Comprehensive Guide to Managing Online Assessments

This comprehensive guide to managing online reviews will help you deal with your business's comments and reviews, whether positive or negative, this is an essential aspect of managing the reputation of any business, product or service.

Online reviews and comments have become an essential part of the customer journey, when deciding where to shop, eat or visit often starts with reading online reviews.

For marketing, the consumer's point of view is the basis of any successful strategy. Next, and before analyzing the actions to be taken to maintain or increase the reputation of the company, product or service, we will analyze what motivates consumers to read and write online comments and reviews.

"76% of consumers say they read reviews regularly when searching for local businesses."

The consumer's point of view:

Reading online reviews and ratings before making a purchase can provide a number of benefits to the consumer by helping them make informed decisions.

Top reasons consumers read online reviews:

• Product Information: Reviews often contain detailed information about a product's features, performance, and specifications.

• Real-world consumer experiences: Consumer experiences can provide insights into how a product performs in real-world situations.

• Pros and Cons: This balanced perspective can help the consumer decide whether the product's strengths align with their priorities and whether its weaknesses are acceptable.

• Reliability and durability: Consumers care about and share information about a product’s durability and reliability over time.

• Comparisons: reviews can help consumers compare similar products from different brands, which one best suits their needs and the cost-benefit ratio.

"Google Reviews generally have higher visibility due to their positioning in search results, making them more influential."

• Problem identification: Many consumers try to identify common problems that other users have encountered.

• Updated information: Reading recent reviews can provide information about improvements, issues that have been resolved, or new features added through updates.

• Customer service experience: Consumers often look for information about customer service, especially for complex products like software or long-term relationships like communications.

• Value for money: Value for money is highly sought after by informed consumers, sometimes cheaper alternatives can have similar performance or features to more expensive options.

Reading online reviews and comments provides important information for both consumers and businesses, some to make informed decisions, others to get feedback from the market. Informed consumers are more likely to be satisfied, this satisfaction is free and very positive for companies, but it can also lead to a reputational loss if they fail to meet expectations.

"93% of consumers read reviews before making a purchasing decision."

Some of the reasons that lead consumers to express themselves through comments or online reviews:

People write online reviews for a variety of reasons, and the motivations can vary from person to person. Here are some of the most common reasons why people choose to share their reviews and ratings online:

• Express opinions: Writing a review provides a platform to share personal perspectives, provide feedback that holds companies accountable, help others make informed decisions, or influence opinions.

• Influencers and opinion leaders : People with expertise in a particular field can write reviews to share their knowledge and interests in certain areas. Some users and even companies want to build a reputation as influencers or experienced and trusted reviewers in the online community. There are numerous examples of websites that test products and share their reviews. Here, credibility and independence are key. A positive or negative review can have a decisive impact on companies, especially SMEs.

• Gratitude or discontent: Consumers may feel a strong need to express gratitude for exceptional products or services or, conversely, to express discontent when expectations are not met.

While these reasons capture the motivations of many people, it is important to note that individual motivations can be complex and multifaceted. Some people may be motivated by a combination of factors when deciding to write online reviews.

"40% of consumers form an opinion after reading between one and three reviews."

Things to consider when managing online comments and reviews:

The increase in online traffic:

In the modern world in which we live, more and more consumers are using the internet to shop and research the characteristics and reputation of products, services or companies. There is no way around it, online shopping is growing and the trend is for it to increase significantly. This trend not only has a direct impact on the increase in comments and reviews, but also on their relevance to the majority of consumers and sales channels.

"26% of Portuguese consumers regularly buy online, 36% of Generation Z and 36% of millennials."

Online traffic and the prospects for growth make it essential for companies and their brands to effectively manage customer reviews and ratings. Poor management will impact not only those who buy online but also all target customers, as the consequences of poor reputation management are felt across all channels. Poor management of reviews damages the credibility, image and reputation of the company and its products or services globally. On the contrary, good reputation management reassures not only the customer but the entire commercial network about the reliability of a product, service or company.

