Managing customer feedback, especially negative reviews, is obviously a big part of any brand’s digital strategy. Regardless of industry, every brand will get positive and negative reviews online.
But it’s how a brand responds to this feedback that makes it different. Positive reviews can help your image and help reinforce your customers’ trust, but bad reviews (if not managed properly) can damage your brand. Reputation House’s SERM approach helps build the best first impression.
Why Customer Reviews Matter
According to Reputation House, customer reviews—both positive and negative—are a key point for any potential customer to base their buying decision on. Reviews are often the first instance of contact between a business and a consumer.
If someone searches for your company or product online, the search engine results probably show customer reviews from all over, including Google, Yelp, or TripAdvisor. So these reviews form impressions before a potential customer even reaches your website or storefront.
Reputation House’s review management will boost your credibility, drive traffic, and boost sales. Negative reviews that are left unresolved can do tremendous damage. That’s where Reputation House SERM services step in to mitigate the effect of the bad reviews and to push the positive content up to the top of search engine results.
Strategies for Managing Negative Reviews
- Monitor Mentions and Feedback Regularly: The great thing about monitoring tools is that you catch bad reviews before they get out of control, which is why Reputation House keeps track of any online activity.
- Get Back to Them: You should have something to say, even to bad reviews. These are where people will judge your brand’s ability to keep a level head in the face of criticism.
- Address Negative Reviews Head-On: Instead of avoiding “the bad,” address it directly. Whether it’s a mistake or a misunderstanding, openly addressing the issue shows accountability, which can resonate with people reading the reviews.
- Amplify Positive Feedback: Make the good heard by all! The more positive content that appears on search engines and review platforms, the more likely it is that potential customers will be influenced by the positive over the negative.
Case Studies: Reputation Management Success
1: Increasing Brand Mentions and Positive Content
An FMCG company in the U.S. sought to expand its brand presence and drive engagement through positive online queries. The Reputation House team implemented a year-long strategy of monitoring, content creation, and PR.
As a result, the number of positive mentions in search results grew by 28%, and the overall number of company mentions skyrocketed by 161.9%. Through the use of crowd marketing, they saw their reach blast up to a million. The result was a significant increase in visibility, driving sales and brand trust among consumers.
2: Building Expert Authority and Recognition
In another case, a U.S.-based client aimed to establish their authority in the digital marketing space. Over a six-month period, Reputation House focused on optimizing expert content and developing a personalized PR strategy to increase visibility.
They saw their mentions go up 98 times, and the client’s articles were featured in prestigious platforms like Entrepreneur magazine. Social media reach grew significantly, cementing the client’s position as an industry leader.
3: Improving Review Ratings for a Real Estate Group
A European real estate company faced challenges with poor feedback. Reputation House’s customer review management team developed a SERM strategy, increasing the group’s review ratings.
By focusing on monitoring, review management, and targeted response strategies, the number of positive mentions quadrupled, and Google search results began featuring significantly more relevant positive content. This bolstered client trust, allowing them to successfully navigate several crises.
Life Hacks for Collecting and Managing Reviews
- Encourage Customer Reviews: Give them an easy way out with links to review platforms in your messaging and on your site. One way to get customers to share their experience is by offering such incentives as discounts or bonuses.
- Stay Engaged: Some key phrases could be used to respond to reviews (negative or positive) to show that your brand cares about feedback as well as engaging with your community.
- Leverage Social Proof: Let Reputation House’s review management highlight your social media channels and website and let the customer trust you: they’ll recommend your products to others and you’ll get new customers.
Proactive Reputation Management Is Key
It’s a continuous process to maintain a high rating and a good reputation. Your brand’s image and how it is perceived by potential clients are determined in large part by Reputation House’s customer review management. If used properly, reviews can be leveraged by businesses to boost trust, gain better customer engagement, and increase visibility.
If you’re facing issues with negative reviews or customer feedback and your business, help is available. Reputation House’s SERM and ORM approaches make sure that your brand is presented in the best way on the web. They can help protect and improve your online reputation.