Table of Contents
Introduction
Reviews constitute an important part of the growth of any business for a variety of reasons. While positive reviews help portray a business in a positive light, negative reviews highlight gaps that businesses need to work on. Nevertheless, irrespective of the nature of the reviews, the credibility of any business lies in what people say about them. In order to understand, analyze, and act upon reviews, review management plays a crucial role.
Let’s take an example of two different businesses, one with 5 reviews and the other with 0 reviews. If, as a customer, you get to pick between availing a service or buying a product from either of these businesses, which one would you choose?
It’s obvious that you would find the business with 5 reviews to be more credible, and would pick that business. In fact, the purchase likelihood of a business with 5 reviews will be 270 percent more than the business with no reviews. This is how online reviews impact the sales of any business.
What is Review Management?
Review Management is defined as the process of managing reviews gathered across different review platforms. The process includes monitoring reviews, responding to reviews, generating more reviews and filtering out fake reviews and dealing with them.
Studies show that almost 90% of customers refer to reviews before finalizing a product or service.
Imagine you wish to buy a product. You go online, check a few review platforms and see that the reviews aren’t as good as you would want them to be. You probably are not as excited about buying that product as you were before reading the reviews. You now start to look for alternatives. If these alternatives have better reviews then you will most likely choose them over your initial choice. In other words, you chose the competitor over the original choice.
Similarly when finalizing your business’s services, if the reviews aren’t good enough potential customers will turn away from your doorstep.
How exactly do you establish a review management strategy for your business and what are the benefits of doing so?
Why is Review Management Important?
- To ensure a smooth implementation of the review response strategy
Responding to a review doesn’t mean engaging in a back-and-forth conversation; it should focus on addressing concerns (in case of a negative review) and exhibiting appreciation (in case of a positive review). Irrespective of the nature of the reviews, you must know how to respond to reviews. Ignoring reviews, however, is a big no-no. - To resolve customer issues and enhance customer experience
Reviews act as a transparent medium to interact with the customers, understand their concerns, and solve those accordingly. As you delve deep into the problems faced by customers, you will realize the need for change or improvement and implement those changes, thereby enhancing the customer experience. - To get rid of fake reviews as they arise
It is easy to spot a fake review, in the case you haven’t served a particular customer before, or received very rude remarks on a customer’s end. If you feel that the reviews don’t meet Google standards, then feel free to flag those. - To demonstrate to your customers that you care
Review management is an important component of your reputation management strategy as delivering good service isn’t what you should strive for. You must also tell your customers that you’re at their service even after they’ve engaged with you. That’s the mark of an evolving entrepreneur. - To generate more reviews
It’s simple: good reviews generate more reviews. Always encourage your customers to leave reviews. The more reviews you have, the higher you’ll chart in the search results displayed by Google. - To add value to the brand perception
With honest reviews, you’ll understand what’s working in your favor and where you’re lacking. Knowing the same, you’ll make changes in your products and services accordingly, thereby enhancing your brand. With better reviews, you will have lesser bottlenecks and this will result definitely improve the way your brand is perceived by your audiences.
Online review management, however, is not online reputation management. Reputation management is a broader concept and review management is a part of it. These differences will help you understand the two concepts in a better light.
Review Management vs Reputation Management
Review management and Reputation management are two sides of the same coin.
Review Management: Review management is the process of generating, responding and monitoring reviews. It includes monitoring reviews across multiple review sites.
Reputation Management: This is the process of repairing your business’s online reputation if it’s being perceived negatively. More positive content would be pushed and negative news, stories etc. would be buried. You will have to scour the entire internet to check for anything that might hamper business image and not just review sites.
Facets of Review Management
There are 4 main aspects of review management. These are:
1. Review Generation
Review generation is the process of generating as many reviews as possible for your business. In this, you request your customers, past and present to give your business review/feedback on popular review platforms like Google, Facebook, BBB etc.
2. Review Monitoring
This is the process of keeping track of all the reviews your business receives as soon as they are posted. Monitoring reviews allows you to take proactive measures. This is also where you would check if the reviews you are receiving are genuine or fake. If the reviews are fake you should report them.