Search engines:

Search engines use complex algorithms to determine the relevance and authority of a website. One of the factors these algorithms consider is the presence of customer reviews and comments. Websites that have many positive reviews and high ratings are seen as more trustworthy and relevant, which helps them rank higher in search engines and also increases clicks, as the website appears more often and is better positioned.

The size of the companies:

In terms of company size, there are also significant differences here, to the detriment of smaller companies. For large companies, a few negative reviews will not necessarily significantly change customer perceptions, because they already have a well-established reputation. However, negative reviews can have a more significant impact on small companies, since they typically receive fewer reviews to begin with and the public may not yet know much about them. Another disadvantage for SMEs is the availability of resources, whether financial or human, which often does not allow them to monitor and respond to reviews in a timely manner. However, a positive or negative review from established and independent influencers or evaluators can have a decisive impact on the company's results. Large companies are not completely immune here, but the impact is less significant than for SMEs.

"SMEs with more than four negative reviews can see a decrease in sales of up to 70%."

As a result, companies should make an effort and give due importance to online reviews, especially SMEs. They should review them as frequently as possible to maintain a positive reputation, build trust with their target audience and improve their products and services. After all, for consumers, the review of another consumer is more trustworthy than the communication of the company itself, hence the importance of good management of online reviews and comments.

General guidelines for managing online reviews and comments professionally:

1. Monitor reviews regularly, keep them up to date and respond quickly:

• Recent and relevant reviews are essential for achieving healthy results, strengthening your online presence and directly impacting sales conversions.

• Using tools that put the review generation process on autopilot is the most effective way for businesses to generate more positive reviews.

• For SMEs in particular, automatically requesting customer reviews at the time they are most likely to respond ensures that reviews are always up to date whether on the website or on social media.

• Pay attention to reviews on different platforms (e.g. websites, social media, review sites).

• Set up alerts to be notified of new reviews.

• Respond to positive or negative comments as quickly as possible, as negative comments spread quickly and show your audience that you are aware and care.

• Don't feed the fakes or respond for the sake of responding. Focus especially on the negative comments.

"61% of people say that just getting a response to their complaint is reward enough."

2. Encourage consumers to leave reviews and use them to your advantage:

• Make it clear that you value constructive feedback and use it to make improvements.

• Create channels for customers to provide feedback.

• Use social media's huge influence on purchasing decisions to generate more reviews and give them visibility.

• To get more reviews, it is essential that your business focuses on building genuine relationships with your customers and target audience.

• Avoid staged and inauthentic reviews, the public notices and penalizes. Today, the public is looking for authentic and unpolished content, this is one of the trends for 2024 (To learn more, see our post on "Digital Marketing Trends for 2024").

• Local businesses can encourage user-generated content by hosting contests, asking open-ended questions, and fostering a sense of community around their brands.

• Sharing customer stories and experiences to demonstrate the real impact of your products or services works not only to ensure consumer trust but also as a reputational factor, used extensively in Inbound Marketing.

• By prioritizing authenticity and transparency in social media marketing, your business can encourage more engaging content and cultivate trust and loyalty among your audience, leading to more influential and persuasive reviews.

"43% of consumers view more than 10 reviews for a product they are interested in."

3. Maintain professionalism and know how to respond:

• Be mindful of your tone and focus on finding solutions. The tone and choice of words when responding to criticism, especially negative criticism, are crucial.

• Even when faced with unfair criticism, respond professionally and avoid arguments, as this can damage your company's reputation when customers or target audiences find the response indifferent or rude.

• Be mindful of your tone and focus on finding solutions. Responding politely and providing a solution, whether it’s an offer, a refund, or acknowledgement, can potentially turn an unhappy customer into a satisfied one. And remember, it doesn’t just affect this customer, it affects everyone who reads and hears from them.

4. Ask for outside help to improve online reviews:

• Not all SMEs have the expertise, human resources, tools or resources to manage their online reviews. Using an agency like ours, opting for DIFM (do-it-for-me) services is a great way to ensure that the entire process is managed professionally and has a positive impact on increasing qualified leads and the company’s reputation.

