When it comes to doing business with your company, you can bet that your customers have read about you through a review site. The days of your company controlling your brand image have faded. People have moved online where they get 24/7-hour access to share anything, at any time. So, they have majority control. Let's talk about a few tips that will help you conquer, and convert, those online reviews.

User-Generated Content Can Make You Money

Did you know that 91% of consumers read online reviews? Customer reviews, blog posts, and social media are user-generated content, and they're either promoting your brand, or they're not. And it can hit hard when they're not, any review of your product can spread like wildfire. According to Hootsuite, 3.48 billion people use social media, imagine how fast your message could spread!

When they want to boast about their experience with your company, multiple platforms are welcoming your customer to share away, including:

• Yelp
• Facebook
• Google My Business
• Glassdoor

If you can make them your super fans then they'll adopt you with open arms and tell all their friends and family members, and that there is the sound of revenue. However…if they don't like you, then read on.

Deal with Negative Reviews

Yes, negative reviews can be frustrating. Review bombs, one-star ratings, and comments from harsh online critics are hard to read and probably get you angry. It's tempting to want to fight back, or censor customer feedback, or disregard their comment entirely. Successful customer-centric companies, however, do the exact opposite. They consider negative feedback as valuable information, and they listen carefully to their most unhappy customers to better understand and improve the customer experience.

The key is to take some time to look at it rationally and determine the right way to respond. Responding too quickly and while angry can result in a reputation management issue. And yes, absolutely yes, you must answer; it shows excellent customer service, and you need that department since they're the ones responding to those negative comments.

Monitor Your Reputation

Warren Betty once said, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."

More consumers than ever look at online reviews to help them make purchase decisions. They're going in deep on their research about your product and your company, so stay alert because we live in an 'instant' type of world and things get out, fast. Reviews, positive and negative, can have an enormous impact on consumer behavior. You spend years (and a lot of money) creating your brand, so naturally, you want to protect it.

How do you protect your reputation, save money, and gain new customers? An ad agency can help, drop us an email at info@thinkmartinfirst.com, we have some ideas!