Tag Archives for " reviews "

4 Reputation Management Realities That All Brands Now Face

 

What do Beyoncé, Kate Middleton, and Harrison Ford have in common? Other than having devoted fan bases, they’re celebrities who have a reputation for giving very few interviews. They control their messaging tightly.

While Beyoncé and Kate Middleton choose to go directly to their fan bases with highly choreographed messaging through their social media channels, Harrison Ford is one of only a very few celebrities who aren’t on social media at all.

However, whether or not they choose to connect with their fans online, none of these celebrities can stop the millions of rabid fans who run fan accounts, who post to Reddit and Instagram, and who analyze their every move through YouTube videos and blog posts.

Why does this matter for you and your business? 

Just like celebrities, the rise of fan culture on the internet has fueled both a huge boom in brands’ abilities to control their own reputations, as well as the decentralization of where reputation management lies.

We are now able to build communities of like-minded customers and brand fans. With that comes the responsibility of monitoring a growing array of websites and spaces where brands rate products, review services, comment, and ask for help.

 

4 Key Considerations of Reputation Management

Ratings and Reviews Are No Longer a Choice

“The rating trusted most by consumers is 4 stars followed by 4.5 and 5 stars,” according to review software company ReviewTrackers.

Many years ago, I worked for a well-known arts & crafts brand. At that time, the company I worked for gave the ability to customers to rate and review patterns (the directions consumers would use to create their craft projects), but not the products themselves.

The thinking was that we didn’t want the companies’ own products to have negative reviews. And yet, study after study shows that a few negative reviews actually bolster trust in reviews overall. Furthermore, customers tend to trust relatively positive reviews most (see above quote from ReviewTrackers).

What brands must do is not only encourage reviews with open arms but encourage customers to look at positive reviews as social proof. Today, that same company has embraced product reviews both on their website and in their digital marketing efforts.

And this goes beyond B2C brands. Brands as wide-ranging as US Bank, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the US whose reviews are mostly on Google My Business, to DeSantis Breindel, a New York City-based branding consultancy whose reviews are on platforms like Clutch (both brands are clients of Convince & Convert) are not only monitoring and responding to reviews but also using reviews to feed their marketing efforts (see below).

A post shared by Mint (@mintapp)

 

It’s Not Just What They Say, It’s What You Do

“39 percent of social media complainers who expect a reply want it to come within sixty minutes, yet the average response time from businesses is five hours,” found research by Jay Baer and Edison Research.

In 2016, C&C founder Jay Baer wrote, “​​Haters are not your problem….Ignoring them is.” That reality is more true now than ever before.

Customers expect help with their issues, and when you don’t respond to negative reviews, your prospective customers will hold you accountable for that inaction.

To positively impact your reputation, treat reviews as an opportunity for customer service and excellent customer experience. Respond to your reviews; add context; thank brand fans and address fan haters.

 

Social Listening Is More Complex Than Ever

“Word of mouth is directly responsible for 19% of all purchases, and influences as much as 90%,” says the book Talk Triggers by Jay Baer and senior strategist Daniel Lemin.

Outside of owned review channels, brands must monitor reviews and conversations on channels from Facebook and Reddit to the bumper crop of industry-specific review sites such as Zocdoc and Healthgrades.

Using monitoring tools like Meltwater and Sprinklr helps brands to stay on top of what’s being said. Beyond sentiment and topics, brands must make sure that they are leveraging the built-in AI to analyze conversations for trends to keep on top of what their proactive messaging needs to be.

Not sure how to leverage these social listening tools to uncover this data? Consulting firms like Premium Blend can help to build strong queries and implement effective listening processes.

Again, it’s not just knowing what people are saying, but also using this data to shape what your brand should be talking about to be relevant to your customer base.

 

Showcase Your Customers’ Words and Stories

Reputation management is the reactive part of our work, but we also have the opportunity for reputation marketing. Leverage the stories that your customers are telling about you to market your products/services to prospective customers.

Whether you’re aggregating real customer social media posts like Korean beauty brand Hanacure does on their @hanacureeffect Instagram account or you’re using a tool like SocialProve to pop-up notifications to website visitors that indicates when others have purchased on your website, you’re engaging in reputation marketing.

What are some ways that your brand can leverage customer stories as social proof?

• Proactively turn user-generated content (UGC) into social media campaigns
• Leverage customer reviews and quotes on landing pages
• Showcase real customer feedback in advertising
• Address questions you’re getting from Quora, Reddit, and/or your own communities as content
• Create animated videos featuring customer reviews
• Integrate real questions into your chatbot scripts or FAQs
• Highlight your review scores using in your top-navigation and/or footer

 

3 Questions to Ask Yourself

1. Your customers are already out there talking about your brand—are you encouraging them to do so in the places that help you to strengthen your reputation?
2. Are you showcasing the level of customer experience that your prospects can expect from your team?
3. Are you reassuring prospects that others like them trust you?

That’s your opportunity with reputation management. Don’t waste it.

The post 4 Reputation Management Realities That All Brands Now Face appeared first on Content Marketing Consulting and Social Media Strategy.

Source: convinceandconvert.com

Best Online Reputation Management

 

Building a solid online reputation can take years. A few negative reviews (even fake ones) can threaten your good name in heartbeat. What do you do?

If you’re already managing a lot, your best bet is outsourcing it to an ORM, or an online reputation manager.

There’s a lot to know. Handling negative reviews on Yelp, Google, and Glassdoor is a lot of work. Each platform has different rules and procedures. Responding to a public relations crisis requires yet another skill set.

It can be far more cost-effective to have a professional resolve the issue quickly.

Disclosure: This content is reader-supported, which means if you click on some of our links that we may earn a commission.

Best Online Reputation Management Companies

To help you put your best foot forward, I’ve compiled a list of the very best online reputation management companies. Along with in-depth reviews of each option, I’ve included a short buyer’s guide to help you approach your decision.

 

#1 – Podium Review — The Best for Instantly Generating Positive Reviews

Reputation management can be proactive or reactive. A lot of people think of this service as cleaning up bad reviews or navigating bad press. But a proactive approach focuses on generating high-quality customer reviews to keep your reputation sterling.

