How to Give a Boost to Your Business’ Online Reputation

Before there was Yelp, or Facebook, or Google Reviews, there was word-of-mouth. While people sometimes talked about their positive experiences with businesses, they usually just complained about the negative ones. When businesses got a bad rap, there was little owners could do except try to provide better customer service.
Some people still listen to word-of-mouth reviews, but far more people use online reviews to decide whether or not to visit a business.
 

90%of consumers read reviews before visiting a business, which means 90% of consumers begin to form an opinion on your business before they ever make a call or visit an office. The truth is, it doesn’t matter how good your apartment marketing ideas are if your apartment community has a bad rating on Yelp.
It’s important to understand that reviews affect more than just your reputation. Businesses with more reviews rank higher on Google, and reviews can actually affect much as 10% of your overall SEO score.
With so many review sites and reviews out there, it might seem like you have no control over your business’ reputation. That couldn’t be farther from the truth, however, thanks to a popular service we call Reputation Management.

Reputation Management is both Reactive and Proactive
It’s easy to show that you care when a customer has a less-than-stellar experience. Your business’ Yelp page could be filled with negative reviews, but if you respond to them all and show that you’re taking steps to take care of these customers, people will notice. You can also encourage more people to post positive reviews by responding and showing them how much you appreciate their input.

Reputation Management is one-part responding to reviews and one-part gathering reviews. The second part is just as important as the first, and it’s one of the most effective apartment complex marketing ideas you can implement. If you want positive reviews, you have to go out and get them.
72% of consumers only take action after seeing a positive review, and 68% of consumers trust a local business more if they have positive reviews. We recommend asking for reviews in person and at the end of every promotional. It’s all about making it easy for the customer to leave a quick review.
The best way to manage your reputation is to be both reactive and proactive. You can react to reviews— both positive and negative — by posting thoughtful responses so new customers see that you care. You can proactively gather positive reviews by asking for them in emails and in person.
Now that you understand how important it is to manage your business’ reputation, you can learn how to do it!
Review Response Do’s and Don’ts
For negative reviews:
Do respond with facts
Do apologize                                                                                                    
Do offer a solution
Don’t pick a fight
Don’t ask the person to remove their review
Don’t threaten the reviewer with litigation
 
Hopefully, you see far more positive reviews. Here are some do’s and a don’t for managing those:
Do respond right away.
Do mention specific things about the reviewer’s experience
Do thank the reviewer for any recommendations they provide.
Don’t offer rewards or incentives for positive reviews
Here at Threshold/Carve, we recommend reactive and proactive reputation management. By responding to reviews with facts, you can limit the damage. By asking for reviews and gathering positive results, you can promote the parts of your business that people love. If you need help managing your business’ reputation or coming up with more marketing ideas for apartments, don’t hesitate to shoot us an email or give us a call.

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