Reviews determine how customers look and perceive your brand. One of the problems is that they can pop up on different platforms across the web, and if they aren’t a part of your plan, your trust score is left at risk.
Here is how to make 3rd party a part of your strategy and keep your online reputation on track for the better.
What are 3rd Party Reviews?
When we talk about 3rd party reviews, we're talking about places outside of our solution where consumers can freely express their ideas and where others may learn more about your company - places you might not be constantly monitoring.
There are a lot of them. From industry-specific review sites and social media to locally focused search engines like Yelp and Google Local, there's something for everyone. 'Local' does not always imply small or self-sufficient. It could be a local branch of a large, or even international, corporation.
Take, for example, Pizza Hut's Pizza. A customer has a positive experience with their meal order and decides to submit a positive review on TripAdvisor for their local store. Ten people have already done so, with 15 leaving reviews on the store's Facebook page and five on Google. This Domino's location currently has 30 reviews on three different third-party platforms.
Why Collect the Reviews?
Monitoring reviews across several sites may appear to be too much of a juggling act, but here's the thing: whether you want them to or not, customers will review your business, and they will do it on the platform that they are most comfortable with.
If you’re not a part of the conversion, your online reputation may slide where you don’t want it to go:
● Unsolicited feedback is usually unfavorable. Customers are significantly more inclined to express their dissatisfaction with a company online than they are to freely laud it. When they find that others share their negative viewpoint, their opinion is affected even more. As a result of leaving these third-party platforms unmanaged, you're likely to receive a number of negative reviews and feedback.
● Inconsistencies create suspicions. Customers are suspicious when they see a 4.8-star review on a Google Ad yet a 2-star rating elsewhere. And, by not promoting favorable reviews on these third-party sites, you're effectively destroying all of the hard work you've put into creating your reputation on your preferred review gathering site.
● Lack of control can be detrimental. A bad review isn't the end of the world if you can turn it around. By responding to negative feedback, you provide a remedy to the consumer, hopefully modifying their experience and, as a result, their opinion, as well as demonstrating to other possible customers that you are proactive in dealing with concerns. However, you may only do so if you have a third-party review mechanism in place. You have no control over the negative consequences of a bad review if you don't have one.
● It's all about taking full control of your internet reputation. You want uniformity across the board so that buyers have no doubts about your company's legitimacy. You also want to be able to successfully handle any and all negative evaluations.
Where Can You Leave 3rd Party Reviews?
Google Local
We all know how powerful Google is, and with a Google My Business page, you can display customer reviews and star ratings, erase negative Google reviews if necessary, increase your visibility in search results, and differentiate yourself from your local competition.
Amazon
Product reviews are essential if you're an online business selling on Amazon. They have a big influence on purchasing habits and provide consumers with detailed product information that encourages them to buy.
On Facebook, user-generated content, such as reviews, generates considerably more interaction than brand-generated content. You can create a community around your company and cement your reputation in front of billions of users by gathering consumer feedback on your business page, as well as turning off and deleting Facebook reviews.
Kwivrr
Kwivrr is an event registration platform where within it you can also leave third-party reviews as well. Within the app, you can sign up for events and leave reviews for them and the people that you attended.
TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor, the go-to site for travel and hospitality listings, assists customers in deciding where to stay, eat, and what to do wherever they are. If you own a vacation rental, restaurant, or tourist site, a TripAdvisor listing should be high on your priority list.
Yelp
Yelp is a local search engine that assists customers in finding local businesses and services. Customers can filter listings by "highest rated," thus the more reviews you have, the more prominent you are.
Yell
Yell is an online business directory that helps users find and rate local businesses and services, similar to the good old Yellow Pages. Your listing will have a star rating and will display all of your customers' ratings, similar to Yelp.
Houzz
From builders and interior designers to gardeners and landscapers, Houzz is a terrific forum for home design experts. What makes Houzz so appealing is that it is a very visual platform, featuring customer photographs alongside ratings and reviews.
Some of the most influential channels that you can use are Facebook and Google Local. There are over 3.5 billion searches daily and over 1 billion active users, and reviews are off the charts daily.
Why Reviews For Your Business Matters
Reviews for your business will show on different websites throughout the internet, but this isn't a problem if you have a solid strategy in place. It's a chance to do something different. These reviews will help your business to improve in many ways and show how people react through different platforms.