Tag: online reputation

At any given moment, conversations may be happening about your brand online (both positive and negative). Some of those conversations could be happening on dedicated review platforms, but others might appear on social media — maybe even right on your own page. At times, you might feel like your reputation management is out of your hands.

It’s understandable why you’d feel that way, given that social media is more than just a place to post funny memes or videos. Nowadays, it also serves as a customer service channel, a place to give and receive product recommendations, and a means to express both joy and frustration about a brand. And ultimately, these types of third-party reviews fuel buying decisions. A few noteworthy stats:

• 91% of consumers are more likely to do business with companies that have positive reviews
• The average consumer reads 10 reviews before placing trust in a local business
• 32% of people will visit a company’s website, and 16% will visit the business itself, after reading positive reviews

While it can feel like your reputation is out of your control, nothing could be further from the truth. Pay attention to the subtle ways social media impacts your online reputation, and with focused effort (plus our technology to help you manage the process), you’ll be able to amplify your brand’s positive online presence.

In addition, Rallio’s technologies can help you better manage and monitor your brand’s reputation. 

At Rallio, we’ve built our social media SaaS platform and our Revv review accelerator with an eye toward brand reputation management. We’ve customized solutions for many different clients to help them build a positive online reputation and mitigate the impact of any negative customer feedback.

Be sure to read the following “mini case studies,” where we’ve rounded up key insights gathered as a result of clients using either our Rallio dashboard or our Revv technology to manage their brand reputation.

Mini Case Studies: 3 Powerful Ways Our Technology Boosts Brand Reputation

#1: Employee-Generated Content

It only takes one employee posting a controversial meme, hashtag, photo or video to bring down a brand. If the content is in poor taste and they mention your company’s handle or business name, it’s going to reflect badly on your brand online.

One way to avoid this problem is to create a social media policy and distribute it to employees. Make it clear what they can and cannot post in relation to your company.

Also, using Our Activate platform will allow you to distribute brand-approved content to your employees, as well as reward them for posting on your behalf. With the right controls and guidance in place, plus employees who are on board with your protocols, reputation management becomes much easier.

#2: Customer Feedback

As a business owner, you must take into account how your customers are discussing your brand online. As the business owner, it’s important that you address complaints appropriately and promptly. 

The Rallio Dashboard pulls your online reviews into one central location so you can view and respond to them, either within the Rallio platform or on the review platform itself. However, online reviews aren’t the only thing to monitor. Our dashboard also pulls in social comments and messages so you can quickly reply to customers’ comments, questions or complaints.

Better still, get proactive by collecting more positive reviews. With our Revv app, a simple one-question post-sale survey is sent to recent customers immediately after a sale. When customers respond positively, they are prompted to leave a review and linked directly to that store’s review platform of choice. With negative feedback, they can be prompted to leave a comment and request further assistance so you can contact them directly.

Read our article Responding to Online Reviews in 3 Easy Steps to learn more about navigating online reviews.

#3: Post Authenticity

If your social media content tends to be overly promotional or mostly stock photos, your audience will view you as inauthentic. Without realizing it, you could be building a reputation as a brand that only cares about sales, or that doesn’t have anything original to say.

Instead, create a sense of trust by posting authentic content — real photos and videos that show the human side of your brand. You’re more likely to build a social media following and capture your audience’s attention by posting and sharing content that shows your team members, customers and community. You’ll also be able to create a dialogue with your followers as they engage with your content.

Social Media and Reputation Management Go Hand in Hand

You can’t practice reputation management properly without considering how social media impacts your brand image. Take control by integrating our technologies into your processes, and leave some of the heavy lifting of reputation management to us. Contact us at sales@rallio.com to learn more.

Businesses today can’t have a conversation about brand reputation without considering their online presence. Reputation management continues to be a critical component of online marketing today; in 2020 alone, an estimated 87% of consumers read reviews online for local businesses, up 6% from the previous year. 

That’s why it’s so important to get a handle on your online reviews. Whether or not you’re paying attention to them, online reviews are happening — as people increasingly take to online review platforms and social media channels to handle customer service issues. 