3. Review Response
Responding to reviews as soon as you receive them shows customers that you care about their opinions. Regardless of whether the reviews are positive or negative you need to address them. You need to know how to respond to negative reviews
4. Review Showcase
Review showcase is the process of sharing the reviews as customer testimonials on social media platforms. This is an important step as it ensures positive exposure for your business.
Quick Tips For a Successful Review Management Process
In order to ensure better review management for your business and its growth, keep these tips in mind:
#1: Identify the top review sites
To begin with your review management process, the first thing you need to do is identify the sites that have a larger audience and can have the largest impact on your business. Make sure that the review sites you pick are relevant to the industry you serve and have the right target audience. Google, Facebook, Yelp, and Yahoo are some of the most common review sites that you can target, while also looking for some industry-specific review sites that serve your purpose.
#2: Claim your business on the selected review sites
Once you know what review sites will work best for you, it is time to claim your business on those. By doing so, you will have authority over your business page on those sites and manage those accordingly. Each review site has a different process, so make sure you are well-versed with the same while claiming your business. Google Business listing is one of the most important listings for your business as it is often the first listing that shows up when customers search for your business.
#3: Learn to respond to negative reviews and identify fake ones
Responding to reviews on the review sites is a crucial aspect of maintaining a positive online presence of your business. Doing so will demonstrate that you care what people think about your brand, which will only build trust with your business. It is quite natural to believe that not every customer can be expected to have a satisfactory experience with your business. There will be some customers who will not be happy with your service and will express the same in the reviews that they leave. In such a case, you need not panic and handle the situation in a calm manner. You must respond to negative reviews, with the purpose of solving the issue from your end and making things right. If, however, you feel that the language in the comment is offensive or if the reviews seem fake; then you can simply flag it and request it to be removed.
#4: Have a strong review management strategy in place
To be able to manage your reviews effectively, you must have a review management strategy to act upon. Before formulating the same, you must keep these aspects in mind:
- The frequency with respect to responding to reviews (How often will you be reviewing the sites)
- The team members assigned for the job (You need to have a team for the same)
- Prioritizing reviews (Focusing first on the reviews that will reflect a positive light on your business)
#5: Invest in a review management software
If you are new to review management, it can be overwhelming and time-consuming for you to individually request reviews from your customers, monitor reviews on different review sites, and respond to individual reviews. To manage these tasks, you can invest in good review management software that will help you perform your review management tasks under one single platform. For example, with Emitrr you can achieve all the four aspects of review management. Here is how
How Emitrr’s Capabilities Can Help You Achieve Your Review Management Goals
Emitrr is a platform that enables its customers to track reviews, send review requests (both manual and automated), and respond to reviews, with just a click of a button. With this capability, you can manage your reviews from multiple review sites, without having to frantically check every single review site. The image below shows what your dashboard will look like:
1. Generate more reviews with Emitrr
To generate more reviews for your business, you can use Emitrr’s text review request features. You can follow these steps:
1. Select “Send” from the top navigation panel. Navigate and select “review requests.
2. Enter the contact(s) you wish to send the review request. (Labeled 1 in the image)
3. If you add more than one recipients, you will receive a prompt to either send a group text or a mass text. (Labeled 2)
4. Add the Group/List name (Labeled 3)
5. A review template will automatically fill the message box. This will also the have the link to your review site, this can be configured in the settings. (Labeled 4)
6. Send the message immediately or schedule it for later.
2. Monitor reviews with Emitrr
To monitor reviews, you need to enable notifications as soon as your receive a review. To do so, just follow these steps:
- Go to settings > Manage Teams
- Corresponding to the user name select the three dots under action and then select manage notifications.
3. Under Reputation Notifications select the boxes email notification and desktop notification
3. Respond to reviews with Emitrr
Upon selecting reviews you will be able to see all the reviews left by your customers for your business. The top panel will show you the total number of reviews received, along with the average rating received.
Beneath the top panel, you will find all the reviews you have received across Facebook and Google. These reviews will display the name of the reviewer, the rating they left, and the review.
Underneath each review, there is a ‘reply/edit reply’ button. To leave a reply to the review received select ‘reply’ and type in your message. Once done click on ‘Done’. If you’ve already left a reply you will see that the button says ‘edit reply’. Select ‘edit reply’ if you want to change your response. Once done select ‘Done’.