Podium is the best tool for doing that because it is foremost a messaging platform that gets happy customers to leave Google and Facebook reviews through texting.

See, getting five-star feedback every time is a matter of striking while the iron is hot. With Podium, you can capitalize on positive customer interactions instantly, ending the conversation with a simple message and link.

As I said, Podium is foremost a messaging platform. Within it, you manage customer messages across several platforms—like Facebook messages and SMS—in one convenient interface. Podium throws in a free, textable business number for each of its clients.

That’s why the software is so effective at seizing upon opportunities to scoop up good reviews. You can respond to customers across all the major channels, so your team is always prompt to help. Then, they can finish with an invitation to review your company, complete with a short, safe link that will take the customer to any of your review pages.

Podium automates this process for you, which is important because your team isn’t always going to have a free minute between customers to send an invitation to review. It also makes it easier on the customer, so they only need to take a few seconds to leave a review and improve your reputation.

So, maybe you’re interacting on Facebook Messenger, but you can point folks to review you on Angi (formerly Angie’s List) or Capterra.

You can also use the software to set up a live chat widget on your websites to add another convenient channel for customer messaging.

Podium’s paid plan allows you to generate and send customer surveys. Identify pain points and get some insights about what’s making your customers happy.

Podium Starter is the way to try this platform out for free. It comes with the following essential features:

ReviewsWebchatUnified messaging dashboardTextable business number

Podium doesn’t have any set paid packages, but you can easily request a quote to get an idea of the cost and full feature set.

Don’t waste any more time chasing down customer reviews. Wield Podium and improve your reputation and overall messaging capabilities today.

 

#2 – Go Fish Digital Review — The Best for Managing Reviews

I’ve listed Go Fish Digital as the best agency for managing reviews, and while that’s true, Go Fish Digital also wows with the option of full-service reputation management used by the likes of Geico, Ford, and Airbnb.

With Go Fish, you can gain a thorough insight into your customers’ reviews and comments online.

They work closely with huge review sites like Yelp to manage negative reviews by advocating for review removal on your behalf through their agency tools. They also work to get your best Yelp reviews to the top for more visibility.

They’re exhaustive in their brand monitoring abilities and monitor all corners of the internet like Wikipedia and Reddit threads to create a plan of action in your favor.

Go Fish’s review management works by pushing positive content to higher visibility with SEO, adjusting copy in public places where you’re mentioned, cleaning up Google autocomplete, and even promoting positive information about your business wherever your target audience is.

As they create results, they keep you up to date with a relevant score you can see on their dashboard.

To be clear, Go Fish is a reputable ORM that does not post false reviews for you. Still, their Yelp review management service is one of their strong suits.

Some of their best review management features are:

• Managing negative Google reviews
• Negative auto-complete cleanup often generated from those reviews
• A dashboard that keeps you updated on your brand’s daily search results
• Crafting a strategy for your business to encourage the best reviews possible
• Creating and delivering a strong case on your behalf for negative review removal to the Yelp team

 

For pricing, you’ll have to contact them directly to get a quote.

As with most ORMs, their prices change depending on the size of your business and the specific services you’re looking for.

Get in touch with Go Fish to get an initial quote.

 

#3 – Reputation Rhino Review — The Best for Individuals and Small businesses

If you’re wondering who exactly needs reputation management, Reputation Rhino’s answer is ‘everyone.’ That’s why it’s the best ORM for solopreneurs and small businesses.

Reputation Rhino is a leading online reputation manager based in New York with clients like Disney, Microsoft, and Nestle. They offer a number of reputation solutions for almost any scenario imaginable, including ones that cater impressively to an individual and their personal brand.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a doctor, university, hotel, or contractor, Reputation Rhino helps you with Glassdoor, Yelp, and YouTube review removals, social media management, and even an SEO strategy to put the best parts of your brand (or yourself) front and center.

Do you have terrible images that need to get removed from Google? They can do that. Do you need to fight against libel and personal defamation? Their team of public relations specialists can do that, too. These are services an individual or small business may not know how to do or not have time to take care of.

Their best ORM services for individuals include:

• A personalized strategy to defend against smear campaigns
• Suppressing negative online search results
• Adding an extra layer of protection to your personal privacy
• Eliminating news articles, forum comments, and negative content

As an individual or SMB, you might be nervous about investing money into an ORM. To help, Reputation Rhino offers a 30-day money-back guarantee that can ease your worries about whether they’ll deliver. If you need a more personal approach to reputation management, Reputation Rhino is happy to work with you individually.

Their pricing starts at $1,000. But you’ll have to contact them for a personalized package.

Get started with Reputation Rhino and request more information.

 

#4 – Reputation Resolutions Review — The Best for Crisis Management

Unlike other ORMs out there, Reputation Resolutions is the go-to agency for crisis management that can start working on your behalf in 24-72 hours.

A combination of their speedy response, a team of attorneys, a wide array of solutions, and a seasoned professional team makes them the best ORM for enterprise-level reputation and crisis management.

Maybe your business is an established corporation, but there’s been a sudden increase of negative reviews, you’re dealing with a handful of loud, angry customers online, or there is negative propaganda about you in the media. Ouch. Reputation Resolutions provide everything you need to turn a crisis around.

Here’s a quick rundown of their top-tier crisis management features:

• Cyber forensic investigation
• News article removal
• Court record removal
• Thorough and ongoing reputation monitoring
• Private information removal
• Unwanted image removal

If you’re a smaller or mid-sized business looking for a management agency to simply take care of negative reviews, Reputation Solutions isn’t the agency for you.

Alternatively, if you’re an established, well-known business in need of comprehensive PR management, attorneys, or copyright infringement services, then look no further than what Reputation Solutions can offer you.

To get a pricing quote, email or call them for a free consultation, and they will learn more about you and tailor their services to your specific needs.

 

#5 – Big Leap Review — The Best for SEO And Content Management

Big Leap’s ORM services are designed around one thing: content management. Their award-winning content marketing strategy centers around burying the negative and growing the positive.

