social media stars promote their honest opinions to their large audiences, which can then lead to increased awareness and sales. 

It’s important to manage online reviews about your products and brand to protect your company’s reputation and help grow your sales. By gaining positive online reviews, you raise your company’s ratings on review websites and increase your brand awareness to potential customers. ReviewMaxer is an easy tool for companies of all sizes to use. This powerful, cloud-based software provides a proactive strategy to efficiently manage online reviews and improve your ratings on review websites.

Watch this free demonstration to see how ReviewMaxer software works and read the ReviewMaxer blog for more tips!

Photo credit: Pablo

Written by: Amanda Murguido

Learn ways to improve your online reputation

We live in the digital age where positive online reviews are a valuable asset to restaurants. Four- and five-star ratings solidify the decisions of potential customers who are considering their dining options. These ratings offer credibility to restaurants because anyone can go online through social media and review sites to share a positive or negative review.

If you own a restaurant, here are five reasons why you need to care about your online reviews:

1. Good reviews build trust with your new customers.

According to a 2013 survey by Dimensional Research, 90 percent of customers say online reviews influence their buying decisions. Positive reviews indicate that a restaurant offers amazing customer service, an awesome atmosphere and top-quality food.

2. Positive reviews are a great way to market your restaurant online.

A good review can easily be worth its online marketing weight in gold. A local consumer review survey in 2014 by BrightLocal revealed an interesting insight into the growing importance of online reviews and their outcomes. The research showed 88 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations in their purchasing decisions. Another study showed steady growth in online reviews, with 72 percent of consumers saying positive reviews help them trust a local business. Keep in mind that a steady and frequent online presence makes a huge impact on potential customers.

3. Search engines and mobile apps help attract customers to your restaurant.  

Search engines and mobile apps are a great way to encourage people to visit your restaurant who might not know about you or might be visiting your area. Not only do they help drive business, they also give you a chance to make a lasting first impression. Try updating your website or offering online coupons and loyalty points on your website or mobile app. Apps such as Yelp, Foursquare, Urbanspoon and Zomato provide ways to improve your online reputation and allow you to interact with your customers.

4. Bad online reviews are hard to overcome.

Let’s face it: Negative reviews are tough for business. They drive potential customers away from your restaurant and make your existing customers question whether they want to visit again. If negative reviews happen, remember that you can't control every customer experience, mistake or circumstance. Counteract your negative reviews by highlighting more positive reviews from your other customers. Also, use a negative review as insight. This will show you care about your customers and will improve your customer service and customer experience.

5. No online presence makes your restaurant invisible.

When you don’t have any online reviews for your restaurant, people may not think of your restaurant at all. No matter the size of your restaurant, having no online presence or reviews can be just as detrimental to your restaurant as having negative reviews. Facebook and Instagram are great social media outlets that almost everyone uses daily and provide a terrific platform to get your restaurant noticed. Once you’re comfortable on social media, try taking the next step and registering your restaurant on a popular online review website.

Restaurant reviews online play a critical role in driving business. If you aren’t actively managing your online reputation, you’re missing out on a great way to add revenue. If you’re new to online reviews or the process seems overwhelming, try online review management software like ReviewMaxer. ReviewMaxer is an affordable and easy-to-use system to manage your company’s online reviews and reputation. Use ReviewMaxer to promote your positive reviews and interact with your customers to resolve negative reviews. Sign up today for your free demo or check out the ReviewMaxer blog for advice to improve your restaurant's online reputation.

Photo credit: Pablo

Written by: Justin Hamilton

In today’s digital age, online reviews are the new word-of-mouth. Consumers express their opinions online for the entire world to see. Although the internet makes several areas of our lives easier, keeping up with online reviews while running a business is a task in itself. This is where review management comes in.

Online reviews either help or hurt your company’s online image. Your reputation rests almost completely on the words of strangers. Review management allows you to increase your positive reviews by encouraging happy customers to leave online reviews about your company, while filtering out the negative ones. Review management helps companies improve their online reputations and grow their businesses.

Here’s how it works and why it’s important.

What is review management?

Review management helps companies closely monitor their reviews, turn negative reviews into positive ones, and increase and promote positive online reviews – all from one central place. By frequently monitoring your reviews, you gain a better understanding of how people perceive your company. And, you can promptly address any customer concerns.

A negative online review is scary, especially if you don’t have many reviews yet. Review management lets you quickly respond to negative reviews, showing your customers you care about their input and letting them know you’re making an effort to fix the problem.

If your organization is lacking in online reviews, review management helps your company gain positive reviews by prompting customers to leave a review – either through an email or by redirecting them through your social media or website. Additionally, you can place cards at your business locations to encourage customers to leave a review. Review management also helps make your positive reviews more prominent by clearly displaying them on your website or social media via an auto-updating testimonial feed.

Review management helps you have balanced positive reviews on review sites across the web and encourages others to read your positive reviews. Not only are potential customers going to see your great reviews, current customers are more likely to add their positive experiences as well.

Why it’s important

Review management is important for any business. Online reviews on review sites and social media are now a huge part of the buyer’s journey. A majority of people today read online reviews to determine the quality of a business and rely heavily on online reviews when purchasing a product online.

According to a recent study, 90 percent of consumers read online reviews before visiting a company and 72 percent of consumers will take action only after reading a positive review. Online reviews are changing the way people think about businesses and products. This trend is only going to increase in the coming years, making review management a fundamental part of every company’s success.

Click here to learn more about how review management will help your company.

Photo credit: Pablo

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Written by: Beverly Driskill

3 ways social media helps you connect with customers

Online reviews in today’s digital age are an essential part of the buyer’s journey. With so many people turning to the internet and social media to learn more about your company, it’s important to stay connected with your customers online. ReviewMaxer allows you to proactively manage your online reviews, while staying in the know about your consumers’ motivations and trends. Connecting with your customers on social media shows them your company has a genuine online presence.

