Online reputation management refers to the practice of monitoring, managing and improving a business’s reputation online. This practice primarily involves monitoring brand mentions and reviews across various channels like search engines, review sites, social media and news outlets. It also entails taking steps to address any potentially damaging content while proactively encouraging positive reviews and engagement.
Online reputation management is especially crucial for local businesses today. According to a survey by BrightLocal, 91% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a local business. Positive online reviews and brand mentions can drive website traffic, increase sales, and establish credibility.
On the flipside, negative reviews and harmful publicity online can significantly hurt a business’s bottom line. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, more consumers rely on online information to evaluate local businesses before visiting in person. This reality makes actively managing your local reputation online all the more critical in today’s digital landscape.
Challenges for Local Businesses
Local businesses face several key challenges when it comes to managing their online reputation across the web. Unlike large enterprises, local businesses don’t have dedicated marketing teams to monitor what people say about their brand across the internet. This lack of support makes it difficult to stay on top of online reputation in three key ways.
First, it’s incredibly hard to monitor brand mentions across the myriad of review sites, social media networks, business directories, forums, and other places where customers review or discuss the business. Without sophisticated tools, local businesses can’t track conversations happening about their brand across the web.
Second, even if local businesses find out about online reviews or social media posts, it can be very difficult to respond quickly at scale. They don’t have the resources to respond to each review individually in a timely manner.
Third, local businesses often struggle to generate more positive online reviews in the first place. Unlike large brands, they don’t have the marketing capabilities to incentivize customers to leave reviews on Google, Facebook, Yelp and other sites.
According to LinkedIn, incorrect or outdated business information across the web also poses major headaches for local business reputation management.
How Local Businesses Can Take Control of Their Online Reputation in the Digital Age
Reputation management software provides specialized tools to help local businesses proactively monitor, manage, and improve their online reputation across various channels. The software monitors brand mentions across major review sites, social networks, directories, forums, and other sources. For example, it can track reviews on Google, Facebook, and Yelp.
This feature alerts businesses to any reviews, social posts, or other content referencing their brand in real time. The software notifies you of new reviews and comments so you can respond and manage them quickly.
Many tools also have workflows to facilitate review generation and responses at scale. Businesses can use templates and workflows to efficiently request reviews from happy customers and respond to the reviews they receive.
In addition, reputation management platforms provide analytics and insights about a brand’s online reputation. Businesses can see performance trends, sentiment analysis, review volumes, and other metrics to inform reputation management strategies.
Key Software Features
Reputation management software typically includes a robust set of tools to monitor mentions across channels, simplify workflows, generate more reviews, and provide analytics. Here are some of the key features local businesses should look for:
Monitoring Across Main Channels
The software should track mentions of your business name, brands, products, and locations across core review sites like Google, Facebook, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and industry-specific platforms. This feature keeps you on top of all reviews and feedback, all in one dashboard.
Alerts and Workflow Tools
Advanced alerts and workflow features notify you of new reviews and prioritize critical ones. Response templates, collaboration tools, and reminders simplify managing reviews at scale.
Review Generation and Response Templates
Quality software makes it easy to generate more positive reviews with email and text prompts to customers. Pre-written response templates allow you to quickly respond to both positive and negative reviews in a consistent brand voice.
Analytics and Reporting
Robust analytics provide insights into review volumes, sentiment trends, response times, and reviewer demographics. Reports and dashboards identify your strengths and areas needing improvement.
Benefits for Local Businesses
Using reputation management software provides several important benefits for local businesses looking to improve their online presence.
Reputation management software can save significant time responding to reviews across various sites. The software allows you to monitor mentions in one place rather than visiting each site. It also provides templates and tools to quickly respond at scale, rather than replying individually.
Reputation management platforms also make it easier to increase positive reviews. Automated review request tools encourage happy customers to leave positive feedback. This feature works to counteract any negative reviews.
With regular monitoring and response, the software proactively improves your overall online reputation. By addressing issues quickly and promoting positives, you strengthen your brand’s image and credibility over time.
Finally, reputation management analytics provide useful customer insights to improve real-world experiences. The data identifies common complaints to fix and positive feedback to build on. Reputation management software saves local businesses time, increases reviews, builds credibility, and provides data to enhance customer satisfaction.
Cost Considerations
When evaluating reputation management software for your local business, it’s important to understand the pricing models to find a solution that fits your budget. Most reputation management software use one of three pricing models:
- Per location: Price based on the number of locations you need to monitor
- Features: Packages starting with basic features, scaling up to premium plans
- Per review volume: Billing based on the number of reviews you typically receive per month
Many solutions also offer free trials so you can test out key features before committing. While reputation software requires an ongoing investment, the payoff in identifying issues, driving positive reviews, and improving customer experience makes it well worth the moderate monthly cost for most local businesses.
Top Software Recommendations
There are several excellent reputation management software options for local businesses to consider. Here are a few top picks:
ReputationStacker
ReputationStacker is a leading reputation management software that helps businesses effectively manage their online presence. The software comes with features to monitor reviews, solicit feedback, promote positive reviews, and automatically respond to reviews.
Birdeye
Birdeye is a reputation management platform that specifically benefits local businesses. It provides review monitoring, review generation, review site management, social listening, surveys, and analytics. Birdeye offers customizable packages based on the number of locations. They also have budget options for very small businesses.
Podium
Podium helps local businesses manage customer interactions, generate reviews, and build their online reputation. Key features include review monitoring, customer messaging and surveys, review generation tools, and analytics.
Thryv
Thryv provides an all-in-one marketing and reputation management platform for small businesses. For reputation management, it offers review monitoring, review generation and response tools, business listings management, social media publishing, and more.
Conclusion
Online reputation management is critically important for local businesses looking to succeed today. With more and more consumers turning to online reviews and social media to evaluate businesses, it is vital for local companies to actively manage their brand’s reputation and visibility online.
Using a dedicated reputation management software platform can provide numerous benefits for local businesses. These solutions enable businesses to easily monitor brand mentions across the major channels, receive alerts to new reviews and social posts, efficiently generate more positive reviews, and analyze their overall online reputation. These features save local companies considerable time and effort while improving their visibility, reputation, and customer experience.
With a wide range of software options now available for local businesses of all sizes and budgets, we recommend you evaluate your specific needs and choose a solution that fits your business. The software platforms highlighted in this article are all highly capable options trusted by thousands of local companies to enhance their online presence. Selecting the right reputation management platform can be a game-changer for any local business looking to stand out online and drive new business.
