Consumer behavior has changed dramatically in recent years. Increasingly, customers are searching online for brand information, which has triggered a greater need for reputation management services. If your Atlanta-area business appears to have a negative reputation, or can’t even be found, it will be hard to survive in the current business landscape. Fortunately, Reputation Sensei™ is here to help businesses improve their brand reputation where it counts.
What Is Reputation Management?
Simply put, reputation management is the practice of influencing how people perceive your brand. However, the approach you take to reputation management can vary considerably. At Reputation Sensei, we place a great emphasis on reviews to shape how people view your business.
Reviews have become an integral part of both the user experience and the algorithms of important platforms that determine your visibility. But how does this directly affect your brand reputation?
User Experience
If you have a series of negative reviews, gaining attention will be difficult. In fact, data from the BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey 2020 indicates only 48% of consumers would consider using a business with fewer than 4 stars. Furthermore, 73% of consumers only pay attention to reviews written in the last month. The review factors that matter to consumers are:
- Star rating
- Legitimacy
- Recency
- Sentiment
- Quantity
Review Platforms
Platforms want to deliver the best experience to their users. Therefore, it is not surprising that platforms like Google My Business and the many online directories highlight the best-rated businesses. In reality, an average to poor rating could see your business hidden, placed deep in the search results.
Why Are Reviews Important to Reputation Management?
Unfortunately, consumers with a negative experience are more likely to leave a review than happy customers – even though positive experiences outweigh the bad ones. But you can change this dynamic when you understand what reputation management is. By using a strategy like the one designed by Reputation Sensei, you can actively encourage a consistent flow of positive reviews.
Taking a proactive approach to review generation also extends to responses. Responding to each review, whether positive or negative, needs to become a factor in your business. Negative experiences can be quickly resolved, and searchers can see you are attempting to solve problems. Positive reviews increase in number when customers see they will be appreciated for their feedback.
How Do You Respond to Negative Reviews?
Negative reviews are naturally a concern for a business, but as previously noted, happy customers typically don’t leave unprompted feedback. Briefly, here are some ways you can deal with negative reviews.
- Respond quickly, while the issue is still fresh and can be resolved.
- Maintain composure and don’t leave an emotional or unprofessional response.
- Deal with the issue privately through email or a phone call.
- If the problem is resolved, ask for the review to be updated.
- Outweigh the negativity with new positive reviews using the Reputation Sensei approach of reputation cycle marketing.
How Reputation Sensei Can Help You Get More Reviews
Reputation Sensei uses a unique approach called reputation marketing. Combining technology, training and customer service, we help businesses generate a flood of new and positive reviews that can become promotional tools for your brand. Our tools provide real-time updates across all the important platforms, allowing you to respond to reviews immediately.
Our simplified and low-pressure approach to review generation helps and encourages clients to leave reviews – while minimizing the damage from negative feedback. The result is a cycle of positive feedback that quickly improves your reputation, and provides visibility on the sites that matter the most.
Grow Your Business With Reputation Management
Reputation management has become a vital factor in the online customer experience. Find out how Reputation Sensei can help you get more reviews and make more sales. Call (770) 263-7455 or book an online review.