When you set your company up with ReviewMaxer, you’ll be able to prompt your customers to connect with your social media accounts under the section labeled “Beyond Reviews.” Simply include links to your company’s social media pages and click “Prompt visitors to connect.”

Here are three ways connecting on social media helps your online reviews:

1. Build trust and credibility

Your company’s social media profiles are another great place to collect and promote positive reviews. According to a recent BrightLocal study, 85 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Social media sites like Facebook allow users to see if a genuine person is promoting your brand, giving your company a trusted reputation.

2. Grow your audience

Social media has the power to help expand your network and extend your company’s reach. By making your company known to a larger network, you can grow your audience and gain even more online reviews. The more positive reviews your company collects, the more credibility you’ll receive.

3. Generate interest

Social media helps your company connect with consumers and humanize your brand. By creating content that intrigues your followers, you’ll be sure to generate interest among your audience, creating more customers and more positive online reviews.

The “Beyond Reviews” section of ReviewMaxer is just one of the many beneficial tools ReviewMaxer has to offer. ReviewMaxer helps to increase your positive reviews and provides an organized online space to help you find review sites important to you, stay in the know about your online reviews, connect with your customers, and more.

Take control of your online reviews today with ReviewMaxer. 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 free demo to see how the ReviewMaxer software works.

Photo credit: 123rf.com

Written by: Beverly Driskill

Reputation management is key to a real estate agent’s success

Buying a home is an emotional, exciting and downright terrifying process. Picking the right real estate agent is the most important part in ensuring an enjoyable home search and subsequent smooth transition from one home to another. Personal referrals are great for those who are relocating within their same city, but what about the family who is moving to a new area where they know no one; the newlyweds who had a bad experience with their last agent; or the business owner whose favorite agent retired? How do they decide who the best real estate agent is for their needs?

They check online reviews.

Here are three reasons why you as a real estate agent should care about your online reviews:

1. Great reviews establish trust and credibility.

Your potential clients feel confident in their decision to choose you as their agent after reading how happy your previous clients were with you. Reviews offer valuable information from your previous buyers and sellers, like how well you handled their contracts and how you helped families searching for a home become familiar with new areas.

2. Great reviews improve your SEO.

As positive reviews increase, your online reputation will organically improve and enhance your Google search results, ultimately driving more clients to pick up their phones and call you or your real estate company. Work toward gaining positive reviews on a variety of different real estate agent review websites such as Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia and your own real estate Facebook page.

3. Great reviews outperform no reviews or negative reviews.

Since real estate is a highly competitive industry and there are so many agents to choose from, you can’t afford to lose clients simply because another agent had more positive reviews. Reviews play a big part in a potential client’s decision-making process, so be sure you’re reaching out to your current clients for their feedback on review websites.

Reputation management software helps agents gain more positive reviews by sending an email or text message to their clients after closing requesting feedback about their home buying or selling experiences. Sign up for a free demonstration to see how the ReviewMaxer software works.

Photo credit: 123RF Stock Photo

Written by: Rebecca McClure

Positive online reviews are a key ingredient of successful SEO, especially for local SEO campaigns. Companies are catching on to this, as you may have noticed. They send follow-up emails encouraging you to write an online review, sometimes even suggesting a site on which to write. They display positive reviews on their websites. They have brochures or signage in their stores, restaurants or offices explaining how to write a review and where to write it.

Here’s why all of these activities are worth doing.

1. Google loves online reviews.

For SEO, especially local SEO, online reviews are a major factor in where and how Google displays your company in organic search results. Positive customer reviews suggest that a company is reliable, expert and an overall great value – exactly the type of company Google wants to showcase to its search engine users! When Google sees positive reviews on sites such as Yelp, BBB and high-authority websites in your industry, your company will gain an advantage over competitors with a weaker online review profile.

It’s important not to overdo an effort to secure online reviews. Most reputable review sites (e.g., Yelp) have strict policies against paying for or otherwise incenting reviews. In addition, reviews on irrelevant or low-authority websites are ineffective or even counterproductive for SEO.

2. Online reviews drive relevant website traffic.

Many potential customers will check out online reviews before deciding whether to contact your company or visit your website. Often, a person’s next stop after reading a favorable review is to visit the company’s website and give it a serious look. These well-qualified website visitors are likely to look at multiple website pages and spend a bit of time on each one. Googlebots notice this on-site behavior, and it has a favorable impact on organic rankings.

3. Online reviews drive conversions.

The point of SEO — as some companies forget — is to drive conversions. Without sales, leads or bookings, all the high organic rankings and website traffic in the world won’t produce ROI. Online reviews definitely enhance conversions. First, as just mentioned, visitors coming to your website from online review sites are already positively disposed toward your company and are looking for a reason to convert rather than a reason not to. Second, online reviews are a strong form of social proof and establish your credibility. What satisfied customers have to say about your performance carries much more weight than your own website content.

4. You can neutralize negatives.

Of course, before launching a campaign to acquire positive customer reviews, your company must first deserve positive reviews. Just as much as positive reviews help a company, negative reviews hurt it. All companies are vulnerable to an occasional bad review and having a preponderance of them puts a company at serious risk, far beyond SEO.

With this in mind, take negative reviews constructively. Criticism can lead you to strengthen weak parts of your company, so a negative review can result in scores of positive ones! Also, on sites where it’s permissible, respond to negative reviews frankly and with concern. This shows readers you care and are trying to improve. Often, this alone will be reason enough for someone to give your company a try.

Photo credit: Pablo

Written by: Brad Shorr

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