After you go to a job interview, your prospective employer calls your references before making a final decision on whether or not to hire you. Why? Because they want an unbiased opinion of your character, work ethic, and suitability for the job.
Online reviews are exactly the same. Potential customers browsing the internet for a business in your niche will appreciate what your website has to say about itself. But before they make a final decision about whether to go with you or your competitor, they'll want to check some unbiased references. Online reviews give your business social proof and can have a dramatic impact on its reputation, popularity, conversion rates, and sales.
Consider this: Nearly 90% of consumers worldwide consult reviews when exploring local businesses, and nearly half of those reveal that they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Clearly, online reviews are powerful, and your business needs to leverage them to their maximum potential to compete effectively in today's digital marketplace.
That being said, review generation and reputation management are time-consuming (and often tedious) tasks that may require a great deal of energy to stay on top of. From asking for reviews to responding to them in a timely way to highlighting them on your website and social media channels, tackling online reputation management can feel overwhelming.
Fortunately, there are some great tools out there that can ease the burden.
In this post, let's take a look at some of the latest review management software platforms on the market. By the end, you'll hopefully have a better sense of which one will be the right fit for your particular circumstances and needs.
Rep.co
A fully featured review generation and management platform that's been designed by a knowledgeable team of small business owners and digital marketing experts. It's versatile and intuitive, allows business owners to fully customize the review generation experience, and has exceptional options for white labeling.
Rep.co is a fully featured review generation and management platform that's been designed by a knowledgeable team of small business owners and digital marketing experts. It's versatile and intuitive, allows business owners to fully customize the review generation experience, and has exceptional options for white labeling. On top of that, it's got a ton of automation features and is very affordable (clients pay a set price per location that decreases as locations increase).
Rep.co is an up-and-comer on the review management software scene, and I'm definitely a big fan. I appreciate that this tool was developed in the digital marketing trenches and alleviates the pain points that real small business owners experience. You can read my full Rep.co review here.
Nicejob Review Management Software
A cloud-based reputation management platform that allows businesses to collect reviews and distribute them to different review sites. It offers helpful automation options and also provides a free subscription tier for up to 2,500 customers.
NiceJob is a reputation management platform that helps businesses collect and distribute reviews across different online review sites. The platform offers automation features that make it easy for businesses to collect positive reviews from satisfied customers. NiceJob also provides a free subscription tier for businesses with up to 2,500 customers, making it an affordable option for small businesses.
One feature that I find particularly useful is NiceJob's referral widget. This widget allows satisfied customers to easily recommend a business to their friends directly from the business's website or social media profiles. This can be a powerful tool for businesses looking to expand their customer base through word-of-mouth referrals. Overall, NiceJob's easy-to-use interface and automation features make it a great choice for businesses looking to simplify their review management process.
Podium Review Management Software
Podium encompasses all aspects of customer engagement. In addition to reputation management, it also includes SMS marketing, webchat, and features for processing payments. Podium is pricier than some of its competitors, but it also offers more comprehensive features. If you're looking for a well-established toolkit that will help you manage all of your customer interactions in one place, Podium may be a great choice.
Podium is a comprehensive customer engagement platform that covers a range of services, including reputation management, SMS marketing, webchat, and payment processing. Its all-in-one approach allows businesses to streamline their customer communication and management by providing a single platform to manage all aspects of customer interactions. This can help save time and increase efficiency for businesses of all sizes. While Podium is pricier than some of its competitors, it offers more comprehensive features and is a great choice for businesses that want to manage all of their customer interactions in one place.
One of the standout features of Podium is its ability to integrate with a wide range of popular review and social media sites. It also provides powerful analytics and reporting tools to help businesses track customer sentiment and identify areas for improvement. Additionally, Podium offers automated review requests and reminders to help businesses collect more reviews and improve their online reputation. While some businesses may find the pricing of Podium to be higher than other options, the comprehensive set of features and streamlined approach to customer management make it a great choice for businesses looking for a complete solution.
Reviewshake
Another all-in-one reputation management software solution. With options for businesses as well as agencies.
Reviewshake is another all-in-one reputation management software solution. With options for businesses as well as agencies (white labeling), it offers automated review generation, allows you to manage all of your reviews on different sites from one central location, and tracks your review performance. Reviewshake offers a user-powered review site that can work well across a wide range of industries and fosters organic communications between customers and business owners.
Trustpilot
A fully loaded customer experience management tool with strong review management features.
Like Podium, Trustpilot is a fully loaded customer experience management tool with strong review management features. It integrates with platforms like Shopify, WordPress, PayPal, Mailchimp, and more, and is appropriate for online or local businesses of any size. I personally appreciate Trustpilot's straightforward interface and the fact that you can turn your best reviews into widgets. It also has a comprehensive analytics tool that provides insights into customer feedback in real time.
Birdeye
One of the big names in the world of online reputation management software for a reason, but that distinction comes with a high price tag.
Birdeye is yet another customer experience platform. It's one of the big names in the world of online reputation management software for a reason, but that distinction comes with a high price tag.
That being said, Birdeye integrates with over 1,000 apps (including the Google API) and, along with a whole host of standard features, enables businesses to create surveys and capture real-time customer feedback. Monitoring more than 150 review websites and supporting business listing updates across more than 50 websites, it's a platform that's well-suited for large businesses or agencies and can scale with companies of any size.
Yotpo
It's designed specifically for e-commerce businesses. Affordable, comprehensive, and easy to use.
