Last week, we addressed the uncomfortable issue of engaging negative online reviews. And while damage control of this sort is key to online reputation management (ORM), it’s equally important to build and nurture your company’s online fan base. In this post, we’ll cover how to respond to positive online review, as well as how to start generating them, if your business is just getting started.

How to Respond to Positive Online Reviews

Already receiving positive online reviews? Great! This recognition will be especially refreshing after reading comments from less-satisfied customers. But don’t just sit back and soak up the compliments. As much energy should be invested in leveraging positive reviews as negative ones. Here are some things to keep in mind when engaging positive reviewers:

Say “Thank You"

Many people are quick to jump online to point out your faults. If a customer makes an effort to do the opposite, show your appreciation! Thank them for their time, their kind words, and any input that makes your business better.

Emphasize the Good

Reiterate any qualities your reviewers point out, and let them know how pleased you are that they had a good experience. Hopefully, the strengths of your customer experience are by design—capitalize on this free advertising by reinforcing the good.

If your reviewers point out strengths that you were unaware of, take notes! Online reviews can provide excellent insight into your business. Take an objective look at the comments to learn new ways of improving your customer experience and business operations.

Be sure to affirm any employee recognition given by your reviewers. Doing so adds a very personal element to your online identity and reinforces the positive experience had by the customer. Take your accolades internal, as well, recognizing employees who get customer shout-outs. Internal recognition reinforces the importance of your online review strategy and will be especially appreciated by employees whose roles are heavily customer-facing or customer service-oriented.

Know Your Goals, Be Genuine, and Acknowledge Issues

Reputation management is a part of your marketing strategy, and you should have a plan that guides your online customer interactions. Having a plan ensures that you’re engaging customers purposefully, in a way that benefits your business. Plus, it makes writing review responses a whole lot easier.

Also, be genuine online. Prospective customers will use online reviews to make a lot of assumptions about the caliber of your company. Show them how they can expect to be treated.

Lastly, don’t overlook any issues raised in your reviews. Positive reviewers often weave lesser complaints into their praise. Any criticism memorable enough to make it into a review should matter to you as a company owner. Acknowledge gripes, no matter how trivial, and thank your reviewers for helping you improve your business.

We dig into these and other related points in our post on handling negative reviews. Remember that online review conversations are like in-person customer interactions that have permanent, extended visibility and should be handled with the same level of professionalism.

Be Careful with Rewards

You may be tempted to reward positive reviewers with a coupon for your business or other gift. This seems reasonable, right? You’d give discounts to your best customers in person. And it seems to follow that, if done privately online, similar behavior wouldn’t qualify as “buying” good reviews. Unfortunately, when it comes online reviews, compensation can be risky.

Your safest play is not to reward online reviewers with anything of monetary value. Rewards violate the terms of service for most online review sites, so be sure you know each site’s rules. Also, as soon as you provide compensation to an online reviewer, you make a giant leap into Federal Trade Commission territory concerning endorsements and disclosures. Brush up on your FTC regulation or find a good lawyer before swimming in these waters.

Know the rules, weigh your risks, and check your ORM strategy before deciding to reward reviewers. Monetary compensation could get you into trouble with online review sites and even the FTC. On the other hand, a sincere response from a business owner rewards a reviewer with great customer service, validates the purchase decision, and increases the likelihood of repeat-business. It also shows off your customer service quality to prospective customers. Perhaps these are benefits enough.

How Do I Get Good Reviews in the First Place?

Treat your online reputation as a part of your marketing strategy. To get good online reviews, make online reviews a priority. Campaigns to acquire reviews will differ by business, but if your review sites are bare, here are some things to consider:

Make Online Reviews a Company Priority

If online reviews are important to you as a business owner, get your employees on board! While it may be risky to reward your reviewers, you can certainly reward your employees. Set up a program that incentivizes employees whose clients leave reviews for your business—just make sure they’re aware of your organization’s policy on compensating customers.

Claim Your Listings

There are dozens of major online review sites and scores of niche listings that are applicable by industry. Do your research to make sure you know which review sites are relevant to your business. Once you have your list, claim your listings by creating business accounts for each site. Claiming lets you control the accuracy of your listings and gives you moderator privileges for your accounts.

Stay on Top of Review Sites

With your listing claimed, you need to find a way to monitor your various review sites for customer posts. The easiest way to stay on top of multiple review sites is to use a tool like (Qebot’s)[http://www.qebot.com], which monitors the Web for new reviews and lets you know when it’s time to respond. Whatever your ORM strategy, make sure you have a plan to monitor all relevant review sites and respond to customers in a timely manner.

Make Reviewing Easy

Let your customers know that you’d like to be reviewed and which review sites you prefer. Point people to your review listings in your client emails and on your website. Many review sites gladly provide resources that help you direct customers to their site—you’ll find marketing verbiage, website widgets, even in-store signage to promote your business review listings. Decide where you want your reviews, and tell your customers where to go.

Ask for Reviews

Often, the best way to get reviews it to simply ask for them. Some consider asking for reviews to be unprofessional, but many customers are happy to help, if you’ve treated them well. Style is important here, as you will want to avoid aggressively soliciting positive reviews. You’ll have to decide whether this tactic aligns with your values as a businessperson, your company identity, and your desired customer experience.

Your online reputation can be one of your strongest marketing channels. The customer-facing nature of online reviews can make them seem intimidating, but with a good strategy, you can engage promoters and detractors alike to in a way that benefits your company image. And if online reviews are lacking for your business, make them a priority! A few friendly posts today could push customers in the door tomorrow.

Want to learn more about how Qebot can help you grow you business? Check us out at qebot.com.

Author: William Hilton, COO of Qebot