It’s common knowledge that reviews can seriously impact your business success. The statistics are everywhere and the numbers of prospects who depend on what existing customers have to say about your product or service is devastatingly high.
However, it is equally surprising to know that less than half of businesses ask their customers for a review.
Leaving the most important parts of your business to chance is one of the biggest mistakes any business owner can make. Hopefully, by the end of this article, you would see why it’s dangerous to be a part of this number of companies who ignore review management strategies.
Online Reputation Management – Best Practices
Recent surveys have shown that only 40% of small businesses encourage their clients to leave positive reviews. This means a staggering 60% ignore this reputation management practice. It could be because they expect happy customers to leave positive reviews or they believe that ignoring this strategy will keep them safe with no reviews on the web.
The thing is, regardless of if you allow reviews on your site or not, there are reviews out there that speak of your service. People are creating a reputation for your business on their own terms and you need to take control of the situation.
While you need reviews to speak for your services or products, you must focus on getting more positives and fewer negatives.
The fact that you are confident your clients are happy doesn’t mean they will leave a great review. The reason for this is that people are more likely to complain than compliment a service. It’s almost human nature, and this puts your business in a difficult position.
Successful businesses maintain a great advantage over their competitors because they know the relevance of giving clients a nudge when it comes to reviews. They also recognize that making extra efforts to encourage the positives can go a long way.
Monitor and Respond
Asking and receiving online reviews is only one part of your online reputation management strategy. Next, you must monitor these reviews and respond to both positives and negatives alike. A negative review can make your heart skip a beat but there is no harm in having a few of them. They help to prove the authenticity of your brand. Respond interactively and use the opportunity to show prospects watching that you care about their experience.
Get proactive and promote your company on several platforms, especially social media. When clients leave comments there, monitor and respond appropriately.
Avoid selling yourself too much as this puts prospects off. Try to come across as helping people make the best purchase decisions. Build a solid strategy to maintain your online reputation and achieve great progress with your company.
You can get professional assistance on this from a review company. Here at The Review Generator, we make your business goals possible.
