How to use the power of recommendations? – five ways to effectively manage online reviews

In fact, you will probably agree that trust is the foundation of any relationship. First of all, it gives us a sense of security – it’s what grows our commitment and attachment to the other person. The same is true regarding the relationship with your client. Consumers often treat companies like other people – they want to develop relationships with those brands they can trust. That’s why the process of building a customer’s experience with a brand needs to start long before the purchase. In order to convince consumers, it is worth using the power of recommendations, the value of which cannot be overestimated.

Most often, we ask friends and family for product reviews, because it is well known that we are more likely to trust proven opinions than ads on websites. However, this kind of word-of-mouth has moved with time to the Internet, where clients exchange experiences gained from contact with the brand. Currently, over 90% of people check reviews about a given company before they decide to use its services. So what do we look for on Internet forums, in social media or review sites? Social proof, that is confirmation of the accuracy of our own choices by others, in this case existing users of the brand. We are more inclined to listen to people similar to us, especially in times of already mentioned banner blindness.

Why are reviews so important?

One of the most important elements of building the company’s credibility and reputation on the Internet is proper acquisition of consumer reviews. While a dissatisfied clients will share negative opinion online without hesitation, a satisfied one will not be so willing to publicly express their satisfaction. Therefore, managing your company’s online image should take two ways – on the one hand, you can encourage satisfied customers to give reviews, and on the other hand, mediate with disappointed ones, and thus change them into returning users. Certainly, if you get reviews and referrals in the correct way, and then expose them in communication with new customers, you will increase consumer loyalty and, as a result, your sales.

1. Encourage clients to provide reviews and create a recommendation form

How many times have you whispered a good word about a new restaurant to your friends, but you’ve run out of motivation to give feedback online? Without the right incentive, not many of us are eager to praise the services or products we use online, even if we give them positive reviews. You might be wondering how to convince your clients not to hesitate to give online reviews and thus become your brand ambassadors. The answer is extremely simple – ask for recommendations.

Tip: Make the process of adding reviews as simple as possible.

Take advantage of the moment when the client has just received the product and is still in the shopping euphoria. All you need to do is send an e-mail, in which you ask the buyer about his opinion on the online store or the order process. However, sometimes just asking the buyer to share his impressions on the shopping process is not enough. In this case, you can develop a recommendation form or supporting questions that will make writing reviews much easier.

The more products you sell, the more time-consuming this task will be. That’s why we suggest reaching for one of the online customer review management tools. A consistent system for sending invitations, which are in accordance with your corporate identity and reach customers after the order, will be provided by an application that generates ready-made invitations. Don’t forget to personalize the message with a request for feedback – this will reassure consumers that you care. It is also important to make sure that the client understands why their opinion is so important and what impact it has on your business.

2. Respond to all feedback, even the unfavorable

Do not ignore any review. Treat each review as a guideline that will help you improve the entire sales process, increase the quality of your services and products. Although it is not easy, try to be patient, and approach the comments with humility. After all, even the best ones make mistakes. The most important thing is not to bury your head in the sand, but to have a dialogue with the user in order to understand their problem.

Tip: Try to understand what the problem is and propose an appropriate solution.

To better understand the consumers’ needs and, on the other hand, identify your company’s trouble spots, all you need to do is automate customer service for negative reviews. There are available tools that provide the possibility to mediate between a reliable customer and a company representative. Thanks to this, you will learn a valuable lesson for your business, and the consumer will feel understood and well taken care of. As you can see, you can come out of any crisis successfully, all you have to do is not be driven by emotion, and your response to negative comments remains factual and balanced. In the future, try to be more predictive and prevent potential burn-outs. You can test apps available on the market that detect problems in the area of customer experience, e.g. too long delivery time, inconsistency of goods with the description, and recommend appropriate actions that can improve your ratings.

3. Plan out the sites where the reviews of your business should appear

Do you want to stay on your toes and monitor the mentions of your business appearing in the web? It’s really easy! These apps will also keep track of all the review threads about your business and allow you to gather reviews in one place. What is important, in case of such solutions, the help in managing opinions in the Internet does not end only with collecting them, reviews are also subjected to semantic and predictive analysis. Using them, you’ll learn about the difficulties your customers are facing and the areas of your business that need refinement.

Tip: Remember that clients will search for your business in many different places, from Google Maps through social networks to industry websites.

Regardless of whether you choose a ready-made solution or not, it is worth creating a “forum” for customers to exchange opinions about your products or services. Obviously, it is primarily the profile and area of your business that will determine where best to collect reviews. Nevertheless, the most important sources of collecting opinions can be distinguished – these include the Google Maps business profile, industry and opinion-forming portals and the brand’s official profile in social media. You should not overlook them! Of course, these are just some of many communication channels where customers share their feedback and look for information about you. At the same time, these are the places where it will be easiest for you to respond to comments and moderate discussion.

Tip: Clients will certainly find a place to exchange opinions on your business, so it’s worth enabling them to do so on company profiles.

4. Share positive feedback with potential clients

Feedback widgets on the company’s website are an absolute must have, because recommendations are like a lure for new and undecided customers. Moreover, presenting the company’s strengths is one of the pillars of building a positive image online. You will probably agree that reviews given by satisfied customers increase the company’s credibility and even your visibility in Google search engine. By the way, any of the valuable content on your website, including customer reviews, has an impact on improving your SEO, and thus is an integral part of online marketing. Therefore, don’t waste the chance to increase conversions and provide your customers with social proof! Share your recommendations on social media as well, from time to time posting words of appreciation from your clients, which will enrich and diversify your communication.

Tip: Use positive online reviews and increase client trust with widgets on your website.

5. Monitor feedback with online image protection tools

The last point, but the most important. Remember that in many tasks of managing reviews in your company you can use ready-made tools. Automation of the processes will allow you, above all, to save valuable time and increase customer satisfaction which, in turn, will directly translate into sales. If you are looking for help in obtaining recommendations from real clients from all the most important rating portals, the Rating Captain application is a solution dedicated just for you. In one click you will find out where the reviews concerning you are found, why you receive negative reviews and which products they concern, as well as how satisfied or dissatisfied the customers are. All of this thanks to the use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technologies, which analyze each review and help companies identify the most important mistakes. The platform can be integrated with any e-commerce system, both Saas and open source, but also dedicated solutions or CRM systems. It can be used for both individual and business customers.