At Rallio, we’ve built our social media SaaS platform and our Revv review accelerator with an eye toward brand reputation management. We’ve customized solutions for many different clients to help them build a positive online reputation and mitigate the impact of any negative customer feedback.

In the following “mini case studies,” we’ve rounded up key insights gathered as a result of clients using either our Rallio dashboard or our Revv technology to manage their brand reputation.

Related: Responding to Online Reviews in 3 Easy Steps

Increased Online Reviews

With Revv, a simple one-question post-sale survey is sent to recent customers immediately after a sale. Our clients are able to gather instant feedback and turn it into actionable insights. 

When customers respond positively, they are prompted to leave a review and linked directly to that store’s review platform of choice. With negative feedback, they can be prompted to leave a comment and request further assistance.

With REVV, our clients see their positive reviews increase on review platforms and their overall brand reputation enhanced. Meanwhile, they are able to respond promptly to negative feedback and avoid having a negative review posted online. Clients can also tie Revv into their POS system and customize reviews according to the sale of specific products or services.

Results:

• One home health-care provider integrated a review link on their website tied into the Revv system. As a result, the brand experienced over a 600% increase in their online reviews over time. Their average star rating, an indicator of their brand reputation, also increased from 4.1 to 4.8.  
• One wireless service provider launched Revv and saw an immediate increase not only in the number of reviews, but also the overall brand reputation ratings. In comparing the average number of positive Google reviews per month before and after launching, Revv produced a 550% increase in their reviews. After six months of using Revv, all of their locations were rated over a 4.0.
• A 60-unit Verizon brand was averaging two reviews per month, per location, with a total review count per store of 23 and an average rating of 4.1. Following the Revv integration, their reviews skyrocketed, with the rate of reviews per month jumping to an astounding 1,850 and an average rating of 4.8. Meanwhile, their percent of negative reviews dropped from 14% to 4%.
• A pet supply retailer customized surveys to ask specific questions about customers’ overall experience, interactions with team members, and availability of products. With one survey, of the 774 surveys sent, an incredible 758 were completed.

Related: Case Study: How REVV Accelerates Positive Online Reviews

Online Review Management

One client, a commercial and residential restoration and cleaning service franchisor, has experienced great success in using the Rallio Dashboard to manage their online reviews. The Rallio Dashboard pulls in location-specific reviews from major review platforms. Franchisees can view each review and either respond directly from within the Rallio platform, or respond within the review platform itself.

Results:

• The brand saw 1,810 new net reviews on Facebook, Google and Yelp
• Online reviews increased 32% from the previous year
• The brand-wide review response rate reached 42%, up 25% from 2019

Follower & Engagement Growth Tracking

In addition to review response management, the Rallio dashboard enables both franchisors and franchisees to publish posts, as well as view and respond to direct messages and social engagements. With one centralized platform and a single login for all of their social media accounts, they are able to stay consistent with their social media marketing efforts.

Results:

• In 2020, the same commercial and residential restoration and cleaning provider saw their brand-wide social media following exceed 21K, up 46% from 2019
• Their brand-wide social media daily engagement reached 249 engagements per day, up 42% from 2019

What’s the Right Brand Reputation Management Solution for You?

You don’t have to choose between the Rallio Dashboard and Revv to manage your online reputation. Integrate both solutions to gain a 360-degree view of your online reviews, social media engagements, direct messages, and customer sentiment over time. To learn more about each solution, book a call with one of our reputation management pros here.

When you’ve worked hard to build a business, negative online reviews can be a real disappointment. You might do everything right, and some customer, somewhere, will manage to find something wrong. Unfortunately, this is simply a fact of doing business in the 21st century.

At the same time, negative online reviews are a chance to diffuse customer complaints and demonstrate empathy, patience and understanding. You can smooth over the situation while showing the general public that you can handle criticism.

When negative online reviews come your way — and they probably will at some point — there are a few things you can do to make things right. Start by taking a deep breath, and then walk yourself through these tips.

Don’t React

By all means, take a few moments to vent to coworkers or friends when faced with negative online reviews. If their comments are unfounded, you rightfully will feel like the review is unjust.

