Managing and monitoring reviews is a very difficult task for a business with a single operational location. It gets more complex and complicated for businesses with multiple locations. Responding to reviews can be a complex task but is very important in maintaining a brand’s image.
According to BrightLocal’s 2019 consumer review survey, 82% of customers read reviews online for local businesses and 97% read the response. Your reviews and response to it set an environment for your brand reputation.
In this blog, we’ll learn why review management strategies are important, the challenges of creating a strategy for multi-locations, and tips for enhancing review management strategies!
Why is review management strategy important for multi-location? And what to consider when building a review management strategy?
Review management strategy is very important for multi-location because it helps in maintaining online reputation. With multi-location business, it is difficult to monitor multi-location and multi-platform reviews. It also improves local search visibility and enhances customer experience.
Responding to reviews shows that you care about your customers and are determined to provide them a positive experience. It helps in building trust and credibility. It also gives a competitive advantage, helps in addressing location-specific issues, and standardizes responses. It ensures there is consistency. It also helps in measuring the review metrics to understand how users perceive your product and experience. It makes sure that every location maintains the brand standards.
When building a review strategy for a multi-location, you must consider the business objective, review management structure, review response strategy, budget, compliance, no. Of platforms, etc.
Challenges in creating a review management strategy for multi-location
Here are some of the challenges that you can face while creating a review management strategy for multi-location.
- Scalability: Monitoring and cooperating reviews across multi-location are complex. As your business grows you must be able to handle increased volume.
- Standardization: Maintaining standard branding is very crucial for a brand. You must maintain consistent branding and messages across multi-location. You can set up a standard review response template for quick response.
- Resource Allocation: Allocating resources for review management is very difficult. Using or investing in review management tools can be expensive, especially for businesses in multi-location.
- Data Management: Collecting and managing data across multiple locations is very complex and complicated. Integrating customer data with customer feedback software is very difficult.
- Compliance: Complying with review management platforms is a must but very complex.
- Staying up-to-date with review platform policies: Staying updated with changing review platform policies and modifying review management strategy according to it.
- Centralized and Decentralized Review Management: Choosing between a centralized and decentralized review management system.
- Maintaining Reputation Across Multiple Locations: Ensuring that the reputation of your brand is consistent.
- Monitor ROI: Establish metrics to measure the performance of the review management system.
Tips for enhancing review management for multi-location
79% of customers state that reviews are their top trust factor. Also, 91% of customers state that local branch reviews impact their opinion of big brands. Reviews are very important and here are some of the tips for enhancing review management for multi-location.
- Centralized Review Management: Use a platform or software to monitor and manage reviews across different locations. Also, create a team for managing reviews across multiple locations.
- Review Process: Make sure your review process is consistent. Also, make sure you respond within 2 hours.
- Location-specific Review Management: Appoint location managers that ensure reviews of their location are optimized.
- Review Management Software: Implement a review management system that monitors and manages your reviews in one place. Lumia 360s Review Management Software filters and manages your reviews smoothly and effortlessly.
- Customer Feedback: Integrate your review management system with a customer feedback system to gain a better understanding of your customer.
- Scalability: Make sure your review management system can adapt to changing numbers, locations, etc.
It is important to build a review management strategy for multi-location because it ensures consistency, builds brand identity, and builds trust and loyalty in customers.
Read Also: The Role of Review Management in Customer Experience
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