How to Create an Online Review Management Strategy in 2021_

As customers, we no longer turn to reviews just for large businesses and
enterprises when looking to purchase. We also rely on our friends and family for
their opinions and online reviews.

The way customers form an image of a brand is influenced by several factors. But
online reviews are the primary source of information, and the good news is that
you have the power to manage them.

Online review management is essential for all businesses; it has a significant impact
on your overall marketing strategy and is necessary for maintaining your brand
image.

Reviews are an abundant resource for valuable and actionable insights that offer
you an opportunity to identify pain points in your business.

Reputation management is a broad term that includes review management, social
media management and PR. However, review management is a crucial element of
reputation management.

Having a thorough review management strategy set in place is an essential step in
creating active reputation management for your business.

In this guide, you will understand all the fundamentals of implementing a review
management strategy for your brand.

Why Is Review Management Critical?

Online review management is not new, but it is more important than ever to
brands online. Being consumers, we know there are several places you can find
reviews – Google, TripAdvisor, Yelp and even on social media nowadays.

Over the last few years, with the development of mobile applications and the
addition of visible ratings in search results, it’s become increasingly accessible for
potential customers to search for businesses near them on the go.

Positive reviews aren’t just a crucial part of attracting potential customers; it is also an
invaluable source of feedback for your business.

This can help you understand how to improve customer pain points effectively and
what customers love about your business that you could spotlight in your
marketing.

Managing reviews on social media is quite different from managing reviews on
channels specifically built for reviews. Reviews on platforms with formal star ratings
like Facebook and Google display your average rating, whereas, on Twitter, reviews
are typically informal chatter about your business.

Search engines will display both types of pages to your customers. Since ratings can
increase your SEO visibility, you can significantly grow your business with a
thorough review management strategy.

93% of customers will read reviews of local businesses to determine their quality,
with 34% searching every day.

If you are apprehensive about having negative reviews, the good news is that most
review sites and social media offer businesses the opportunity to reply to reviews
publicly.

Why Reply to Customer Reviews?

Replying to reviews is just like responding to customers’ social media messages; it
helps build trust and the likelihood of customer retention for your brand.
Regardless of the sentiment behind the reviews, it is always best to respond to
them.

89% of customers read replies to reviews.
An excellent first step is to prepare a plan for common review scenarios
beforehand so you can ensure your customer service team stays on message.
You can draw up templates of points commonly mentioned in your reviews and
create appropriate responses.

Different industries experience different FAQs and common reviews; for example, a
retailer, common review topics might include store ambiance and store sales
representative, product range, checkout and payment process, and customer
service.

To build a comprehensive guide with various scenarios, you can take the help of
your customer support team. Along with common situations, also ask them about
unique situations they’ve come across.

After each category and scenario has been identified, start in on the responses.

What will you tell someone if they claim that a shoe’s sole fell off within the first month
of use?
What will you say if someone says a staff member was making discriminatory or
controversial comments?

How to Respond to Online Reviews?

You may get frustrated and defensive when reading customer feedback and
comments because they may feel like they don’t understand your business.
However, this is an opportunity to rebuild trust with your audience.

69% say they are more likely to use a business that has responded to their positive
reviews, while 70% are more likely to use a company that responds to negative
reviews.
Keep your tone friendly and empathetic. When replying to customers’ reviews,
personalize the response with their name, acknowledge their feedback, and if it is a
negative review, you can mention the internal steps you have taken to fix the issue.

A study by Harvard Business Review discovered that improved ratings could be
directly associated with responses. They also noted that when managers respond
to positive reviews, it has the same benefits as when they respond to negative
reviews.
When creating response templates, remember that while the responses are meant
to be directed to a customer, your potential customers will also be reading your
reviews and the reactions.

Potential customers will take note of the manner in which you respond to
customers’ feedback and the changes you implement in your business.

As you build your review management strategy, you will notice that it is very similar
to building your social customer care strategy.

Suppose you respond in a genuine, personalized, and constructive way to your
customers’ feedback. In that case, you can form meaningful connections with your
customers, whether they’re dealing with online reviews or comments on social
platforms.

Identify a Review Channel to Prioritize

The fastest way to start implementing a review management strategy is by auditing
each review channel ideal for your industry. This will help you understand how
many reviews are left on each site for your business, which can guide your next
steps.

Every industry has different review sites. However, Google reviews are extremely
important across industries. It is also a crucial step for local businesses.

