A good reputation, whether online or offline, is essential for the success of a business. It is a critical element of trustworthiness that the business relationships should have to be sustainable. In the modern age, the online reputation of a business may be even more important than its offline presence and business reputation. Gadgets and devices (including smartphones) that can assess the internet are ubiquitous. Millions of people use their smartphones, tablets, laptops, and computers every day to search for information, products/services, brands, and businesses.
In such a scenario, the management of online reputation is important for any business, whether small, medium, or large. Fortunately, there are numerous ways and methods through which businesses can improve their online reputation, apart from offering quality products and services. A good online reputation can result in better revenues. More than 80% of people trust online reviews as much as they trust the recommendations of their friends, family members, and other acquaintances. Below are the steps that you can take to improve your online reputation by using customer reviews. The efforts will help you be more popular and trustworthy for your customers.
Obtain Reviews And Feedbacks From Your Customers
Obtaining first-hand, original, and honest reviews from the customers can be one of the most important and effective customer management strategies that you may adopt and implement. Customers are quite enthusiastic about posting reviews. A survey recently found that 70% of all people like to post their reviews when they are invited to it.
Ask for the reviews and feedback of the customers immediately, once they receive the product/service. If your business also has a physical or a brick-and-mortar presence, it should be inviting offline REVIEWS as well. You can put up the posters and signs (providing details regarding the invitation) for the purpose.
Make The Review Process Easy And Hassle-Free
Customers should be able to post their reviews and feedback easily and without any hassles. There are many ways for doing it. The apps of e-commerce stores can throw the notifications that users can use for posting their reviews and feedback on their handheld devices including smartphones. Facebook, Yelp, and Google are also certain channels where customers can be invited to share their reviews and feedback. The contact information of a customer and his/her email can be the place where you can send the review/feedback survey link and obtain it. Certain companies are also using text messages and notifications for obtaining reviews. The latter is particularly useful in improving the response time of the customers.
Provide Your Response To The Reviews
The customers should know that your business values their opinions, reviews, and feedback. The best way of doing it is to respond to the reviews of the customer fast and in a professional way. You can also go through the negative reviews where you can easily find opportunities for improvement. See to it that the responses are as honest as the reviews and the feedback. Your business should provide solutions to dissatisfied and irate customers. Over a period, your efforts will make your business popular and more trustworthy in the eyes of the customers.
Improve The Customer Journey And Experience
In today’s highly competitive world, businesses should make use of every opportunity to provide a delightful and memorable experience to their customers. Any opportunity lost is a net gain for the competitors. See to it that you are providing good quality products and services, pricing your offerings appropriately, and are also providing good after-sales support to your customers. Your customer care associates and teams should also be courteous. The customer service should be willing to cover that extra mile for fulfilling customer aspirations and expectations, and to make them feel special. The reviews can be one of the good opportunities that can reveal to you the voice of the customer and shape your activities and responsibilities.
Conclusion
Customers today expect a lot from businesses and want much more out of every penny they spend. Buyer is the king in modern business times. There are also many more communication and interaction platforms through which customers can voice their opinions, reviews, and feedback. However, if you are standing firm on your ground and offer all those customers seek and beyond, customers will provide you good reviews and take your business to the next level.