What sets Yotpo apart from the other reputation management software solutions in this review is the fact that it's designed specifically for e-commerce businesses. Affordable, comprehensive, and easy to use, Yotpo's data-driven features are tailored to the needs of e-commerce industries and include social media integrations as well as a suite of features focused on leveraging the power of user-generated content. Yotpo also boasts a robust and detailed analytics dashboard.
ReviewTrackers
A reputation management solution that can provide you with actionable insights on how to improve your review performance in comparison to your top competitors
If you're looking for a reputation management solution that can provide you with actionable insights on how to improve your review performance in comparison to your top competitors, ReviewTrackers will be your best choice. With plenty of integrations and the ability to track feedback on more than 100 popular review websites and platforms, ReviewTrackers has the potential to really help your business hone its online reputation.
BrightLocal
An all-in-one digital marketing platform for local SEO. If you're seeking to improve your search engine rankings using a multi-pronged approach that includes high-quality reputation management
BrightLocal is an all-in-one digital marketing platform for local SEO. If you're seeking to improve your search engine rankings using a multi-pronged approach that includes high-quality reputation management, BrightLocal may be a great option! BrightLocal is a well-established name in the local SEO software industry, and its packages are reasonably priced—starting at just $35 per month.
Grade.us
A cloud-based reputation management platform geared primarily toward agencies offering review management services to clients.
Grade.us is a cloud-based reputation management platform geared primarily toward agencies offering review management services to clients. It encompasses features similar to those of many of the other tools reviewed above, but its systems are designed to handle and organize a greater capacity of clients. Grade.us integrates with a vast range of major business tools and generates reviews using customized SMS and email options.
As you can see, there are many advantageous and high-quality options out there when it comes to review management software solutions. While some stand alone, others exist as part of larger customer relations or digital marketing platforms.
If you're just starting out with reputation management software, I'd recommend considering your specific needs and then trying out the free trials on some of the tools listed above. It shouldn't take long for you to find a platform that fits your style.
As for my personal favorite platform, it may surprise you to hear that I use Rep.co for all of my reputation management needs. I love the fact that Rep.co is a dedicated review generation and monitoring software that was developed by small business owners and digital marketing experts who saw the need for a better solution and created it themselves.
When it comes to Rep.co's features and customer support, I'm hard-pressed to come up with much to criticize. Plus, it's affordably priced! While Rep.co may not be the optimal solution for everyone, I'd recommend giving it a try. As an up-and-comer in the reputation management software niche, it hasn't yet established as big a name for itself as some of the other platforms reviewed here. But the quality is there, and I'm willing to put my vote behind it—for small businesses or agencies.
If you want more specifics about how Rep.co measures up against the competition, you can read my in-depth comparison of Podium Vs. Birdeye Vs. Rep.co. **Insert link once review is published.
To conclude, reputation management is an essential facet of digital marketing and SEO, but there are also many others. Get in touch with me at SerpFocus to find out more about how reputation management can fit into your broader digital marketing strategy. At SerpFocus, I welcome the opportunity to consult with business owners no matter where they may be on their SEO journey, so contact me today!
Before I jump into why you need review management software (which I firmly believe you do), let's just pause for a moment to define it:
Review management refers to the process of generating, monitoring, analyzing, responding to, and showcasing online reviews. Review management software refers to specific tools and platforms that support efficient and effective review management for businesses.
When properly handled, review management software can help you do the following:
Positive reviews build social proof for your business and improve its authority in the eyes of consumers. Interestingly, negative reviews can also do the same—as long as the bulk of your reviews aren't overwhelmingly negative and are responded to skillfully and in a timely manner.
Review management software can help you generate reviews and get them seen by consumers via multiple channels. It can also help you stay on top of timely and effective responses to both positive and negative feedback.
Review management software is a massive time saver. Instead of having to manually request reviews and monitor them as they come in, you can simply trust a reliable tool to automate the process, freeing you up to focus on higher-level tasks.
Reviews have a major impact on local SEO (search engine optimization). When used effectively, review management software can help you leverage customer feedback and improve your search engine rankings.
The whole point of your business is to make sales, and review management software tools can assist. In addition to helping you tweak and refine your products and services, customer feedback can also be instrumental in building brand loyalty. When you're responsive to feedback, you generate more buzz, which ultimately creates momentum and leads to more revenue generation. Win-win!
When you've got a company to run and a million fires to put out, the last thing you want is yet another complicated digital tool that you have to learn how to use. The right online reputation management software solution for you should feel intuitive and easy to understand. Ideally, it should include a straightforward user interface, mobile management options, and great customer support.
The world of online reviews is often fast-paced and unforgiving. Customers expect you to be responsive to positive and negative feedback alike. With dedicated review management software, you can receive real-time notifications whenever there's an opportunity for you to engage with customers.
This one is really critical. Every aspect of your business should reflect your company's brand and identity—and that includes the way you request and manage reviews. Customizable reputation management software solutions allow you to make the review generation process your own while still getting at all the information that really matters the most.
It almost goes without saying that a good review management platform should integrate with a wide range of other business and marketing software solutions as well as review sites across a variety of different industries and channels. Be sure that the software you ultimately purchase has enough scope for the breadth and depth of reputation management you want to cultivate.
Showcasing your business's positive reviews is a smart digital marketing strategy, and your review management software should be able to assist you in doing that. If the system is automated, so much the better!
Without comprehensive and accurate reporting, you won't be able to effectively adapt and refine your review management strategy. Make sure that you'll get all the metrics you require from your reputation management tool of choice.
Software prices can really add up and your bottom line is important, so carefully compare the value you'll get from different reputation management solutions before making a final decision.
