Repairing your online business reputation is paramount to long-term success.
A better reputation doesn’t just mean more revenue for the company; it can also improve customer retention rates, boost customer acquisition efforts, and beat local competitors.
A central focus of improving your online business reputation should be your online reviews. You or your team should be analyzing, engaging, and monitoring unsolicited feedback. Doing so creates the insight-based decisions brands need to make changes that attract and retain customers. Specifically, the areas of customer feedback that you should focus on are:
- Analyze your customer reviews
- Respond to reviews
- Monitor the competition’s feedback
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Online Business Reputation Improvement Practice #1: Analyze Your Customer Reviews
A great place to start improving your online business reputation is your own catalog of customer reviews.
If you’re noticing a recent trend in negative feedback, read each one carefully and find out why the customer had a bad experience with you. Was it a staff member? Was it the quality of the product or food? Was their purchase defective? All of these details might be apparent in the review.
Of course, looking at each review on an individual level and noting specific details can take up plenty of valuable time.
However, you can employ customer experience analytics software, specifically ones that use natural language processing, to easily “read” through hundreds of reviews and discover positive or negative trends from feedback. Seeing these trends allows teams to propose changes that can easily lead to happier customers that are willing to come back.
Online Business Reputation Improvement Practice #2: Respond to Reviews
It isn’t enough to just go around asking for reviews from all of your customers. You also need to respond to their feedback, whether it’s full of praise or criticism.
Responding in the right way easily elevates you from the competition. It shows that you want to engage with people after they leave one of your locations, and you are willing to make things right for those who didn’t enjoy their time with your brand.
For those who leave rave reviews, a simple “Thank You” will suffice. If appropriate, add some details specific to the customer’s experience that show your close attention to each customer’s needs. Using various forms of positive review response examples can go a long way to converting first-time customers into loyal fans.
It’s also vital to know how to respond to negative reviews. Apologizing – if appropriate – and then taking the conversation offline or providing the next steps on improving the experience in the future are all valid steps to remedying the issues described in the review.
In time, you can easily turn a negative review into a positive review, especially if there’s an opening for a second chance. These interactions are one of the most powerful ways for any brand to gain a significant boost in its online reputation.
As a matter of fact, if you respond to a one or two star review in less than one business day, you have a 33% chance of that customer coming back and upgrading their review by as much as three stars.
Online Business Reputation Improvement Practice #3: Monitor The Competition’s Feedback
After looking at your own feedback, it’s also worth looking at your rivals. Getting a competitor analysis report can yield valuable insights such as overall performance benchmarks, review performance, and trending keywords.
In other words, getting an idea of what consumers like about your competitors can inspire your own team to make changes that bring people into your locations.
When combined with a local search rank checker tool, having these competitive analysis tools helps you keep tabs on rivals while also finding new ways to attract and retain consumers, as well as improve your online reputation.
Taking Your Online Business Reputation to the Next Level
Improving your online business reputation takes time but it’s worth the investment. But, do you want to take it a step further? Download this comprehensive guide to discover the impact of online and social reputation on your brand, the consequences of a negative online presence, and how to leverage social and customer data to craft successful customer journeys. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to level up your online business reputation. Download the guide now!
