Customer reviews are an efficient way to gather valuable data on what’s working for your franchise and identify opportunities for growth. Plus, it’s free exposure for your brand. According to a Chatmeter survey of 1,400 consumers, 89% said that they relied on online reviews to evaluate a brand, with more than 67% saying that it was an essential first step in deciding whether to make a purchase. Customer reviews are powerful, so leverage them to your advantage whenever possible. Here are strategies for harnessing the power of customer reviews to elevate your franchise.
Actively manage your online reputation. Monitoring, managing and boosting the digital presence of your franchise brand is an ongoing process that can greatly improve your reputation and grow your bottom line over time. This includes responding to both positive and negative reviews, answering customer questions and making sure that your online “personality” is consistent. If a prospective customer sees that you’re active, appreciative and accessible, they’ll be more likely to trust the franchise and your offering. This opens the door to a more engaged client base, helps increase your franchise’s brand awareness — and creates a more positive customer experience.
Encourage positive feedback. Did your customer have a fantastic experience with your franchise? Encourage them to leave a review on Google, Facebook or Yelp — as review platforms often get prime billing in local and brand searches on Google. You could also sweeten the deal for any customer who leaves a review by offering an incentive, like a contest entry or a coupon to use toward a future purchase.
Integrate reviews into your franchise marketing strategy. Reviews should never be one-and-done. Use them in multiple ways to grow your reputation. Post them to your website and social media channels, and include them as testimonials in other marketing efforts like newsletters, videos and online or print advertisements. Positive reviews reinforce the quality of your product or service, help build trust in the franchise and demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction.
Don’t ignore negative comments. All reviews are critical to your customer experience, which can drastically help or hurt your bottom line. But when you ignore a negative review, you could be tacitly saying you don’t care, which is the last thing you want to communicate as a franchisee or corporate franchisor. When you encounter a negative review, respond promptly and respectfully, avoid making excuses, offer a remedy if possible and tell the reviewer how to contact you so you can make things right. A negative review is a chance to show your current and prospective customers that you respect their time, value their opinion and are striving to make the customer experience a positive one for everyone.
Supercharge Your Reputation Management With Kymera
Kymera’s automated review system makes it easy to manage and use your customer reviews to your advantage — whether you’re a regional, national or global franchise, with just a couple of locations or hundreds. It’s customizable, fully responsive and centralized to give you everything you need in one place:
- Aggregate Google and Facebook reviews onto your website.
- Solicit reviews from your satisfied customers.
- Promote positive reviews and identify lackluster comments for further attention.
- Create permission levels for community managers and final approvals.
- Set up franchise or corporate-level control over accounts.
Contact one of Kymera’s reputation management experts today to begin — so your franchise can start getting all the street cred it deserves.
Sources
https://www.bbb.org/article/business/23256-bbb-business-tip-how-to-respond-to-negative-reviews