4. Share reviews with Emitrr
To share reviews on your socials, you can follow these steps:
- Go to Reputation>Reviews on the left navigation panel.
- Navigate to the review you want to share, by selecting on the three dots ont he top left corner of the review.
- Select ‘share on facebook’.
Industry Wise Review Request Templates
1. Real Estate
Hey [Client’s Name], it was great assisting you with your recent property purchase/sale. Would you mind sharing your experience with us? Your feedback helps us improve our services. Click here to leave a review [Link to review platform]. Thank you!
2. Healthcare
Hi [Patient’s Name], we hope your recent visit to our clinic was satisfactory. Your opinion is valuable to us. Could you take a moment to share your thoughts on your experience? Follow this link [Link to review platform]. Thank you for choosing us for your healthcare needs.
3. Dental
Hello [Patient’s Name], we’re glad you chose [Dental Clinic Name] for your dental care. Would you be willing to share your thoughts about your recent visit? Your feedback helps us ensure quality service. Please click here to leave a review [Link to review platform]. Thank you!
4. Veterinary
Hi [Pet Owner’s Name], we hope [Pet’s Name] is doing well after their recent visit to our clinic. We’d love to hear about your experience. Could you spare a moment to leave us a review? Here’s the link [Link to review platform]. Thank you for trusting us with your pet’s care.
5. Home Services
Hi [Client’s Name], we hope you’re enjoying the results of our recent service at your home. Your satisfaction is our priority. Would you be willing to share your experience? Please leave a review here [Link to review platform]. Thank you for choosing us for your home needs.
6. Cleaning Business
Hello [Client’s Name], we trust you’re pleased with the cleanliness of your space after our recent service. Your feedback is essential to us. Could you take a moment to share your thoughts? Click here to leave a review [Link to review platform]. Thank you for allowing us to serve you.
Benefits of Review Management System
1. Builds trust
The supreme manner to build business credibility is always suggestions received by customers through family and friends. However not every person known to a customer has had similar purchasing experiences and they thus turn to online review channels to get an opinion before finalising on a product or a service. Studies show that upto 80% of customers indicate that they trust consumer opinions posted online. Thus, it becomes imperative that you have a presence online and that customers are actively engaging with your online presence by leaving reviews. Online reviews increase trust.
2. Increases brand reputation and credibility
Potential customers not only notice how much positive reviews your business has received, but also how you respond to negative reviews. The manner in which you tackle negative reviews sets a precedent for your business’s ethics and values. It represents that you care about customer experience and take feedback seriously. A review management strategy will help you identify negative comments and respond to them timely and in a respectful manner.
3. Improved customer satisfaction
As discussed above, how you respond to reviews is as important as gathering reviews. Whether it is a negative review or a positive one, the way you respond to the comment will demonstrate if you are willing to learn from the customer feedback and if you take the customer feedback seriously. The manner in which you respond to these comments will establish that you care about customer experience. When guaranteed that the customer woes have been noted and dealt with it helps with improving the customer satisfaction as well.
4. Helps with SEO
If a positive review or news about a specific brand or product would go viral, it attracts a lot of attention. Having a positive recommendation online or having many people talking about your product naturally increases your business’s web traffic.
5. Get easy UGC ( User-generated content)
By implementing customer testimonials into your website, specifically in the form of video, you can utilize the reviews left by your customers to substantially strengthen your marketing strategy. Strong and positive reviews can drive more customers to your business and using these will do wonders for your business’s reputation and also drive engagement.
Review Management FAQs
1. What is the meaning of review management?
Review management is the process of generating, monitoring and responding to reviews.
2. How do I manage my online reviews?
A great way to manage your online reviews is through a review management system. A review management system will notify you as soon as you receive a review on any review platform. You can respond to reviews received across various review platforms from the review management software’s dashboard itself.
Conclusion
Review management, in this digital world, is something that needs your attention. It is something that will build your credibility in a sea of competitors, help you reach out to a larger audience base, help improve your online reputation, and above all, assist you in reaching your business goals. So, if you are looking forward to fast-tracking your growth, then book a demo with Emitrr and transform your business.