This is fantastic news for you if you’re looking for an ORM that cares deeply about gaining customer trust through a long-term strategy.

If your marketing strategy is mainly through content, you’re not as concerned about a sudden PR crisis, or Yelp reviews are mostly irrelevant to your sales success, then Big Leap’s trust-building approach can help you create results.

They begin by scouring the internet for every mention of your business.  They do social media and search audits, along with a competitive analysis, to give them the bigger picture of where your reputation lies.

Then they create a positive content strategy tailored specifically for you through brand-strengthening content and social media campaigns. As they execute their content strategy, Big Leap regularly reports back to you with updated results.

Some of their best ORM content management features include:

• Brand name monitoring
• Content strategy, creation, and promotion
• Site optimization
• Constant workflow updates on content strategy execution

Big Leap doesn’t list their prices publicly, but you can request a quote on their site.

 

#6 – NetReputation Review — The Best for Improving Reputation with Content Development

Some companies have damage control as their foremost priority with reputation management. Others are starting as unknowns that want to become more recognizable brand names.

In either case, one of the most potent solutions is building out your content and web properties, which is what NetReputation excels at.

Their five-step process creates an end-to-end strategy for building up your reputation.

Start with NetReputation’s thorough analysis of your content, websites, social media profiles and pages, search results, reviews, and more. Then, let them guide you through creating better web properties and content and promoting them both.

And while that’s a great offering, you may have heard similar promises before. “Content is king” and all. But, NetReputation shows their work along the way, so you can have full confidence you’re not just screaming into the void.

Indeed, you can rest assured that you not only have full visibility into your reputation-improving content campaigns—NetReputation builds it with you and lends their expertise to plan strategy and allocate efforts with Swiss watch precision.

Here are just a few aspects they can integrate into your company’s ORM strategy after their initial analysis:

• Social media profile creation and optimization
• Website and Schema development
• Wikipedia page creation, monitoring, and editing
• Blog posting and scheduling
• Content updates and optimization
• Cross-channel promotion
• Guest/expert posts
• Content removal
• General and local SEO strategy

They’ll keep you in the loop every step of the way. So if you want to deemphasize one effort in favor of another, they’ll listen and work with you to adjust plans and action items.

With content being produced to fit all the aspects listed above and more, you and NetReputation can improve digital sentiment about your brand across the board.

NetReputation goes deep into this process for every client. Get your free consultation today and see for yourself how far they’ll go to make your organization’s online reputation sterling.

 

#7 – InternetReputation.com Review — The Best for Eradicating Private Information

Reputation management for individuals is an emerging use case for reputation management platforms and one that is becoming more useful for a wider swath of people.

Within personal brand management is the need to carefully share enough about you to build your presence and reputation without divulging private information.

InternetReputation.com handles personal reputation management and privacy monitoring with aplomb.

Individuals, from entrepreneurs and business owners to budding public figures or influencers, can utilize their Reputation Station tool to monitor digital sentiment and online information about their personal brand.

It’s an insightful, centralized dashboard for gauging reputation, tracking ORM campaign progress, and ordering services to boost your standing. Tasks, assets, files, goals, metrics, and resources are all kept in one handy area to give you a 360-degree view of your reputation.

But privacy monitoring is where InternetReputation.com separates itself more from the rest of the ORM pack.

Have personal details online you don’t want to be on public listings? Remove addresses, phone numbers, full names, and more.

You get a customized, all-encompassing package from InternetReputation.com to help keep your private information away from everyone’s eyes. Their proprietary tool removes sensitive information from data sharing sites in a blink and makes sure it isn’t propagated any further.

Plus, you get access to Infosweep to append your privacy monitoring efforts with your reputation monitoring ones. Infosweep notifies you of new mentions and instances of your details becoming publicly visible online.

Altogether, this presents a wide-ranging tool for individuals looking for full visibility and improvements to their personal brands and reputations. Reach out to IntenetReputation.com for a quote for your bespoke ORM solution today.

 

What I Looked at to Find the Best Online Reputation Management

Unfortunately, there isn’t a singular “best” reputation manager that fits every business like a glove. If there was, then this guide wouldn’t be necessary.

Different ORMs cater to different services. This can mean some are better than others at crisis management, online monitoring, online review management, SEO-focused branded content strategy, or even supplying attorneys to advocate on your behalf.

First, are you building a new online reputation from scratch? Maybe you’re trying to improve a negative reputation? Or are you being proactive and investing in maintaining a good one?

You have to determine where you are on your reputation management journey. Then you can think about a few factors that can refine your search even more.

 

Business Size and Type

Your company size generally correlates with the size of your reputation. Obviously, the bigger and more varied your sales channels, the more work you’ll have managing how you look online.

Your business’s size can also dictate the amount you’ll want to invest in ORM services. Some questions to consider are: What is your estimated current business reach? What types of distribution channels do you sell through or publish content on? Are you a service-based business, an organization, or an e-commerce store?

When choosing the best ORM for you, these are some key questions to consider before moving forward. If your business isn’t a complex enterprise, you won’t need a costly ORM that specializes in litigation, video removal, or a team of expert attorneys.

 

Marketing Strategy

Your marketing strategy also determines the type of online reputation management you need.

Do you primarily sell via a content creation strategy? Do you sell on multiple e-commerce platforms? Is your business big enough that it sells through on-air advertising? Do you already have a strong social media presence that drives sales?

Go Fish is a great choice if you want to manage reviews, whereas Big Leap is going to be more effective for managing content. Which is more important for your business’s reputation?

Outlining how you primarily reach your customers will help you narrow down your search. If you don’t, it might affect how well your ORM can deliver results.

 

Long-Term Crisis Management

Think about the future of your business and its reputation. Sure, at some point you might need to put out a reputation fire that caught you by surprise ASAP. Or maybe you’re only getting started and want your name out there in the short-term in a positive light to drive more sales.

But do you have a long-term plan for managing reputation crises that will inevitably come up in the future?

