There are many things a business owner should track. These include revenues, expenses, returns on investment and more. However, one thing far too many business owners overlook is the importance of customer reviews. In today’s extremely digital world, customer reviews can do a lot to shape how consumers view your company and products. As such, customer reviews must be monitored. Below are four strategies for doing so.
Track Social Media Mentions
One thing you should be aware of is the fact that not all your customer reviews will be published on websites like Yelp, Tripadvisor and so on. In fact, much of the direct feedback given about your products or services may simply be done in tweets or Facebook posts. Overall, it’s important to monitor social media for all mentions of your products and services. Make sure your social media representatives are tracking the right terms so they can find the feedback.
Follow the Correct Websites
There are many customer review websites that are either general in nature or industry specific. For example, the Better Business Bureau publishes feedback regarding businesses in general. Alternatively, Tripadvisor primarily deals with the tourism and restaurant industry. Other websites may be used to only review apps, websites or software. Make sure you’re not ignoring websites relevant to your industry.
Consumer Intelligence for Product Reviews
Tracking all the reviews and mentions of your products online can quickly get overwhelming. That’s why you should look into using consumer intelligence for product reviews to make it easier. With so many review websites out there, your employees may spend an inordinate amount of time checking them each day for updates. Instead, you should use a review aggregator. This will give you access to a digital dashboard that automatically updates you on reviews posted on many different sites on the internet in real time. That way, you won’t have to waste time visiting each site individually. Such platforms should also help you develop strong consumer intelligence regarding this feedback so you can directly integrate it into your business.
Solicit Direct Feedback
In regards to customer reviews, you can also solicit the feedback yourself. This can be especially useful if you want to test new products before you release them on the wider market. This can be done through the use of focus groups that solicit reviews for products from a small number of consumers. Feedback can also be obtained by releasing the product in a test market. Surveys are another way to solicit direct feedback.
Overall, tracking customer reviews, no matter what form they may take, is extremely important. These reviews can help to shape your reputation with the greater public. As such, they can affect your profits for months or even years into the future. Make sure to do whatever you can to track these reviews and address them in a timely manner so problems spotlighted in negative reviews are solved.
Bio: Anita is a freelance writer from Denver, CO. She studied at Colorado State University, and now writes articles about health, business, family and finance. A mother of two, she enjoys traveling with her family whenever she isn’t writing. You can follow her on Twitter @anitaginsburg.
