Managing online reviews can be hard without help. The costs of managing hundreds or even thousands of different review channels can be enormous, and the sheer time commitment often leaves businesses exhausted. Thankfully, there are now many tools designed to make managing online reviews much easier to do in-house such as brainer. Review management software has exploded onto the scene in recent years as a viable way for small businesses to manage their reputation.
These types of software applications allow companies to interact with existing review websites where customer feedback is listed, while also giving businesses the ability to collect new reviews directly from their website or other sources. Managed properly, this will increase brand awareness and trustworthiness at no extra cost––and it’s an excellent way for SMBs (small-to-medium businesses) to stand out in their market.
What Is The Purpose Of Review Management Software?
There are two main goals that most in-house review management software aims to accomplish. First, the primary purpose of in-house review management software is that it allows companies to manage all of their reviews––both good and bad––in one place.
Second, these tools give businesses more power over what they can do with their reviews once they’ve been collected. They enable brands to view where all of their online reviews are coming from, which helps them discover which marketing channels are producing results for them the best way possible––or when something isn’t working correctly anymore.
What Is The Best Type of Review Management Software?
The best type of online review management software is a SaaS (software as a service) solution that doesn’t require its users to download any additional extensions or upload new code onto their website. This allows companies to have full control over their data and how it is accessed, creating less room for error––and the last thing you want is for your client’s information to be leaked due to some sort of malfunction during installation.
You also want to make sure you select a program that can be easily integrated with your existing media sources such as Facebook, Google+, and other review websites. This allows companies to place a link directly on their website that customers can use to submit a new review with only a couple of clicks, potentially increasing the volume of feedback they receive.
What Are The Benefits of Using Review Management Software?
The benefits of using review management software are numerous––and most aren’t exclusive to just SMBs, either. In-house solutions have allowed businesses of all sizes to more effectively manage their online reputation across multiple channels, and they’ve proven time and again that it’s an investment that will pay for itself in no time.
For example, many businesses report increase conversions by as much as 50%. Reviews also affect search engine ranking (SEO), which is why tools like ours offer ways to upload reviews directly to Google. This gives companies the chance to receive more traffic from high-ranking search engines, which can generate significantly more revenue in comparison to sources such as social media, where only a small percentage of their clients will see their posts (which is why it’s important to use tools that allow for reviews on multiple websites).
In addition to all of these benefits, review management software also allows businesses to connect with new customers easier than ever before. With so many different types of marketing channels competing for customers’ attention––not just online but in person, too––the only way businesses can stay afloat is by finding ways to break through the noise and have people remember them.
Using effective review management programs can help businesses do this by encouraging their customers to leave a review the moment they feel inspired, which will help companies create a positive memory for new visitors and give them a reason to come back.
Customers also tend to be more vocal about their problems with companies that don’t have any presence on review websites, creating a negative cycle that can hurt your business if word spreads fast enough––which is why managing your brand’s online reputation is so important.
Since online reviews serve as an unbiased third party in most cases, they provide businesses with opportunities to build trust with their clients without having to do much legwork. If someone is willing to go out of his or her way just to leave company feedback through a website he or never heard of before, there’s a good chance they’re going to be the company’s next paying customer.
What Are The Drawbacks of Not Using Review Management Software?
The main drawback companies run into when trying to manage their online reputation without using a review management program is that they have no way of collecting feedback from everywhere at once. This leaves them blind and allows less-than-honest competitors to take advantage––which can cost businesses big time in the long run.
There’s also nothing stopping customers from leaving negative reviews about a company on one website and not showing up on others, even if it means changing the email address and/or username associated with that account. For example, if someone wants to leave a scathing review about your business’ services because they didn’t get what they wanted, there’s a good chance he or she is going to do that on whichever website gets the most traffic.
Review management software allows businesses to break through this problem and collect reviews from across the web in one central location.
What Is The Future Of Review Management Software?
The future of review management software is difficult to predict, but it seems as though companies are putting more money into this industry––and rightfully so. With the number of small businesses struggling each year growing exponentially larger each day, there’s never been a better time for SMBs to find new ways to cut through the noise.
In addition, many consumers have already started leaving feedback on websites immediately after purchasing a product instead of waiting weeks or months. This trend makes it even more important for businesses to find ways to collect reviews through centralized channels since consumers are less likely to leave reviews the longer they wait after making a purchase.
The future of review management software is also bright because some companies that provide this service (such as BazaarVoice) are already giving clients the option of managing their reviews on third-party sites like Facebook and Twitter, which signals that these businesses are beginning to value online reviews over social media likes and shares.