During the busiest time of year, severe winter weather can throw a wrench into daily operations for any energy provider. This can cause disgruntled customers, not to mention more work on your plate! Don’t let customer satisfaction fall by the wayside. Online review management is a simple solution that will keep your reputation positive and help customers feel heard.
Effective management of your online reviews is a vital piece of maintaining your brand’s online presence and can provide serious benefits to your company:
1. Expand your customer base
Studies show that 82% of consumers seek referrals from peers before making a purchase (B2C Community). Today, this quest for referrals has led people to take to the internet to research products and services more than ever before. What better way to convince potential customers that your company is the best fit for them than a long list of happy customers raving about your business?
Worried about negative reviews? Don’t be!
An unsatisfactory customer experience has the potential for a strong demonstration of your brand’s excellent customer service. Onlookers will see an accommodating response as an example of how well your business handles itself in all situations. In the end, the customer might even revise their review!
2. Improve your SEO
Reviews can influence search engine results and how high your business ranks in search. Google, for example, takes into consideration how many times your business name is mentioned in reviews. More mentions can help your business appear higher in search results than a company that isn’t reviewed as frequently.
3. Grow products and services
What can you change or continue doing to make the next customer’s experience even better than the last? Strategically taking the reviewer’s positive feedback and/or constructive criticism into consideration can help continuously enhance your brand based on consumer wants and needs.
4. Build off of peer-to-peer recommendations
One of the most influential tools that you have (and that you should be taking advantage of!) is your network of happy customers. In fact, studies show that 92% of consumers trust referrals from other people (Nielson). A testimonial from another customer will prevail as the most trustworthy resource for potential customers, and will ultimately be the most effective in persuading them to choose your business over a competitor.
Strengthen existing customer relationships
Many customers enjoy knowing that there is a person behind the business. Reviews give you the opportunity to demonstrate just that. Use reviews to converse with your customer base. Whether the review if positive or negative, be sure to always respond in a timely manner. This way, customers will begin to humanize your brand. This can help build strong relationships, encourage customers to recommend your business to friends or family, or salvage a relationship that was hurt by a poor experience.
It’s the busiest time of the year! Leave online review management to us so that you can focus on running your company. Contact us to learn more!