This will determine which ORM can deliver on either your short-term or long-term goals. Each one is built differently to cater to your business goals, as we’ll see further in this guide.

 

Conclusion

You don’t have to suffer from a bad reputation that only seems to be out of your hands. There are plenty of agencies out there that can help lighten your reputation management load once you’ve reached out and established a relationship with them.

Here are all my top recommendations to get the help you need today:

1. Podium – The best for instantly generating positive reviews
2. Go Fish Digital – The best for managing reviews
3. Reputation Rhino – The best for individuals and small businesses
4. Reputation Resolutions – The best for crisis management
5. Big Leap – The best for SEO and content management
6. NetReputation – The best for improving reputation with content development
7. InternetReputation.com – The best for eradicating private information

Online reputation management agencies can indeed offer a lot of the same services. But look closer to find what they specialize in. Hopefully, this in-depth guide helped shed light on which of the top ORMs can work for you.

Check out each agency on this list and get a quote from the one that fits you best to start managing your online reputation now.

Source: feedproxy.google.com

Is Your Business Ready for Holiday Season Ratings and Reviews?

 

With the holidays right around the corner, you should be gearing up for customer traffic overload. In years past, business owners have viewed this period as naturally prosperous with built-in demand for goods and services.

This year – 2021 – may prove to deliver more of the same retail mojo as years past.

But there is an important difference that could make it a uniquely challenging year for customer experience: supply chain and shipping uncertainties mean consumers might be disappointed that their purchases arrive late or are altogether unavailable.

These disappointments and frustrations are likely to end up finding their way onto your online reviews. This is the time to gear up and think offensively for holiday season ratings and reviews – more than ever.

 

Be Prepared for LOTS of Holiday Season Ratings & Reviews

Studies show that people spend more money each subsequent holiday season, meaning that more services and products are being bought now than ever before. Shoppers are also writing more ratings and reviews than ever before.

Combine these growing numbers with surging emotions (both positive and negative) that come with the holiday season, and you have a perfect storm for ratings and reviews.

They’re going to come fast and furious, especially right after the Christmas holiday. And if you work to turn this into an opportunity, you can put yourself ahead of the competition.

 

What to Do When Reviews Start Coming

Product launches are risky, and launching during the holiday season can be a recipe for disaster if you rush it. You may very well be slammed with negative reviews.

If this happens, and you feel your blood boiling or a need to contradict this naysayer, don’t.

Taking a review personally or coming at it from a place of anger or frustration will yield you nothing. It might even hurt your reputation. The first step is to take a deep breath.

Then respond from an objective and understanding place. Based on my research in Manipurated, by responding to a complaint, you double your odds that a complainer becomes an advocate for your business.

You need to keep your fury in check, take the time to address the issue, and respond smartly.

Don’t forget to respond to good reviews, too. These customers can be your best clients, and a positive “Thank you” will not only make them happy, but it could also result in an additional sale.

 

Key Tips for Consistency

Let’s quickly review.

Staying on top of your holiday season ratings and reviews is a win-win proposition. When you get good reviews, you make reviewers happier.

And when you get bad reviews, you can either turn complainers into advocates, or you can show interested prospects that you care about your brand and your service.

Now that you understand the importance of responding to complaints, here’s how you can scale it.

 

1. Do It Yourself

Run Google Analytics and Incognito searches. See which rating-and-review sites people are using to discuss your brand. Or…

 

2. Pay For an App

Streamline the process using an app to manage rating-and-review sites, such as ReviewTrackers, BirdEye, and Yext. They typically include some form of an easy-to-use dashboard. Think of an RSS feed, but for rating-and-review sites instead.

These types of services are usually per location per month. The advantage is that they do nearly all of the heavy lifting for you.

 

Setting the Tone for the Next Quarter

So, you’ve managed the surplus of holiday season reviews and with a cool app and a clear head. If you’re not proud of yourself, you should be. That was a lot of hard work!

But it’s not time to relax yet.

Any negative reviews you received were most likely because a user was dissatisfied with your service. Whatever the case, cross-reference their complaints with those of other complainers.

If you start to see a consensus among your reviewers, perhaps it’s time to change something about your business.

Remember—there’s always next holiday season.

 

The post Is Your Business Ready for Holiday Season Ratings and Reviews? appeared first on Content Marketing Consulting and Social Media Strategy.

Source: convinceandconvert.com

25 Review Sites to Get More Reviews for Your Business

Reviews aren’t just about finding out what consumers think you’re doing right or where you can improve. They’re a highly useful marketing tool for drawing traffic, generating leads, and making conversions.

What’s in a review?

A lot, it turns out.

Reviews aren’t just about finding out what consumers think you’re doing right or where you can improve. They’re a highly useful marketing tool for drawing traffic, generating leads, and making conversions.

Let me show you why you should be scoping out reviews for your business.

Why It’s Important for Your Business to Get Reviewed

With over 31 million small businesses in the US, consumers have a massive amount of choices. For businesses, this means it’s crucial to find ways to set your brand apart from competitors.

 

How Customer  Reviews Can Help You?

Reviews can help in three primary ways.

1. Purchasing Decisions

Reviews directly affect purchasing decisions:

• Around 95 percent of consumers check out online reviews before buying anything.
• It’s not just your average consumer who cares about reviews, though.
• Over 41 percent of businesses use review websites before purchasing software—so reviews matter for B2B work, too.
• Reviews empower buyers to make better-informed choices.

2. Brand Awareness

Generate traffic and build hype around your brand through customer reviews.

According to BrightLocal, roughly 87 percent of customers read reviews to help them find local businesses, especially new restaurants, hotels, or clothing stores.

What’s more, just one business review on a high-profile site can boost your traffic by 20 percent, and 10+ reviews generate up to 127 percent more traffic.

Think of online reviews as the new word of mouth.

3. Customer Trust

Consumers want to know they can trust your brand, so who better to rely on than happy customers?

The more (positive) reviews and testimonials you have, the more likely prospective customers are to put their faith and money in your services.

