Did you know that 95 percent of consumers choose to read online customer reviews prior to making a purchase? Getting feedback from customers is a great tool because it allows you to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your products and make the changes to please these customers. Still, there are some serious common review management errors that your business needs to avoid.
One of the worst ways to gain a negative reputation online is to ignore negative reviews from your customers rather than address them. It could result in lost sales since other members of your target market view your business in a bad light.
The good news is that you’re in the perfect place to learn more about the worst review management errors and the steps to take in order to avoid them. Keep reading to learn more today!
1. Sending Review Invites Out in Batches
One of the worst things that your business can do when it comes to getting social media review posts and customer reviews on your website is to send out review invites in swarms. It might be easier and more efficient on your end to send out these invites to paying customers at the end of the week, but odds are that your customers won’t take action.
The most successful way of getting your paying customers to review your products is to invite them to leave a review while they’re still on your site. These people are far more likely to leave a review when they’re already in the right spot to do so. Invites require more steps and work for your customers, resulting in fewer reviews.
2. Sending Review Invites Through Email
You also need to avoid sending out invites to review your products through email. The prevalence of the smartphone is making email a bit obsolete when it comes to getting reviews and social media posts about your products. It’s much easier to send these invites through a text message rather than an email.
Your customers are far more likely to see the text message invitation and take action to leave a review compared to reading an email. It’s also quite easy to send a text message to your customers letting them know that want them to review your goods. The odds of your customers failing to open a text message from you are close to zero.
It’s also important to ask or invite your customers to leave reviews of your company on Google. It should be no secret that getting Google business reviews will do wonders for acquiring new customers for your business. Your reviews on Google are one of the first things that potential customers look at when deciding if they want to do business with you.
3. Failing to Address Negative Reviews
Negative reviews aren’t a good time, but they’re also not a personal attack on you or your business. You shouldn’t ignore negative reviews from your paying customers as it creates the impression that you don’t care about your customers or provide good customer service.
Don’t get caught up in the thought process that responding to negative reviews on Google will do your business more damage than it will help. There’s the potential that it will escalate the situation but it all comes down to how you handle it and the way in which you respond.
Avoid letting your emotions come into play when you’re making a response. Letting your emotions take over could lead to worsening the situation for all of your past, present, and future customers to see. It’s a poor reflection of the business that you’ve built and you as a business owner.
The best approach to take is a quick apology and some type of corrective action to make the situation better for all involved. If you handle the situation well you could win a life-long customer.
4. Prioritizing Wrong Review Websites
Another common review management error for businesses is placing an emphasis on the wrong review websites. The best way to determine which websites to prioritize is to look at the places where your customers go to read reviews about your products or services.
The three best places to focus your efforts when it comes to review websites are Google, Yelp, and Facebook. You should also look at review sites that are specific to your industry for the best results with your review management strategy. It will make managing online reviews a much easier task for your business.
5. Spending Money on Reviews
It’s also a big mistake to spend money from your business’s budget on getting more reviews for your business or your products. You’re running a big risk, as purchasing reviews goes against the terms of service for both Yelp and Google. If you get caught it could result in some serious ramifications for your business.
Getting authentic reviews is much better for your business because you earned those reviews. They also come off as more genuine to potential customers.
6. Failing to Use Positive Reviews for Marketing
Getting a ton of positive reviews for your business is a great feather in your cap, but the positives shouldn’t end there. Make sure that you’re using these positive reviews across all aspects of your marketing plan for the best results. It will make it much easier to attract new customers since they’re seeing the positive things that others have to say about your business.
You can use people that left positive reviews for testimonials on your website and beyond. It’s an untapped resource that you shouldn’t miss out on.
Avoid These Common Review Management Errors Today
Making all of the common review management errors for your business will result in a large hole that you’ll have a difficult time climbing out of. You need to make sure that you’re prioritizing the big review sites as part of your review management strategy. You should also address all negative reviews in a kind and helpful manner for the best results.
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