Online Review Management

Why managing positive online reviews is important?

Word of mouth and professional reviews have always had a lot of influence on customer purchasing habits, but online reviews impact a business’s sales and online visibility in many unique ways that go far beyond this. This is why online review management is an essential marketing activity for all businesses in the digital age. Before trying a business for the first time, many customers check its online reviews and compare them with the competition. In this situation, the business with the best online review profile gets the customers.

Establishing a great review profile for your business will encourage customers, who compare reviews, to pick your business over its competitors. It will also help more new customers find your business, as many customers use review platforms to discover new businesses — especially restaurants. Managing reviews is also a great way for bricks-and-mortar businesses to attract more new customers passing through their area. These days we all use our smartphones along with online maps and reviews to find stores, restaurants, and services. Often, when on the go, review scores and a company profile are the only info customers have to inform their choice of business. This is why a well-managed review profile is a great thing for local businesses.

Having the best review profile doesn’t just mean having the highest rating. In fact, many marketing studies show that a score slightly below 5 stars is seen as more trustworthy by customers, and an overall rating average on review platforms of 4.5 stars+ is a powerful draw for new customers to your business. Especially if your review profile contains appealing pictures of your business and is well-written. The ultimate aim of online review management is to establish this type of positive online presence across all key review platforms and local directories that impact your business.

How to manage and encourage positive reviews

Businesses that manage to achieve a positive review profile gain an edge over their competition. They don't achieve this by accident. Positive reviews can and should be actively sought out. For instance, using digital marketing channels such as social media to build a rapport with customers, and, when appropriate, encouraging satisfied customers to post reviews on the platforms can benefit your business and its digital marketing strategy in many different ways. You may be looking to boost your visibility on Google Maps and attract more customers, getting more positive reviews on your Google Business Profile page will help with this. Or perhaps your business targets tourists who often look up tourist attractions so you want to work on your TripAdvisor profile. You need to ensure that your business has a well-managed review profile in all the review platforms and local directories that count. This will make a strong impression on potential customers and attract more of them to your business by presenting it in the best possible light.

Making sure that positive reviews of your business are posted across the most important platforms will also help to balance out the impact of any other less positive reviews. Timing plays an important role in getting this right. Reaching out to customers who are sharing positive experiences on social media as quickly as possible will increase your likelihood of securing positive reviews because the positive experience and association will still be fresh in the customer's mind. A Harvard Business Review study found that businesses who responded to all reviews — good or bad — saw a substantial improvement in their overall ratings. Managing positive reviews is the best way of ensuring that customers' positive feelings towards your business are expressed online and that other potential customers can see this feedback, which will encourage them to use your products and services and help them to find your business.