Here’s another interesting fact. The BrightLocal research linked above shows 73 percent of customers don’t look at reviews more than a month earlier.

This tells us we need to pursue reviews at every opportunity and incentivize customers to leave reviews if they haven’t received online feedback in a month or so.

 

25 Review Sites to Earn More Customer Reviews

While there’s no need to limit yourself to just one review site, don’t feel like you need to target every site on this list. Instead, pursue the ones best aligned with the services you offer and your target audience.

To help, I’ve broken this list into B2C and B2B review sites, depending on your target buyers.

Let’s start with B2C.

B2C Review Sites

“B2C” businesses sell goods and services directly to consumers. If you’re a B2C business, opt for popular, high-traffic review sites to maximize your exposure. Here are 15 of the best.

1. Amazon Customer Reviews

Amazon isn’t just one of the first platforms to accept customer reviews. It’s also one of the most trusted sources for consumers looking for more info before buying something online.

• Open an Amazon Seller Account and encourage buyers to leave feedback.
• Amazon deducts a referral fee from every sale you make through the platform.

2. Which?

Which? is an independent platform in the UK for reviewing everything from flooring to savings accounts.

It’s one of the most trusted review sites online, so it’s worth targeting if you have products to sell.

• The audience is consumers looking for impartial, reliable reviews from an expert team.
• You can’t submit items for review, but you can contact the Which? team to give them more information about your products.

3. Angie’s List

Consumers can’t leave reviews without signing up for a paid account on the US-based Angie’s List, so the reviews are usually worthwhile—they have to really think before they sign up and write.

• Businesses must be certified home service providers to sign up.
• You can easily request feedback and reviews straight through the platform.

4. ConsumerReports

At ConsumerReports, unbiased experts test out tech products and write up informative, impartial reviews.

• If you have a physical product to sell, ConsumerReports can review it.
• Since it’s an independent nonprofit, consumers trust this platform.

5. Tripadvisor

If you’re in entertainment, travel, or hospitality, check out Tripadvisor.

• It’s the world’s biggest travel website, trusted by audiences worldwide.
• That said, it’s hard to verify reviews and remove potentially fraudulent ones.

6. Yelp

Yelp is a popular platform known for local business reviews.

• It’s free to list on Yelp.
• Yelp is especially useful if you’re in the home and local services market.

7. Google Customer Reviews

If you sign up for Google Customer Reviews, verified buyers can rate and review your services.

• Sign up for a Google Merchant Account to get started.
• Add the Google brand badge and your seller rating to your website for enhanced credibility.

8. Foursquare

Own a bar or restaurant? Chances are, someone’s already reviewed your business on Foursquare.

• Optimize your listing with social media links and menu details to help persuade customers to choose your business.
• The downside? It’s not always easy to identify and remove “fake” bad reviews.

9. The Yellow Pages

Yes, the “real” Yellow Pages (YP) is still around, though it’s online now rather than in hardcopy.

• The YP is still a popular search option, especially for older populations.
• It’s free to list on the YP, though you can pay for a top spot in the search results.

10. The Better Business Bureau

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) checks all businesses against a predetermined set of “best practices” for customer service. Companies receive ratings from A+ to F based on the business size compared to the number of positive reviews and customer complaints.

• More than five million companies are already listed with the BBB
• .An A+ BBB rating can boost your credibility among consumers.

11. Manta

If you’re a small B2C business looking to grow your customer base, Manta can help. If you’re one of 36 percent of small businesses without websites, it could boost your web presence.

• Manta works best for small businesses targeting local consumers.
• It’s free to list, so even if you use other platforms like Google My Business, there’s no financial harm from signing up.

12. ConsumerAffairs

From collecting reviews to engaging with consumers, ConsumerAffairs helps you manage all your customer service needs.

• Start the process by opening a free business account.
• It’s most suited for SMBs offering financial or subscription-based products, like home insurance or gym memberships.

13. Citysearch

Citysearch helps consumers find the best local businesses in their community, from restaurants to nail salons. If you’re a US business, it’s worth checking out this popular review site.

• It’s free to sign up, but it’s a little convoluted. You need to sign up on Data Axle.
• It takes around two months for your listing to go live.

14. Yahoo! Local Listings

Yahoo! has partnered with Yext to create Localworks. It helps you manage business listings across over 70 directories, from Facebook to MapQuest, so you can quickly scale your marketing reach.

• Pursue reviews across multiple sites and manage them from the Localworks platform.
• Standard packages start at $23.30 per month, and it’s quick to get started.

15. Influenster

Influenster partners with brands to support product launch campaigns.

• You can run highly-targeted sampling programs to help generate buzz around your products and brand.
• If you’re targeting younger audiences and product campaigns align with your marketing strategy, sign up with their parent company, Bazaarvoice, to get started.

B2B Review Sites

B2B companies target other businesses, not ordinary consumers. Since you’re targeting a different audience, it makes sense to pursue alternative review sites.

If there’s one thing these alternative sites have in common, it’s this:

• They’re highly credible.
• They’ve built their reputation on being a trusted source of verifiable information for professional audiences.

With that in mind, here are 10 top B2B review sites to pursue, depending on your product type.

16. FinancesOnline

FinancesOnline has two goals: Help vendors like you find clients and match businesses with the SaaS tools they need to grow their business.

• Reviews are verified, unbiased, and comprehensive.
• There’s no guarantee you’ll be listed on the site. You need to apply to create a listing, and the team will get back to you.

17. CompareCamp

Catered towards the SaaS marketplace, CompareCamp brings together multiple expert reviews and turns them into comprehensive product guides and educational materials.

• CompareCamp offers the kind of rounded, deep-dive into your software that’s hard to find elsewhere.
• It’s a leading, highly respected B2B product review platform.
• Simply contact the team to request a review.

18. G2 Crowd

Do you sell software? Then get on G2 Crowd. With over four million visitors and one million+ review, it’s a lively platform known for its reliable product reviews.

• G2 users are highly engaged and love giving opinions on all aspects of your software.
• Turn your best reviews into social media posts to draw more traffic.

