5 Tips to Leverage Online Reviews During the Holidays
The holiday shopping season is upon us and more and more of holiday sales are happening online. According to Adobe Digital Insights, Black Friday generated $3.34 billion in online sales and Cyber Monday raked in another $3.45 billion — both records. With the record number of people shopping online this holiday season, more people are also doing research before they buy including reading online reviews.
This presents an excellent marketing opportunity for your brand. Below are some tips you can implement now to leverage your online reviews during this busy time of year. Following these tips can help you improve your online reputation and increase holiday sales.
- Closely Monitor Reviews and Social Mentions
Having a 360 degree view regarding your brand reputation is critical at all times. During the holidays, it is important to have a clear picture regarding what people are saying about your business online. There are dozens of major reviews sites that you should be keeping tabs on, such as Google, Yelp and Facebook. Work with an online reputation management company, like ReviewIgnite, to set up a program for monitoring online reviews. - Promptly Respond to Reviews
Holiday season or not, you should always respond to both positive and negative reviews as soon as possible. Depending on the platform (and nature of the review), the appropriate window to respond varies. For reviews left on Twitter, responding within an hour is best, but don’t wait more than 24 hours. For other sites like Google, Yelp, etc. the timeframe to respond should be no more than 7 days. In all cases, if the review is negative, you should respond immediately. - Get Notified When New Reviews are Posted
No business owner wants to be blindsided when it comes to what customers are saying about your company on the web. Especially, on major sites like Google, Yelp and Facebook. Getting an alert when someone posts an online review will allow you to respond to it quickly. The benefits are you can diffuse and possibly turnaround a bad situation or show gratitude for a positive review. This will enhance your brand’s reputation. - Ask Customers to Leave Reviews
All businesses should make asking for reviews from customers a part of their marketing strategy. It can be as simple as having your staff ask the customer after the sale, or sending a follow up email. You should suggest they leave a review on Google, Yelp, Facebook or an industry specific review website. Don’t forget to include instructions on how to post a review or a direct link to the review site for their convenience. - Hold Weekly Staff Meetings Regarding Customer Feedback
Getting feedback from your customers is free market research. Not only is that good for management, it is also important to share with your staff. Use positive feedback to bring good holiday cheer to your staff and to reinforce the importance of delivering exceptional customer experiences. Suggestions from customers can also provide valuable insights to help you correct service delivery or product issues and improve your operations.
Online reviews represent a tremendous opportunity for businesses to both enhance brand reputation and boost revenue. ReviewIgnite can help. Using our online review management services, we can implement an effective, easy-to-use solution for you and your staff to start monitoring and leveraging the power of online customer reviews today.
Want to learn more? Request a free demo from ReviewIgnite today! Happy Holidays!
