Review Management Strategy Gives Businesses Greater Visibility
April 1, 2015 9:31 pm Leave your thoughtsReview Management Strategy Gives Businesses Greater Visibility
Business owners see the critical need for a review management platform as never before. For many companies it is integral to daily operations. By ensuring your business has a comprehensive, fair and transparent online review profile, you increase your ability to draw the attention of new customers and gather helpful feedback about your products and services. Here’s why a review management strategy is crucial to your company’s overall marketing and advertising strategy.
Who in the world ever chooses a three-star company?
No matter what form of advertising you are currently deploying, once you have the attention of a new potential client all indications are that the first thing they do is to “Google” your business. With Internet content about your competition easily accessible, consumers are increasingly tapping into unlimited resources and information to assist their buying decisions. A solid base of academic research indicates quite clearly that people value online reviews even more highly than personal referrals. When coupled with the fact that consumers are making very real buying decisions based on the five-star rating system found on the major third-party online review sites, businesses cannot afford to ignore online reviews.
Here’s the bottom line about your bottom line: All businesses benefit when a review management process is put into place. A structured online review platform such as The Review SolutionTM can replace most time-consuming manual requirements previously required in order to get your customers’ comments on review sites such as Google Plus Local, Yelp and YP.com. In addition to the general review sites, there are 29 specifically targeted review sites that are important to many businesses.
There are twelve medical specific sites including Vitals, Healthgrades, WebMD, Wellness, Dr.Oogle, ZocDoc and Doctor.com. The trades industries benefit from reviews on HomeAdvisor, Houzz, and the newest addition Perch. Transportation taps into the power of sites such as car.com and Edmonds.com. Zillow includes reviews about realtors and even Better Business Bureaus across the United States are now allowing sentiment based consumer reviews.
“With businesses that had been receiving reviews organically for as long as 5 years, we still found an average increase of 108% in posted online reviews in just 3 months of using The Review Solution.” -Steven Wyer, Chief Executive Officer of Third Coast Interactive
False and negative reviews can cripple your business
Many business owners express concern about receiving negative reviews when first participating in online review sites. But pragmatically, a less than favorable review may actually be more valuable then a positive review. It provides the business owner with the ability to immediately contact the customer and rehabilitate the relationship. The primary thing desired by customers taking the time to offer a review – even if it’s critical – is to be acknowledged. Your proactive response may create a customer who becomes even more loyal and committed.
Online review sites sometimes contain information that could be misleading or confusing to readers. Before the popularity of online review sites, businesses delivered their message in a vacuum through the Yellow Pages and other traditional media channels without direct customer feedback. With the growth of online review sites, consumers have more opportunities than ever before to air grievances. Third-party commentary is shaping the reputation of businesses on a daily basis.
Some businesses fail to take into consideration how crucial their online reputations are to financial success. Having an extra star on Yelp costs a business’s revenue anywhere from 5 to 9 percent, according to Harvard Business School.
“Within a three-month period, the businesses we surveyed were able to turn an average star rating of 2.5-3 into an average star rating of 3.5-4.5.” -Steven Wyer
The Review Solution
The Review Solution is a comprehensive review platform that encourages businesses to build strong and relevant relationships with satisfied customers and receive constructive input privately from customers who are less than satisfied. The platform is centered on a mobile-based application and customer email. The key to any business receiving customer comments is offering a quick, easy and immediate capability to collect input. It offers the ability to request a customer review at the point of service (while the customer has the transaction fresh in his or her mind), and that is extremely powerful.
Automated personalized email also allows a business to respond to each review submitted. Notification tools deliver immediate notification to business owners and senior management whenever a review is submitted. SMS Text messaging and email reflecting detailed information about both the reviewer and the review are automatically delivered.
Management reports, total customization, information retention and other dashboard features allow management to dig deep into responses and evaluate both service levels and the performance of individual employees.
“When customers are presented with The Review Solution at the point of service, they have the opportunity to voice a complaint privately instead of publicly.” –Steven Wyer
Real Customers, Real Reviews, Real easy. That’s the power of The Review Solution.
