Managing your online reputation as a small business is a must in today’s competitive market. Companies who are able to dominate the online space will always have an upper hand on their competitors because they are able to advertise directly to where consumers spend their time and money, online! One of the most important aspects of managing your online presence is making sure that your online reviews are well managed. Brainer.io makes it easy for you to manage online reviews for small businesses. But where do you even start?
Ask for feedback, referrals, and reviews
If your business has a Facebook page, a Yelp, or a Google MyBusiness page, you already have the early stages of an online presence. This is where your patrons and potential customers will turn to when it comes time to decide on whether or not they should spend their money with you. One of the best ways that you can harness this in your favor is to ask customers for feedback after they make a purchase. A simple, “Hey, if you have a minute, we would really appreciate it if you left us a review!” or a “tell us how we’re doing!” should be enough to rack up a lot of reviews.
This feedback is valuable for a few reasons. First, other people will see these stellar reviews when they look up your business in any search engine. Additionally, you can use this feedback to improve the experience for your customers. What do people love that you do and what could you do to improve? It’s important.
Track your reviews with brainer
Once the reviews start rolling in, you will need to manage all of those online reviews by keeping track of them. Sound easy enough? With Brainer.io you can view all of your online reviews on one easy to use dashboard. It’s the easiest way to read all of your reviews as well as respond to them as well. Which brings us to our next point:
Respond to every review
If you want to take control of your online reviews, you need to be on top of them! When a positive review comes in, be prepared to give a thankful response to show that you appreciate the OP’s (original poster) business.
Additionally, be ready to respond to negative feedback as well. You may notice this on social media just as much as you would with online local directories. Picture this, a user hops on Twitter, Yelp, or Facebook and leaves you a note for all of their followers (and anyone else who looks you up) to read: “@{your business}: the service that I received at your business was the worst that I have ever experienced. I couldn’t even ask for help because there wasn’t an employee in sight!”
You need to respond to that review for damage control purposes, but where do you even begin?
Keep a professional tone
Whenever you respond to an online review, especially a negative review, make sure that you always use a professional tone — even if you disagree with the comment. We’ve also broken down how to respond to negative reviews for a more in-depth look on how to handle them when they come in.