Providing superb customer service is the most important goal of any business establishment and a cornerstone of a company’s growth. Reviews matter as consumers regularly read online rating sites before considering a purchase and deciding which establishment to do business with.

The Ultimate Question

Would you recommend our company?

Providing superb customer service is the most important goal of any business establishment. Reputable companies collect and analyze customers’ reviews as an indication of the satisfaction with their brand or a product. They position it as a cornerstone of the company’s growth. One fundamental question, the ultimate question is being asked: “Would you recommend our company?” (NPS)

In the past, people relied on traditional “word of mouth” when seeking advice. The Internet transferred control from businesses to consumers, empowering them to share their insights and experiences on various review and social media sites and creating an online community.

Consumers regularly read online rating sites before considering a purchase or deciding which establishment to do business with. As the reviews strongly influence their behavior, it is important for businesses to improve their online presence with positive reviews and obtain customer experience insights.

Online Reviews

Online reviews are user generated comments that customers, past or present, post about a particular business or product on various online review platforms, like Google, Yelp and Facebook. Reviews are structured to allow the consumer to offer a rating measurement between 1 and 5 stars and provide a space for more detailed commentary. Once posted, these reviews, positive or negative, are public and permanent.

Reviews matter as 92% of consumers regularly read online ratings before considering a purchase and 87% of them won’t even consider businesses with a 1 or 2 star rating. Loyal customers will share their review with others in order to provide information to the online community. As research by Zuberance suggests, 90% of customers write reviews to help others make right decisions. Positive reputation equals revenue. According to Harvard Business School’s survey just a1 star improvement in rating increases the company’s revenue by 5-9%.

The advantages of online reviews are highly impactful, providing feedback on the operations of businesses and performance of the employees in real-time. Feedback and experience from the best and happiest customers published online can drive significant increases in revenue.

Reputation Management is Critical

Partnering with the industry leader in providing services and a platform for online review management is essential. Choosing one that offers two main components of an effective online management platform: review generation and reputation management.

Review generation is responsible for efficient generation of online reviews in terms of volume and quality. This process entails collecting online reviews and organizing the feedback received from public review platforms as well as private critical reviews on one centralized dashboard.

Review management on the other hand, handles both incoming and existing reviews on the online review sites. Managing an online reputation landscape across all industry specific hub spots is crucial. The dashboard will show the number of total reviews on all platforms, overall average rating and pinpoint the sites that generate the most reviews. It will also provide a better understanding of where the customer resides online for marketing and advertising purposes.

Modern Reputation management is a M_U_S_T

• Mobility: Modern reputation management solution utilizes digital and mobile phone platforms allowing for natural mobility of both employees and customers.
• Urgency: Sending a review invite to the customer via text message results in a higher clickthrough rate than sending e-blasts to customers. Customers are also typically more willing to respond because of recency and relevancy of their experience.
• Simplicity: The solution provides a seamless experience to review the business on many
  industry related review platforms in addition to Google, BBB and Facebook. The customer is taken directly from the text message to the review site screen. This avoids antagonizing the customer and increases the likelihood of obtaining a review.
• Technological Advantage: One centralized dashboard allows viewing the reviews real-time
  regardless of the platform. This solution allows for an unlimited number of users and provides access to technical support as well as the on-boarding success team.

yorCMO’s proven process includes helping organizations in a wide variety of industries, with many different business models. We implement the right strategies to ensure your marketing is applicable to your growth and your business is soliciting the positive reviews it needs. I am happy to help you discover your next steps. Want to know more? aneta@yorCMO.com

About the Author:

Aneta Zawila-Jordan is a proven brand builder and business accelerator who lives in the mission to grow her clients’ enterprises. She parlays her extensive experience in the fast-paced, consumer-facing verticals to make them WIN by mastering marketing strategy, go-to-market solutions and performance lead generation.

Aneta is based in the Great Washington D.C. metro area.