It’s quick and easy to claim your free profile.

19. TrustRadius

Like G2 Crowd, TrustRadius is great for gathering feedback and using it to inform your product development.

• It’s best for enterprise-level SaaS tools.
• The audience is more niche than G2.
• TrustRadius makes it easy to engage your most active buyers and bring them onboard to leave reviews.

20. GoodFirms

GoodFirms is geared toward helping software firms and IT vendors manage their online reputations. If you’re a small business trying to build hype around your product in a competitive market, GoodFirms can help.

• Although paid packages are available, there’s still a lot on offer if you opt for a free plan.
• There’s no free trial if you opt for the more expensive, paid plans.

21. Capterra

On Capterra, users share their software experiences with potential buyers. It’s an active community offering great exposure for vendors.

• Capterra is part of the Gartner Digital Markets group, so the sign-up process is similar to SoftwareWorld and GetApp.
• It’s not easy to distinguish between companies with five-star ratings but very few reviews and four-star companies with hundreds of reviews.

22. Glassdoor

Glassdoor offers everyone, from budding employees to prospective investors, a glimpse into what it’s like to work for a company.

• Glassdoor is one of the world’s most popular jobseeker’s websites.
• It’s free to open an account.
• You can quickly track reviews and respond to feedback.

23. SoftwareWorld

At SoftwareWorld, businesses search for products based on their needs, such as workflow automation or sales management.

• It’s simple to sign up, and listing benefits include social media promotion and press release publishing.
• If your product fits into multiple search categories, you can increase your exposure.

24. GetApp

With GetApp, users can shortlist business apps based on their budget, requirements, and current software stack. They can then read verified customer reviews to help them decide between the shortlisted options.

• With a free listing, you’ll be shown on Gartner Digital Markets, but a premium listing gives you access to analytics, including buyer insights.
• Reviews are divided into “pros” and “cons,” so some negative feedback is almost inevitable.

25. Software Advice

Businesses trust Software Advice for their personalized software recommendations and one-on-one telephone consultations.

• What’s unique about this platform is the team matches you with prospects.
• If a qualified lead contacts them, they pass the details to you to complete the sale.
• You only pay for whichever leads meet your specific requirements.

 

Conclusion

Whether you’re running a B2C or B2B business, customer reviews can help increase your credibility with buyers and attract new prospects.

There’s no reason to limit yourself to just one or two review sites, either, so explore multiple options and decide which platforms are right for your marketing strategy.

If you need help deciding which sites to target, check out my consulting services.

Which review sites are you pursuing?

The post 25 Review Sites to Get More Reviews for Your Business appeared first on Neil Patel.

Source: feedproxy.google.com

Your Business Needs More Negative Reviews. Here’s Why

Do you work hard to earn great reviews for your business?

If so, you’re not alone. Most businesses strive to get as many five-star reviews as possible. And it’s not hard to imagine why.

Before you buy something online, drive across town to a restaurant you’ve never tried, or download an app, what’s the first thing you do?

You probably check the reviews. If they’re bad, you probably won’t purchase an item or try a new restaurant. But if they’re good, you’ll likely give it a try.

So you should do everything in your power to try and get five-star reviews across the board and prevent any negative reviews, right?

Actually, that shouldn’t be your goal.

Believe it or not, earning perfect reviews isn’t critical for your business. In fact, negative reviews can actually help your business in ways you may have never expected.

If you’ve put all of your focus on avoiding negative reviews, you’re going about reviews all wrong.

You may find that hard to believe, but it’s true.

Here’s why you need negative reviews and some of the ways that they can be beneficial for your business.

 

The importance of negative reviews and how they can help your business grow

Before the digital era, we all relied on our friends and families for testimonials. But now, we rely on so many other factors to make our final decisions about companies.

Find more statistics at Statista

It appears that trustworthy reviews now have a bigger influence on online purchase decisions than family and friends do for 68% of US shoppers.

Recommendations from friends and family influence only 42% of consumers.

Instead, rewards programs, brand reputation, and trustworthy online reviews have taken the place of good, old-fashioned word-of-mouth recommendations.

A 2017 study by Power Reviews once again confirms the growing consumer dependence on ratings and reviews.

Today, 97% of consumers read product reviews before making a purchase decision. 89% of them consider online reviews to be an essential resource in the process.

On the flip side, 85% of consumers look for negative reviews in order to make informed purchase decisions. And this number skyrockets to 91% among consumers from the ages of 18-29.

Why?

Because bad reviews give customers a sense of the worst-case scenario. They want to know what can go wrong to understand just how much it will matter to them.

Too many positive reviews can seem fake to some shoppers, so you have to watch out.

But how do consumers determine if a review is truly authentic and trustworthy?

BrightLocal’s study shows that Facebook and Yelp are the two most-trusted review sources for local searches. Google comes in third.

Out of all these review platforms, Yelp seems to have the most strict rules and regulations.

This explains the fact that the average review score on Yelp is 3.65, which is the lowest out of these platforms. The average reviews on the others major platforms are 4.42 on Facebook, 4.3 on Google, and 4.25 on Tripadvisor.

Therefore, Yelp may be the most reliable place to gauge reviews.

And these ratings matter for your bottom line. An extra rating star on Yelp translates into a 5% to 9% revenue growth, which is an impressive but dangerous correlation.

Reviews really can make or break your brand’s growth. But on any platform, you will inevitably receive some negative reviews. So, how do you respond to them?

You should start by coming up with a game plan.

 

Create a game plan before you respond to negativity

The way that a business treats a negative review can tell you a lot about them.

Don’t panic. Don’t ignore them. Instead, embrace them.

Some brands like Wendy’s are even using negative reviews as a chance to make a splash on social media and go viral.

However you choose to embrace negative reviews, you need to come up with a game plan before you say anything back to your customers.

But customers expect businesses to respond to their reviews quickly. 51.7% of consumers expect businesses to respond to their negative reviews within seven days.

So if you do happen to receive a negative review, you need to act fast.

Being aware of your customers’ complaints should be your number-one priority for customer service.

