Reputation Management

Tuesday, January 3, 2023 from Floor Covering Weekly

By Janet Herlihy

Reviews are more important than ever because people trust what others say much more than they trust what you (the brand) say, observed Shannon Vogel, owner of Reach Social. “If people know what to expect because others have shared their experience, there is a higher level of buying confidence.”

Positive reviews bring customers in the door and can also assist people in finding you online, explained Bevin Andrews, senior vice president, marketing and advertising, CCA Retail Group.

“According to Brightlocal, as of 2021, 77 percent of consumers always or regularly read a review when browsing for local businesses,” Andrews reported. “Our Members First Marketing team has programs exclusively available to CCA Retail Members to help in this critical area.”

Andrews continued, “Reputation management lets your customers know that you are actively monitoring and engaging with them on any platform they may be communicating on with you. It also lets them know that you value their feedback (whether good or bad) and are on top of addressing any concerns they may have.”

According to a 2020 Trustpilot report, 89 percent of consumers read reviews prior to making a purchase decision, reported Michael Johnson, vice president digital strategy premium brand sales and marketing at Shaw Industries. “Research has shown that three negative reviews can cause up to 59 percent of customers to look elsewhere,” he said.

The bottom line is that reviews are essential. “Monitoring online reviews (Google, Yelp, etc.) needs to be core to the local retailers’ customer service strategy,” Johnson stressed, adding, “Shaw offers our ‘Share It Forward’ program to our retail partners at a nominal cost. This tool allows them to monitor and manage their online reviews.”

Carole Cross, founder and CEO of Mobile Marketing, stated, “It’s human nature to want to know how others are being treated by a business. Reviews build confidence in a consumer’s decision to work with you. It is also important to have positive reviews because it is tied into your Google listings and has a positive impact on your paid ads and in driving conversions.”

 

Harvesting reviews

“Encourage customers to write a review during every stage of service,” Cross advised. “Don’t just wait to ask for a review at the end of the installation. Have QR codes in the showroom and ask customers to write a review of the service they received from your sales staff. Put requests for reviews on as many touchpoints with customers as you can, such as with the invoice. If you offer a great service like design, ask for a review at the end of that process. Then, of course, you can ask for reviews through automatic emails and texts.”

Todd Skidmore, senior director of digital and e-commerce at Mohawk, suggested, “Maybe even offering a promotion on an area rug or something to encourage the review (can be effective).”

And if you send out cleaning and maintenance info after a sale, ask for a review and photos at the same time, suggested Vogel. “Let people know that you’d like to share their reviews and photos on your website and social media. This will encourage people to visit your social media and your website to see their project or review as well as share it with their friends and family.”

There are simple tactics that can be leveraged. “Such as including links in your email signature to the platforms you’d like reviews on such as Google and Facebook,” said CCA’s Andrews. “Or tools can be added to your website that link to those platforms. Lastly, a follow-up call, once a job is completed, to check in with the customer never hurts and gives you an additional opportunity to request a great review for a job well done.”

It is important to know what’s being said about you, according to Vogel. “People are reviewing you whether you are aware of it or not. Use software to aggregate all the reviews about your business so that you can quickly see and manage what’s being said about your brand online.”

 

Turning a negative into a positive

It’s also important to remember that no business is perfect. “Everyone makes mistakes,” stated Vogel, adding, “It’s how you handle negative reviews that shows who you really are.”

The best practice recommendation is to respond to incoming negative reviews as soon as possible — “ideally in 24 hours or less,” advised Andrews.

Having a negative review is not a disaster but ignoring it could be. “According to a 2020 Trustpilot report, 45 percent of consumers are more likely to support a business if they see that they have responded to negative reviews,” Johnson said.

Cross advised, “Retailers should have a plan in place to immediately address a negative review and investigate everything they can about it. Retailers should show they’re easily reachable to have a conversation about any issue. Be transparent, truthful and genuine, but also keep it professional. Apologize when warranted and show that you accept responsibility. I also suggest having someone who is knowledgeable respond to them, the higher up in leadership within your company, the better,” she explained.

Responding with an apology and an offer to reach out on how to make it right is a great approach, agreed Mohawk’s Skidmore. “People who see responses from the company on a negative review feel more comfortable about seeing an occasional negative review.”

Responding quickly is the best way to defuse customer frustration and allows you to work with the customer and turn their negative experience into a positive one, said CCA’s Andrews. “We advise keeping your response brief and encouraging the customer to call the store for further discussion.”

What’s more, she said, “Responding appropriately to a negative review and taking immediate follow-up action increases the likelihood this customer will return to work with you on future projects, refer you to friends and family, and may result in them changing their review to a 5-star one.”