Review Sites And The Need To Build Your Online Reputation

Background

Through my work with the Law Institute and numerous individual law firms I have seen first hand the belief that so many current day service providers such as lawyers have that referrals will continue to power their business development as it has in years gone by.

There is no doubt that in years gone by a business card handed over from one person to another would essentially drive a guaranteed approach from another potential client and although most people are still happy to  provide advice when asked, most recipients of that advice will now do their due diligence on that individual or business being put forward. Enter the advent of the online review site.

How Review Sites Work

Basically these sites are a platform where customers are able to go to write independent reviews by your current clients. customers, members or subscribers. Ultimately the level of customer service, product quality and how well the business delivers on the expectations of its target market will determine whether the review are positive or otherwise.

These reviews are certainly important and form the basis for another potentially viable point of differentiation between your business and key segment rivals so complimentary review will be well received. 

What Sites Are Most Important For Your Business

Different review sites are popular within different markets. It is therefore important to research the most popular to uncover what type of reviews are most commonly submitted to that site as a function of the community that use it and therefore the markets that are most directly influenced by it.

For example Urban Spoon is widely used to source quality restaurants, cafes and eateries of any description,  Trip Advisor is a leading website to source the best value in travel and accommodation packages and Angie's List which specialises in service reviews.

Highly Rated Review Websites

There are literally dozens of specialist review sites out there that review products, services or any other conceivable market offering. This is further heightened by the fact that virtually any site can be used to capture and promote consumer reviews. Understanding this it is imperative to stress that the number one priority for any business is to provide an unfailing level of customer service and quality delivery that will be the undermining motivation for people to review you regardless of the site. So first thing's first. Get it done right every time. Then you can selectively target sites you feel are most closely aligned. Some of the better know ones include but are not limited to:

          Amazon Review

·        Angie’s List

·        Bing Places

·        Citysearch

·        Doneright.com

·        Epinions.com

·        Google+ Local / Google Places

·        Home Advisor

·        Insider Pages

·        Judy's Book

·        MerchantCircle 

      Stumble Upon

·        Trip Advisor 

      Urban Spoon

·        Yahoo! Local

·        Yellow Pages

·        Yelp!

Formulate A Review Strategy for Your Business Or Brand

On confirming which particular review sites you want to focus on the next logical step is to formalise a consistent and scalable strategy that can be adopted to harness and leverage the goodwill by creating an account on these sites for your business and filling in a comprehensive profile on the business.

It is vital that any business wanting to build a stock pile of glowing reviews needs to make it almost effortless for their clients to go to these sites and generate the favorable reviews. Tactically this could mean some simple actionable points such as:
1. Put two key site URLs on the back of your business card or a separate 'appreciation' card
2. Provide the inbound link you want people to click on to land on your preferred landing page
3. Lay out some brief steps on how do a review
4. Institutionalise the process of consistently asking satisfied customers for reviews

Despite being largely undervalued and underperformed by many businesses, review sites can be highly impactful to raise awareness and create selective demand for your business.

To learn more about review sites and all other aspects of social and digital media marketing please join us at any of the free Digital Enterprise Program workshops and automatically qualify for a free four hour coaching session to develop and hone a superior marketing strategy for your business on:

 http://www.vecci.org.au/business-solutions/digital-enterprise-program/workshops

So until next time, good luck and good marketing.
Regards,
Daniele.