The first thing you need to keep in mind is that not all negative reviews are valuable.

There are two types of negative reviews.

The first type is reviews from disappointed customers who have had a real negative experience like those who were part of the Vow to Be Chic wedding rental scandal:

And then, there are the troll types who seek attention and potential monetary gain.

Some people might want to take advantage of the leverage that leaving a bad review might give them by blackmailing you or threatening to leave a bad review if you don’t give them a refund.

And you can’t insure your business against trolls.

Constructive feedback, on the other hand, is a gold mine for any business. It is a form of valuable, direct, instructional feedback from the people who matter most.

And a negative review will only stay negative forever if you ignore it and never address it.

So having a game plan to respond to these complaints is what will set you apart from companies who choose to ignore them.

Decide on a communication strategy that will match your brand identity and tone of voice. Try to keep it consistent across all review platforms.

Zappos never fails to respond to negative customer reviews, and they give their responses a positive twist. Take a look at a recent response they gave to a complaint on their Facebook page.

The brand offered to send the customer a new replacement pair, and they recommended that she keep or give away the shoes that don’t fit.

It’s pretty hard to argue with an attitude like that.

Depending on the personality of your brand, you can choose to be friendly and conversational like Zappos or more formal but tactful like Marriott.

Whichever way you choose to go, make sure that you remain genuine. Don’t answer with a template. Take the time to actually investigate each issue and respond accordingly.

You should think of each negative review as an opportunity to show your customers that you care.

Here’s what Marina Cheal, Chief Marketing Officer at Reevoo, said at the Motor Trader Summit last year:

“Rich reviews drive engagement and people stay on-site longer. Bad reviews are a brilliant way of showing that if something does go wrong you have credibility in how you deal with the issue. It shows you care about the customer.”

Believe it or not, bad reviews have the power to improve your conversion rates, too.

 

Bad reviews improve your conversion rates

If your business gets only positive reviews, consumers might question whether those reviews are legitimate or not. Not everyone will, but those who are a little bit more cautious might.

And with so many fake and paid reviews circulating on almost every review platform, this is becoming a real issue.

Amazon’s fake positive review problem has recently become huge.

As the average rating has risen, the average review weight has taken a huge nosedive.

There are even Facebook groups that incentivize people to write fake reviews of Amazon products.

On the other hand, having a healthy mix of both positive and negative reviews will help build trust in your business more quickly.

A study by Northwestern University’s Spiegel Research Center discovered that likelihood of someone purchasing a product with five reviews is 270% greater than a product with no reviews.

That means having five reviews, whether good or bad, can increase your number of purchases by nearly four times.

And a mixture of good and bad is helpful so that you don’t fall into the “too-good-to-be-true” category.

So, what is a healthy mix of good and bad reviews?

What amount of bad reviews will boost your conversion rates instead of driving customers away?

Anywhere between 4.2 and 4.5 stars is an ideal average.

More stars does not equal more sales. When your positive reviews appear with a few negative reviews, you reduce buyer skepticism.

But you obviously you don’t want to end up with too low of an average. A lot of customers use rating filters to simplify their searches, so you may not even show up when they search for products if your average reviews are below four stars.

If your ratings are low, don’t fret. It actually doesn’t take a lot to increase your ratings.

A recent study of TripAdvisor found that one-third of the hotels were able to increase their rounded ratings by half a star or more within six months of their first management response.

In a nutshell, here’s the logic that this all boils down to:

Customers actively seek authentic and trustworthy businesses. No business is perfect, so negative reviews will assure those who read them that the reviews are authentic.

 

Negative reviews show your human side

Negative reviews are a perfect stage for you to shine as a business with top-notch customer service. It is an opportunity to show that there are actual people behind your business.

Customer service is not just about assisting a purchase. It’s about solving any problems that come up before, during, or after a purchase and preventing them from happening again.

Poor customer service will cost your company big time.

Tons of consumers have abandoned a business due to poor customer service. As you can see, this figure has grown over the last couple of years.

And it’s only going to keep increasing.

So customer service is still a huge deciding factor for customers making purchase decisions and for you retaining existing customers.

According to numbers from Kingfisher Inc, acquiring a new customer is five times as expensive as retaining an existing customer.

Responding to negative reviews will help you keep your current customers coming back for more.

It’s a good idea to respond to all reviews — both good and bad.

On the one hand, your negative reviews give your company a chance to show it’s human side.

On the other, responding to positive reviews will help you show appreciation for your happy customers, whose reviews matter most in the long run.

The biggest challenge to responding to every review is that you may receive an overwhelming quantity of reviews. Quite often, it requires a whole team of customer service heroes to handle reviews on all channels.

And all of your customer service reps need to know how to respond well.

Here are some essential tips to keep in mind when replying to negative reviews.

1. Get to the bottom of the issue.

Always try to verify what the reviewer says by conducting a quick internal investigation with your staff.

You always want to try to understand what happened.

2. Hold back your emotions and do not get defensive.

Sometimes, the reviews will be unfair and even false. Remember to always stay respectful and factual in your response like Amazon in the example below.

3. Show genuine empathy.

Sometimes, the only thing that a disappointed customer needs is a simple apology.

When you respond to reviews with an honest apology, your customers will know that you truly care.

4. Take the problem offline.

If you feel like the issue is escalating, it makes sense to continue the discussion privately rather than commenting back and forth.

5. Respect the rules.

Many businesses offer discounts and coupons to make up for their mistakes, but some platforms consider this a violation of trust or even bribing.

Like in the example above, email the coupon or discount instead of posting it on a social media site.

Never forget to tell your side of the story to defend your brand, either.

 

Don’t be afraid to tell your side of the story

Bad reviews are not always your fault. But when a number of things add up to a negative customer experience, your business might suffer.

If somebody were to falsely accuse you of a crime, you would do anything in your power to prove your innocence.

When a review is simply untrue, you might need to do the same.

Sometimes, you need to share your side of what really happened.

That way, future customers who come across your page and see negative reviews can read your account of the story and make an informed decision for themselves about what really happened.

