I was reading an article this morning on how the General Attorney of New-York fined 19 companies who were selling online reviews. The theme is not new but deserves to be explored a little bit more, to my sense.
Because nowadays, as a customer, before purchasing anything online, before going out to a restaurant or to a movie, what is our first reflex ? We check online reviews first to make sure we won't regret the decision we are about to make with our money. And if we didn't like what we have, what we purchased, we can always let the world know about it. The social internet gave the customer this power of community, a power of "life or death" on a company a little like the gladiators in ancient Rome. The majority of thumbs up, the gladiator lives. Thumbs down, he dies. And through the online reviews, a customer who is not happy is a customer that can affect your sales by giving you a bad review. And I'm focusing on bad reviews because as human we are more likely to post a review when something went wrong than posting a "good job" review online.
Reviews are powerful and we would never warn our clients enough about this power of customers. This power is real and it is a good thing for the customer that will be informed by other that this product is good, this one is bad, this restaurant is bad, this movie is good etc.. But that is in an ideal world.
Due to the power of these reviews, companies are sneaking into the crowd of customers trying to help their fellow customers, and change this system into a promotional tool. We have all seen the review "to good to be true" where the product is so good you should buy one an marry it. Those reviews don't usually come from real customers. And the same thing applies to some bad reviews , issued by the competitors of a brand to grab some market share online.
But companies are getting more and more flagged by online marketplaces when they give themselves good reviews. The marketplace developed IP tracking systems , word recognition and name matching to be sure that the honesty and the integrity of the review system is respected. And this constant race for the Online reputation leaded to this case that, from a customer point of view, is revolting: companies are paid to give reviews to their clients...
We advise our clients to be careful when they sell online, or to be aware that the community management is a task that needs to be taken seriously. But the best way to increase your online reputation is to deserve one, or to work hard to get there. We listed below the three points that are, for us the 3 keys top good online reputation:
1- Customer service : The customer needs to be treated well if you want him to treat you well.Most of the bad reviews happens for a reason (good or bad) but always try to fix the problem right away so the customer will not be tempted by writing a bad review.
2- Community Management: You have to be aware of your Online Reputation. Plenty of sites are dedicated to reviews and you need to be on top of it. Somebody let a bad review that is not justified? Comment that review, try to show to the people who will read this review that it may have been a misunderstanding, and that you are trying to fix the problem. Do not forget that reviews on different websites, blogs and forums can help your SEO .
3- Fire first. Reviews are not only directed to other customers, they are a good indicator of your company health. Those reviews can save you a lot in marketing research if you get them to be preventive. You need to open discussions about your products you are selling online, so people will go to you first before sinking your online reputation. It increase the customer satisfaction, and your online reputation. It is a win-win situation. If you engage the discussion with your customer as soon as they get your product, you will open the discussion channel and avoid bad reviews. It doesn't have to be complicated but an email like " thank you for choosing me and my product. Customer satisfaction is important to us so if you encounter any problem with y product, please call me" is appreciated and shows some customer care.
As a conclusion, Online Reputation is a "Word-of-mouth" on steroids, that always existed and will always exist as long as there are customers. And those customers are the one you need to deal with, as simple as that. Take care of them and they will take care of you.
Take it EZ
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