TripAdvisor is a great example of an industry-specific review site, it is geared
towards hospitality, travel and has an international audience.

If your business is a hotel, you will most probably have reviews on TripAdvisor,
Google, Facebook, and maybe some other more niche review sites.

Reviews are left regardless of whether you’re managing your brand presence or
responding to customers’ feedback on review networks. The trick is to identify
which ones have the highest value to your business most. Google, Facebook, and
Yelp are great reviews networks to start your reviews management.

Google My Business comprises your business’ presence on Google. The search
result Knowledge Graph for your business will consist of a summary or brief about
your business, such as what it is, the timing, the founders, and contact information.
The search result of your business on Google Maps will display the same details.

Google receives88% of the search engine market share – Google My Business
results for local searches are difficult for customers to miss.
Most people rely on TripAdvisor, a platform where they can obtain information
regarding their travel destination. To have the chance to advertise your business
there, you should claim its listing in advance.

On Facebook, to get the most out of your page for reviews, be sure to turn on
ratings in your settings. It was only in 2018 that Facebook turned reviews into
recommendations. Your business page may display previous star ratings.

Review management tools like Simplify360 allow you to view, manage and respond
to reviews across channels like Facebook, Google My Business, TripAdvisor and
more – all in one inbox. You can empower your team to conveniently manage
review responses, filter incoming reviews and assign tasks similar to your social
media workflow.

A social media listening strategy will help you discover online chatter and
conversations about your business; this will also help you find the review site that is
most valuable to your business.

By listening, you’ll find other sources of valuable feedback about your business and
products across social media and review sites.

Social listening ensures that you are notified of any and all mentions of your
business. You can also set up alerts and trackers for keywords and phrases
associated with your brand.

4 Steps to Building a Review Management Response Strategy

1. Monitor Your Reviews Online

Listening is the first key step to a review management strategy.

It is a simple way of making sure you don’t miss anything that people say about
your brand and products online.

You can start by understanding which platforms are most important for your
brand. However, the most common platforms all businesses are present on are
Google and Facebook.
Identifying which platforms your customers are talking about your brand on is
another way of ensuring you don’t miss any mentions of your brand.

For example: Do customers talk about your brand on social media, online forums
or review sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor?

If you have a physical location, people can review your business on Yelp,
TripAdvisor, and Google. And you can be sure that customers are leaving reviews.

2. Create a Response Plan

It’s essential for customers to talk about your brand online. But the way to improve
your review management will be by the steps you take next. You need to plan how
you are going to go about responding to your customers’ reviews.

Identify who will monitor your reviews, who decides if a review warrants a response
and who will respond to the reviews.
When you create your response plan you need to consider the position and tone
you are going to take in your responses.

Make sure the person who is crafting your response understands your vision and
voice. If you are responding to a harsh criticism, it’s important to know that they
have freedom and skill to respond on behalf of the organization.

3. Create a Specific Plan for Negative Reviews

When you get a bad review, it is tempting to pretend it never happened and to
hope that it gets buried under a sea of happy reviews. But you can’t ignore bad
reviews as they are public.

If potential customers notice that you have ignored negative reviews, it might
impact their image of your brand. And not to forget, if you ignore a customer’s
review you are taking away the chance to clear the air and convert them to a loyal
customer.

Ensure you make the customer feel listened to and valued, by responding to their
reviews in a professional and polite manner. Try to avoid robotic responses to
reviews and make them personalized.

Response time is one of the most influential factors in recovering from a bad
review. Responding and helping customers who had bad experiences
instantaneously, is much more likely to improve their opinion.

4. Leverage Positive Reviews

It pays to respond to customer’s positive feedback as well, these are the reviews
that will improve your online reputation.

Responding to positive reviews not only shows your appreciation to your customers
but it also encourages other customers to leave reviews.

Since the goal is to build your reputation based on positive feedback, you need to
focus on encouraging customers to leave reviews.

If you are confident that you deliver good services to your clients, you can ask them
to leave reviews and provide feedback. By asking personally, the customer will feel
as though you care about the review and will be more likely to leave a good one.

Conclusion

Customers have a lot of power when it comes to online reviews. However, with the
right tools, preparation and knowledge base, businesses have the ability to improve
brand perception in a positive way.

Responding to and appreciating customers for their online reviews, whether good
or bad, will only strengthen your brand’s image. It would also get integrated into
your social media engagement. Social customer care and review management are
two peas in a pod; you’ll have an excellent customer service strategy by
championing these two.