Customer’s feedback plays a critical role in any business. More positive reviews mean a business is right on track. However, if negative reviews rule the business, something must be wrong, indicating a red flag.
Nowadays, people seek reviews before purchasing any product or service, especially in the online vicinity. A study conducted by BrightLocal indicated that 71% of prospective clients consider reviews as a reliable source of information before engaging in any business deal.
In real sense, reviews play an enormous role in business sales. It’s up to a business to up its game by creating and implementing an online review management strategy. An effective strategy has at least some of these components:
- Add review site badges when direct advertising, on websites and email newsletters, to inspire customers to promote you elsewhere.
- Focus on reaching out to customers and initiate positive reviews on sites such as Facebook, Yelp, Google reviews, etc. However, no buying-off should be involved.
- Do away with negative reviews that violate terms of service and are based on false facts. Nonetheless, if the reviews are negative and accurate, put extra effort into your strategy.
Although you will acquire and maintain positive reviews with all set, some estranged reviews can still drag you down. Scroll down to see how a company such as ReviewInc helps develop an effective online review management strategy.
Engage the Customer
A business that requests feedback during and after sales has the best rating. The reason being, they get customer feedback before they get to review sites and tell about their experiences. How this works is by use of automated review management tools.
It’s pretty simple if a customer has excellent feedback, they are directed to a particular review site to comment there. Nevertheless, If by chance there had a bad experience, you fix it right there.
Eliminate Views That Violate Terms of Service(TOS)
Content from reviewers who violate the terms of service can be removed. Such content is inappropriate, promotional, irrelevant, violates privacy, or has conflicts of interest.
No Payment for Fake Reviews is Allowed
Paying for positive views is a fraud that every business should keep off. It’s a dangerous venture that can ruin your business reputation. In the past, various e-commerce platforms have tried it and ended up losing billions and customer’s trust.
Fake reviews only work temporarily, and the reason behind their failure is, setting the high expectation for your customers but failing to deliver as per expected. Instead of waiting to receive reviews from customers, you can request them by directing them to various review sites.
Bottom Line
When you don’t have a strategy in place, you will find bad reviews from people who do not represent what your brand stands for. However, you can change that narrative if you develop and implement an effective online review management strategy for your business. This way, you will build trust, create more sales and get 4 and 5 review stars from pleased customers. Customers care about reviews, and so should you. Create and make use of that strategy and drive more sales!
