Don’t Give a Dang About a Bad Reputation: I’ve Got No Online Reputation
June 1st, 2015 by
Reviews are essential to a successful business. Bad reviews can make or break a long-established business or a fledgling one. Companies have even sprung up to help combat bad online reputations. But what of the companies that have little or no online reputation at all? This scenario can be just as detrimental to a business. In fact, there are many websites that can help businesses drive customers to write online reviews:
Reputation.com
- PRO: Along with many other reputation management services, Reputation.com offers in-depth review-garnering solutions. Services range from very hands-off on the part of the business or very hands-on. The very hands-off approach offers the ability to send out emails that can be customized with customer names, employee names, and business logos. It also offers an in-store review option that customers can fill out immediately after a purchase or visit. The online management part of this site gives in-depth analytics of the reviews garnered through its services as well as pre-existing reviews.
- CON: Review management is just part of Reputation.com’s many services. If you already have search engine optimization services for your business, you might be getting more than what you really need to pay for.
Chatmeter
- PRO: Chatmeter monitors any reviews a business may receive online on various websites, and it gives daily updates so business owners can quickly respond to both positive and negative reviews. With constant interaction, customers can see that the business is active and working positively to improve its customer service. This site also gives in-depth analysis of the reviews received so a business owner can see if the reviews are trending positive or negative. Chatmeter also offers the ability to monitor competitors’ reviews and gives insight on what competitors are doing right.
- CON: Chatmeter does not offer the ability to reach out to customers directly from the tool. The business must work on garnering reviews through strictly organic means, which can be a slow-moving process.
Get 5 Stars
- PRO: Get 5 Stars is strictly a review management tool. The tool can be used to monitor existing reviews as well as send out requests for new reviews from customers. This creates a survey for customers to fill out with differing results depending on the type of review. Bad reviews can be managed before they hit any other websites. Good reviewers can be asked to review on any number of sites or to have their review published directly to the company’s website. This tool also offers in-depth analytics to see open rates, success rates, and any problem areas that might be initially overlooked.
- CON: This tool requires a way to collect customer emails, which can be difficult if the business does not have a storefront that customers frequent.
These are just a few of the many ways a business can monitor a fledgling online reputation. Online review management coincides closely with local SEO, since a business needs a presence online before it can build a reputation.
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