Why Brands Should Consider Full-Service Review Response Support

For brands to survive, fantastic 5-star customer experiences are not optional. They’re must-haves. In our digital world, it takes more than offering friendly support and service in-store. Customers now expect that same experience online and on-demand.

From getting accurate business listings on mobile to seamlessly ordering products online for delivery to fast and friendly curbside pickup options, modern buyers’ top needs and preferences take on many forms. If your brand frequently fails to meet those expectations, don’t be surprised if complaints spread quickly online — primarily through online customer reviews.

Word-of-mouth commentary about your business travels far beyond the earshot of a happy (or angry) customer’s social circle. Instead, all it takes is a click, and the entire world can read what anyone thinks about your brand on platforms like Google, Yelp, Apple Maps, or Facebook.

This newfound freedom for buyers to shout their opinions from virtual rooftops can have massive implications for your brand’s reputation and ultimately your bottom line. A few stellar reviews, or a single terrible one, can have a big impact on your business.

About 84% of people say that they trust an online review as much as a review from a personal friend. Customers also spend 31% more on businesses with excellent reviews proving that great feedback is about more than vanity. It’s a revenue booster.

That’s why brands quickly realize the necessity of online review and reputation management, especially for businesses with multiple locations. How else can teams keep track of every review that comes in from every store and on every platform? Or, accurately monitor their star ratings to ensure their popularity is heading in the right direction?

A comprehensive reputation management service provides the easiest way for teams to rapidly respond to every review about their brand.

You read that right. Every. Single. Review. It might sound like overkill, but it’s vital for maximizing customer retention, brand loyalty, and your overall online reputation.

Why Review Response Matters

The line between in-person and online brand experiences has vanished. Whether ordering a coffee from a barista face-to-face or via a mobile app for a no-touch pickup, people expect authentic, efficient, and excellent service at every touchpoint.

This includes online interactions. Just imagine if you offered that barista genuine feedback while in the coffee shop — and they ignored you. It would likely leave a bitter taste in your mouth.

It also represents a lost opportunity for the barista to make an authentic connection with a could-be future loyal coffee shop customer. With positive feedback, the barista could have sincerely thanked that buyer and encouraged them to come back soon. For negative feedback, the barista had the chance to find a way to make it right.

Every unanswered review represents a lost opportunity at best. And at worst, it pushes people away from your brand for good, and who knows what they’ll tell their friends.

Online review response works the same way — except that multi-location brands often feel overwhelmed by the dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of online reviews they receive daily. Though understandable, it’s no reason to skip this increasingly critical task — especially when great solutions exist to make tracking, analyzing, and replying to every review easy.

More brands are turning to reputation management software to streamline the process, like Chatmeter’s all-in-one platform. These tools are becoming so vital that the online reputation industry is expected to more than double over the next few years.

Still, reputation management tools can’t automate the very human role of connecting with buyers online. To get the results necessary to increase loyalty, boost retention, and ultimately drive up revenue your team will need the resources not just to get it done, but to get it done right.

What if you don’t have the bandwidth? No worries! Give your customers the experience they deserve with a full-service review management solution.

What is Full-Service or White-Glove Review Response?

Accelerate your review and reputation strategy with a full-service, also called white-glove, review response team. These dedicated professionals have been fully trained to track, read, and reply to all of your customer reviews on Google, Yelp, Apple Maps, Facebook, and more.

In short, it’s a hands-off way to ensure your business is there to touch every moment of your customer’s journey online and off. Trust these experts to clearly and authentically respond to praises, complaints, questions, general feedback, and more, in your brand’s unique voice in real-time.

Here are just a few tasks a full-service review response service can provide:

• Managing and responding to every customer review and rating
• Identifying and escalating reviews needing special attention
• Keeping your brand voice consistent across channels
• Improving your online reputation by resolving potential pain points
• Boosting loyalty and retention by connecting personally with buyers
• Increasing ongoing customer experiences, conversations, and engagement

Do I Need a Full-Service Review Response Team?

Honestly, if you’re a small business with a handful of storefronts and no plans for expansion, an in-house team member (ideally the owner or manager for that personal touch) is probably the best choice for your review response process.

However, once a multi-location brand expands past ten storefronts, you should at least consider a third-party white-glove review response service for the extra assistance. Why? To free up that ever-important resource — time!

While online review response is essential these days, it’s also the perfect task to entrust to an experienced off-site team. By relieving your in-house team members of this time-consuming task, they can instead focus on everything else on your brand’s busy plate. As a bonus, you’ll know with confidence that your white-glove review response team isn’t just getting the job done. They’re getting the job done right!

Chatmeter’s ChatExec team of review response professionals helps teams across industries and sizes create genuine connections with real customers at scale. After just one year with ChatExec, a multi-location financial service chain experienced:

• 80% increase in review response rates
• 27% increase in desktop searches
• 45% increase in photo views
• 7% increase in direct searches

Think a white-glove review response service could be right for you? Let’s connect! Click to learn more about ChatExec here. Then let’s set up a time to talk about how our review response experts can support your brand’s growth!