Since 2018, studies have indicated that 97% of businesses believe that online reputation management is essential.
Yet only 3% of all businesses devote time or resources to protect their reputation.
Why is that?
It would seem logical that if businesses are aware of the problem, they will allocate time or money to solving it. Nonetheless, the data doesn’t correlate to businesses being proactive.
Perhaps they think a bad reputation won’t happen to them.
Whether it’s due to cognitive dissonance or some other factor, many brands aren’t proactive about their online reputation until it’s too late! Now, more than ever, it’s never been more crucial to protect your brand’s online reputation.
To help brands be more prepared, WebPunch has created a list of the top five telltale signs that your brand needs online reputation management.
1. You don’t have enough reviews.
Your brand’s online reputation is akin to social credit; not having enough can hurt you.
Two problems can occur when you don’t have enough reviews.
- It’s harder to build trust.
- One negative review can spoil the bunch in a small sample size.
According to statistics from BrightLocal:
- 9 out of 10 people read online reviews before buying a product or service.
- Consumers read an average of 10 reviews before purchasing a product or service.
- Businesses need an average of 40 reviews for consumers to trust their star rating.
It’s important to understand that not all reviews are created equal.
When it comes to the quality of reviews, most consumers won’t trust a review that’s more than three months old. That means, to build trust, you not only have to have more than 40 reviews, but at least 10 of them must be recent.
Not only that, but negative reviews hold weight.
Throw one or two negative reviews into the mix, and trust plummets.
- Businesses experience a 22% decrease in sales after a one-star review.
- Businesses experience a 60% drop in sales when consumers find three negative reviews during a search.
While every business starts somewhere, it’s essential to pay attention to review generation. WebPunch helps businesses like yours put your review generation on autopilot, giving your brand consistent reviews from your raving fans.
2. Your star rating is too low.
Think of your online rating as a social credit score.
Your rating isn’t personal. It’s just business — and whether you like it or not, you’ll be judged by it.
You wouldn’t expect financial favors with a 450 credit score. The same is true of brands with a low rating on review sites.
In short, your online reputation precedes you — quite literally!
Consider these statistics from BrightLocal:
- 84% of consumers consider overall rating the most important factor when choosing a business or service.
- 35% of consumers use rating filters for businesses rated four stars or higher.
- 82% of consumers won’t use a business with a rating lower than three stars.
- 57% of consumers won’t use a business with a rating of fewer than four stars.
Does your business feel comfortable turning away half of its customers? If not, you want a rating of four stars or higher on most review sites.
If you have only three stars, you can expect to lose eight out of ten customers online.
WebPunch empowers your business and boosts your rating on popular review sites like Google.
3. You’re not responding to your customers.
Would your business like to earn 35% more revenue this year? It’s possible!
Wanna know how to achieve this benchmark?
It’s quite easy — all you have to do is respond to 1 out of every 4 reviews.
It’s SO easy, but shockingly many brands fail to use this strategy. In fact, businesses that respond to just one review earn 4% more revenue on average.
It kind of makes you wonder why businesses would miss this HUGE opportunity.
This one simple initiative can increase your revenue, establish your online reputation, and provide closer relationships with your most valuable customers.
WebPunch enlists a dedicated army of professional writers to respond to your reviews on your behalf.
Talk about a win-win!
4. You have too many negative reviews.
Whether you like it or not, too many negative reviews are the death knell of any business.
Consider these statistics from BrightLocal:
- 92% of consumers are less likely to use a business with too many negative reviews.
- Star rating is considered the most important factor for consumers.
- 85% of people choose a business based on trust factors.
While one or two negative reviews won’t destroy your overall reputation, it’s important to understand that negative feedback is a sure sign that your business needs online reputation management.
WebPunch uses NPS surveys to help you find your toughest customers BEFORE they leave a nasty review. That allows you to be proactive and address concerns before they reach online reputation sites like Google, Yelp, and Facebook.
Not sure how your business is doing? Use our FREE NPS Calculator for a quick snapshot of your online customer loyalty.
5. You’re responding to negative reviews in a personal way.
Remember, reviews aren’t personal — they’re just business.
Sometimes, it can be hard to remember in the heat of the online reputation battle. Hey, we get it!
It can be difficult to hear nasty things about your company, but how you respond has everything to do with your online reputation and loyalty.
Most businesses assume that only the reviewer is reading a negative review. Not so! Many potential customers are also reading that review, and they want to know how you plan to address the issue.
After all, they could be your next customer.
So, how can you assure that you respond to your toughest customers and come away looking like the good guy? You enlist the help of professional writers.
Our team of dedicated professional writers will listen to your feedback and take action right away to write an unbiased yet thoughtful review response.
You don’t have to live with a tarnished reputation.
Responding to negative reviews is a delicate balancing act.
WebPunch has a team of professional writers to help ensure you’re never down for the count.
After all, no business owner wants to go ten rounds with their most challenging customer.
Get started today and boost your online reputation with WebPunch’s suite of online reputation management tools. To request a demo, please contact us.
Brian Joyce
Brian is a content writer, copywriter, and author. When he’s not busy writing, you can find him whistling a punk tune while performing chores, playing with his two boys, or enjoying his wife’s company. He lives in Providence with his wife, two children, and a cat with no depth perception that likes to take miscalculated jumps.