Once you’ve got the venting out of your system, you’ll be in a better place to sit down and type out a response. Don’t type out the first thought that comes into your head; take some time to craft a response that will address your customer’s concerns.

The last thing you want to do is post something confrontational in response to negative online reviews. It will only make your customer more upset, and it won’t look very good for you, either. 

Be Professional

On that note, the high road is the path of choice when it comes to negative online reviews. If there are blatant errors in the review — for instance, they claim you’re only open until 6 p.m. on Saturdays but you know you’re open until 9 — you can correct the errors politely. 

If any part of their review rings true, acknowledge what the customer is saying. Maybe they didn’t get their side of macaroni and cheese with their to-go order. Perhaps there was a long line at checkout. 

Whatever the case may be, try to put yourself in the customer’s shoes. How big of a bummer is it to get home after picking up your food and realize you’re missing the most important part of your meal? Or to have to wait in a huge line with only one cashier working?

There can be valid reasons that things go wrong from time to time. Maybe whomever packed the order simply forgot the mac ‘n’ cheese, or you were short-handed and didn’t have anyone else to ring up orders.

You can explain what happened while still being apologetic and professional. Use names, and offer to remedy the situation. It could be a simple: “We deeply apologize that your order was missing an item, Joe. We’d like to offer you a free entree for next time you come in.” Or maybe: “We’re so sorry you had to wait in a long line, Mary. Unfortunately, we were short-handed that day, and our customers had to wait longer than we all would have liked. We’d love to offer $5 off your next order.” 

Learn more: A Step-by-Step Guide to Responding to a Bad Yelp Review

Respond Quickly

While you should always collect yourself and regain your composure before responding to negative online reviews, don’t wait too long. If you can get back to them within an hour, that’s ideal. If that’s not possible, then 24 hours should be the max.

Remember, you don’t have to have all the details in order to respond. Sometimes, you may need more information before you’re able to remedy negative online reviews. For example, a review might be vague and unclear as to what happened or the people involved.

If that’s the case, you can simply apologize that the customer had a poor experience and offer to take the conversation offline: “We regret you had a less than stellar experience with us, Jane. We would love to talk with you personally and make things right. Please contact us at [your phone or email].”

This way, you’re putting the ball in the customer’s court without ignoring them. What they choose to do at that point is up to them, but you’ll know you’ve done your part to remedy matters.

Read more: Franchise Social Media Best Practices You Need to Know

Customize Your Responses

Negative online reviews are bad enough. Don’t make matters worse by posting a canned response that makes it seem like a bot delivered it.

This is why you need a real human looking at both positive and negative online reviews. Whether a review is good or bad, it’s important that it receives a genuine reply.

You’re either taking the time to address any concerns, or you’re thanking customers for posting their positive testimonials. Every review deserves a response.

Your customers will feel validated and significant — and they’ll be more likely to send you referral business.

Be Systematic

Make a habit of checking your online reviews regularly. If you don’t check, you might not even be aware of negative online reviews (or positive reviews, for that matter).

If you are time-crunched, you might have to just set specific times in the day for checking reviews. Maybe first thing in the morning and last thing before the end of the day works. 

Using technology to manage positive and negative online reviews helps, too. The Rallio Dashboard pulls in reviews from the major review platforms so you can see everything in one place.

You can also outsource your review responses to our Rallio Local team. We work with individual business owners every day who need our help managing their online reputation and creating appropriate responses to negative online reviews.

Lastly, you can take advantage of our Revv reputation management app. It’ll prompt your customers for feedback immediately after the sale and help you generate more positive reviews.

Don’t Let Negative Online Reviews Bring You Down

Receiving negative online reviews isn’t fun, but don’t let it ruin your day. If you handle these reviews courteously and quickly, then the positive reviews should outweigh the negatives. 

If the majority of your customers are happy, then you’ll know you’re doing things right. Get in touch with us if you could use a hand addressing negative online reviews.

Read more: Should You Outsource Your Small-Business Social Media? 4 Compelling Reasons It Makes Sense