5. Use the information obtained in the comments to benefit the company itself:

• Identify patterns, trends, and areas for improvement from feedback. By addressing customer concerns and working to improve your products or services, your business evolves and improves in the direction of customer desires, which results in increased sales.

• Take advantage of positive reviews by featuring them prominently on your company website, branding, social media, and marketing materials. Highlighting positive experiences helps inspire trust, which also improves your company’s bottom line.

6. Develop a strategy for managing online comments and reviews:

• Eliminate uncertainty in review management, establish a clear strategy to be used by the company's marketing team.

• Create a best practices guide that outlines how to handle different scenarios, what language to use, when to request removals, and what response template to use for specific situations. A well-defined strategy can help maintain consistency and ensure that all team members understand how to manage reviews and comments effectively.

"Restaurants with low ratings or few reviews can struggle to stand out on Google, making positive reviews essential to their visibility and viability."

7. Celebrate success and resolve failures internally:

• Share positive reviews with your team to boost morale and with the public to improve your reputation.

• Use negative reviews as opportunities for learning and improving your product and service team.

Remember, how you handle reviews also contributes to your brand reputation. Positive interactions can strengthen your relationship with your customers, and effectively resolving negative feedback can demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction.

Dealing with positive reviews:

1. Express gratitude:

• Please respond promptly and express your appreciation for the positive feedback.

• Recognize the specific aspects highlighted by the client.

• If you receive a lot of reviews, use your best judgment when choosing which ones to respond to, as it may sometimes be impossible to respond to them all.

2. Encourage greater engagement:

• Invite the customer to explore other products or services you offer.

• Encourage them to share their positive experience with others.

3. Share on social media:

• Sharing positive reviews on your website, social media and marketing materials helps build trust and credibility.

"Businesses that respond to more than 25% of their reviews see, on average, 35% more revenue."

Dealing with negative reviews:

1. Keep calm and objective:

• Avoid emotional reactions. Take time to process the feedback before responding.

• Consider the customer's perspective and try to understand their concerns.

2. Respond promptly:

• Address negative reviews immediately to show that you are proactive in resolving issues.

• Apologize for any inconvenience, be sure to thank them for their feedback, and assure the customer that their concerns will be addressed.

3. Take the conversation offline:

• Provide contact information or ask the customer to contact you privately to discuss the matter in more detail. This avoids a public escalation of the situation.

4. Solve the problem:

• If possible, please provide a solution to the issue mentioned in the comment or review.

• Demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction by offering refunds, replacements, or additional support.

5. Learn from feedback:

• Use negative reviews as an opportunity to improve your product or service.

• Consider feedback patterns to identify areas that may need attention.

"The most popular review platforms, in order, are Google, Yelp, Facebook, and Trip Advisor."

In conclusion, managing online reviews and ratings is part of effective and professional management, and is a valuable tool in developing skills and strategies to drive your business’ success. By taking a proactive approach to these reviews, you not only inspire trust in the public and concern for your customers’ opinions, but you also help to hone your leadership, communication and decision-making skills.

Transparency and being quick to listen to your customers’ opinions are key elements to effective and professional online review management. Responding quickly and constructively to both positive and negative comments demonstrates a genuine commitment to customer satisfaction and shows that your company values the customer experience.

Systematic review analysis also provides valuable insights for improving your products, services, and even internal processes. By learning from customer experiences, your company can adapt its strategies, correct perceived flaws, and thus constantly improve the quality of its products and services. In addition, effective online review management involves establishing clear guidelines for the team responsible for responding. Proper training and adopting a methodology for a consistent approach are key to maintaining cohesive and positive communication with your customers.

By investing in proactive management, your company has the opportunity to not only mitigate potential damage, but also build a solid and positive online reputation. This ongoing effort not only strengthens relationships with existing customers, but also attracts new customers who value transparency, authenticity and a commitment to excellence. By applying a methodology to an internal training manual, you can transform not only your company’s employees, but also the entire business dynamic, resulting in a more efficient, adaptable and successful environment.