The Power of Reputation Management
The process of encouraging satisfied customers to share their opinions online is what is known as reputation management. As a leader in digital marketing in Fort Collins, the Denver-metro area, and all of Colorado, we provide this service to many of our clients. And, it can have a tremendous impact on their marketing success.
Consider this: Which of the following businesses would you choose to give your hard-earned dollars to? Company A averages 4.8 stars out of 5 across 385 online reviews. Company B scores 2.5 with 11 reviews? If you said Company B, we applaud your sense of adventure. Most consumers, however, would go with Company A. If other people have had a great experience with that organization, odds are you will, too. Therein lies the power of reputation management.
Why Reputation Management Matters
According to a consumer review study by BrightLocal, here’s how consumers conduct their research as they look to make a purchase:
- 95% search for businesses online
- 91% read online reviews about businesses
- Most look at 2+ review sites before making a decision
- 84% trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation
- 73% consider reviews older than 3 months irrelevant
In other words, what people are saying about you (or aren’t saying about you) online can make a significant difference in a purchase decision. Positive reviews can drive increased sales. Poor reviews can drive customers away and potentially to your competitors.
Making it Easy to Get Great Reviews
Most people who are pleased with a product or service are happy to share a positive review. What holds them back? It tends to be one or more of three issues:
- Time. If providing a review takes more than a minute or two, it’s likely that a customer will bail out of the process.
- Forgetting to leave a review. “I’ll get right on that,” is what we tell ourselves when contacted and asked to provide a review. Unfortunately, life has a way of dragging us off to other tasks, never to return.
- Difficulty. If the procedure for sharing their thoughts is confusing, people will not take the time to figure it out.
As reputation management experts, we have tactics for overcoming all those objections. For example, we help clients enable fast reviews submitted from the customer’s smartphone. And, we coordinate friendly reminders that keep our clients on the radar of their busy customers. And finally, we engineer simple and intuitive review processes that can be completed with just a few taps or clicks.
Develop a Business-Building Online Reputation
Ready to stop hoping for reviews and start cultivating them? When it comes to reputation management and digital marketing, our services at A-Train Marketing get 5 stars. Give us a call!