When you can gracefully articulate the facts and show off the benefits of your business at the same time, you can take a negative situation and spin it into a positive one.

When you satisfy your customers, you’ll encourage them to stay loyal to you.

 

Satisfying unhappy customers encourages loyalty

Answering each and every customer review is a must. But it’s even more important to actually solve your customers’ problems.

Nothing is more disappointing than a regular “we apologize for any inconvenience caused” type of response with nothing but a bunch of meaningless words.

That’s not helpful or satisfying. It’s annoying.

And being timely with your detailed solution is also important.

Data from HBR shows that brands that respond to customer issues quickly have more chances to retain customers.

The quicker you respond, the more customers will be willing to pay for your products and services in the future.

In this study, customers were willing to spend almost $20 more for a ticket from an airline that responded to their complaints in less than five minutes.

That same study found that customers of wireless carriers who got their issues resolved with customer service reps were willing to pay $8 more for their wireless plans.

But what is even more fascinating is that customers were willing to pay an extra $6 for wireless services from the brand even if the carrier didn’t solve their problems. Just getting a response was enough to make willing to pay a little bit more.

Obviously, there are customer problems that you can’t resolve for a number of reasons.

But this study shows that even a simple expression of empathy can go a long way in diffusing frustration and providing good customer service.

Delta’s pizza party is a great example of how brands can provide good customer service through empathy.

They ordered 600 pizzas for their passengers who experienced delays because of severe weather in Atlanta.

Here’s what Julieta McCurry, Delta’s Managing Director of U.S. Marketing Communications and Sponsorships, said:

“Empathy always has and continues to drive our experience design, service and delivery. With a new year, we renew that commitment.”

Another benefit of responding to angry customers is engaging them in a conversation. Making a personal connection with a dissatisfied customer can make all the difference.

When your customer service reps do this, it’s a good idea to have them sign their initials or names when responding.

This way, customers will feel more comfortable following up on their issues later on. Many brands use this, including Burt’s Bees.

Encourage customer service agents to add their names to tickets and responses for a personal touch.

All in all, you should always think of negative feedback as a chance to improve.

 

Negative feedback is an opportunity to improve

Customer satisfaction has never been more important than it is today.

Around half of all startups fail. And that’s not just true about tech startups. That’s true of businesses in nearly every industry.

Take a look at this 2017 graph from Failory. The highest failure rate occurs in the information industry where 63% of startups fail.

But having a sound customer retention strategy can increase your odds of success, and review management is a big part of it.

Treat every kind of feedback you receive as a gift. It is a free piece of information that you can use to improve and grow your business.

There is no better way to know if your business does well than asking your customers.

That’s why there are so many businesses carry out customer surveys every year.

Big brands spend tons of resources on conducting customer satisfaction surveys even though customers often abandon them without finishing them.

As you can see, it’s difficult to get customers to complete surveys. That means that getting voluntary feedback is invaluable.

It can help you uncover and resolve key consumer pain points. This, in turn, can help your business grow.

Just look at how Domino’s recovered from the viral prank video scandal back in 2009 calling their product “edible cardboard.”

Their stock went from $4 per share in 2008 to $215 per share in 2017.

Keep in mind that not every customer will bother to leave a negative review.

However, the ones that do are probably not alone. There will be a lot of customers who feel the same way but never express their opinions. They just leave without you even knowing.

It’s always good to show love to your unhappy customers and strive for a second chance with them. But that’s not the only way to use negative reviews for your business growth.

If you dig deeper into those reviews, you will be able to find actual business ideas. This is especially true for digital businesses like SaaS or other web-based services.

Many of these businesses utilize tools like UserVoice to bring customers into the product development process itself.

 

Here’s how it works.

When a customer is unhappy about certain aspects of the product, customer service agents encourage the user to submit a feature request in UserVoice.

If the feature gets enough upvotes, it ends up on the product roadmap.

No one can tell you how to improve your services or products better than your own customers, so never miss a chance to listen to what they have to say.

For instance, Buffer used customer feedback to validate the idea of having a video upload feature. This idea came from a customer request.

Buffer soon implemented this feature, and it was a success in terms of customer collaboration.

Don’t view all of your negative reviews as threats. Strive to learn from them and use them to improve as a company.

 

Conclusion

Most businesses do everything they can to avoid negative reviews. And in many ways, this makes sense.

But not all negative reviews are bad. In fact, they can be helpful in several ways.

Bad reviews help build trust. Today, buying fake reviews is as easy as getting any other service, which makes it difficult for shoppers to identify businesses with trustworthy ratings.

Negative reviews create a healthy balance and help shoppers see that your public reviews are trustworthy. Ultimately, they’ll trust your business more because of them.

Negative feedback is also a gold mine of opportunity. But you need a game plan before you respond to a customer.

When it comes to customer interactions, do you want to be casual, formal, or somewhere in the middle? You should decide this before you begin responding.

Customer complaints are a powerful tool to uncover internal problems on time and fix them before they go out of control. For this reason, they can help to boost your conversion rates.

So, it is important to monitor all review platforms regularly.

This feedback provides invaluable insights into customer satisfaction, which would otherwise require more effort and resources.

It also provides a chance to showcase your customer care excellence and your human side. Be empathetic with reviews and apologize when you should.

You shouldn’t ignore any reviews whether they’re positive or negative. Answering your customers’ feedback promptly and consistently translates into actual sales increases.

This means that every review that remains unanswered is a lost opportunity to retain existing customers and attract new prospects.

You also need to address reviews that aren’t true. You need to defend your brand against false claims. In most cases, that’s better than ignoring them.

When you satisfy unhappy customers, you’ll be encouraging brand loyalty. And negative feedback is simply an opportunity to improve overall.

But never forget to treat your happy customers with as much care and attention as the ones who complain. Happy customers are the best marketing. And it’s a free opportunity.

Each review is a free piece of information that you can use to grow your business. Treat each one as a gift.

In what ways have negative reviews benefited your business?

About the Author: Neil Patel is the co-founder of Neil Patel Digital.

Source: feedproxy.google.com