A strategy for managing online reviews allows your business to leverage review channels to efficiently monitor, address, and utilize customer feedback. Keeping track of reviews and knowing how to respond should be a fundamental aspect of your broader marketing approach.
This guide will guide you through the significance of managing online reviews for reputation management, as well as the basics of establishing a review management strategy for your brand.
What exactly is online review management?
Online review management involves the process of tracking, replying to, and cultivating customer reviews across digital platforms. It’s a crucial element in shaping a business’s online reputation and plays a vital role in comprehensive reputation management initiatives.
What are the advantages of effective online review management?
With the rise of mobile applications and the visibility of ratings in search results, reviews have become more accessible than ever. Customers can quickly search for your brand on their devices and make rapid decisions regarding where to spend their money.
The plethora of online reviews is beneficial not only for consumers but also for your business, as it offers a range of advantages beyond just serving as a rich source of feedback:
- Fostering trust and credibility: online reviews represent one of the most impactful forms of word-of-mouth marketing. As per Bright Local, 98% of consumers consult online reviews, and 46% regard reviews as an integral part of their decision-making process. Responding to reviews—positive or negative—demonstrates that you are a legitimate business that cares for your customers.
- Insight for strategic choices: reviews provide crucial data on customer satisfaction and spotlight areas needing attention. They establish a significant feedback loop, equipping product development and marketing teams with the insights required to align with customer expectations.
- Enhanced customer loyalty: By tackling customer complaints and recognizing positive feedback, businesses can foster loyalty and appreciation among their clientele. This interaction reflects your appreciation for customer input and your commitment to enhancing their experience.
You might even consider resharing positive social media reviews as user-generated content, which can sway buying choices. According to The Sprout Social Index™, customer testimonials and real customer demos rank as the second type of content that consumers prefer from brands on social media.
- Competitive edge: customer feedback is a treasure trove for understanding your brand’s strengths and weaknesses and those of your competitors. By paying attention to customer comments, you can seize opportunities to differentiate yourself. For instance, if complaints about inadequate customer service abound in your competitors’ reviews, this represents a chance for you to excel.
How to create an online review management strategy?
- Identify key platforms: ascertain which review websites are most influential in your industry. For travel, TripAdvisor reigns supreme; in local businesses, Yelp is significant. Additionally, Google My Business is crucial in most sectors due to its close ties with local search results.
- Create a response plan: devise an organized method for engaging with reviews. Ensure that you respond promptly to both positive and negative reviews in a way that is tailored and demonstrates your brand’s commitment to customer service.
- Integrate review management: weave review management into your wider marketing and customer service strategy, ensuring your business utilizes insights from customer feedback to make informed decisions and enhance the customer experience.
How to effectively manage online reviews?
You have a variety of options available for online review management.
One method is to manage reviews directly on the platforms themselves. This approach tends to suit smaller businesses that do not receive numerous reviews.
For brands in sectors that generate a high volume of reviews across different platforms (such as travel, tourism, or hospitality), utilizing review management software provides a more thorough solution. These tools create a centralized, efficient means for integrating this facet of reputation management.
In Sprout, you can view your Facebook, Google My Business, TripAdvisor, and other online reviews all in one platform, allowing for seamless management of replies. You can also filter incoming reviews and assign cases seamlessly within your social media workflow in Sprout.
We’re about to connect our review management platforms [Facebook and Google My Business] to Sprout Social:
Setting up your online review management with Sprout Social
Step 1: Begin a free trial of Sprout Social and create an account using your business email. You won’t even need a credit card.
Step 2: To connect a Facebook Page and Google My Business Location, go to “Account & Settings > Connect a Profile”.
Step 3: Select Facebook, Google My Business. If you choose Facebook, click Connect Page.
Follow the prompts in the connection wizard. You’ll be redirected to the corresponding network’s site for profile authorization.
Note: You also have the option to link TripAdvisor, Yelp, Glassdoor, and Google Play to your profile. If you’re linking to a Facebook Company Page, make sure you’re an admin of that Page. If Facebook Reviews are turned off natively, you’ll need to enable them. Once enabled, the Reviews tab in Sprout will automatically update to reflect Facebook Reviews from the moment you select it.
Managing reviews in Sprout Social
Step 4: To view, respond to, or manage reviews, click the Reviews tab.
Reviews will be displayed in a single stream, sorted from Newest to Oldest by default. You can easily filter reviews by date range, Profiles, Ratings, Tags, or Sentiment. Alternatively, you can use keywords or phrases to find specific reviews.
The number of unmarked reviews will be shown at the top bar for quick reference.
Click the overflow menu 
on a review to discover additional actions you can take, such as emailing the review.
Note: You need to have permission for the Manage Message Status Reviews feature to engage with your review messages.
Step 5: Replying to reviews
To respond directly to a Facebook Page or Google My Business Review, click 
If a review doesn’t necessitate further action, you can mark it as complete by clicking 
Step 6: Creating Cases
You can also assign reviews as Cases to team members for immediate attention and response.
Step 7: Saving custom views
Managing numerous Facebook Profiles and Google My Business Location profiles can lead to chaos. With Views, you can categorize reviews by profile, rating, and/or tags.
To set up a custom view:
- Click Create New under Reviews.
- Choose your view criteria from the Filter Menu.
- Click Save.
You can remove or edit a View by selecting the three dots at the top of the screen after choosing a view.
Step 8: Manage review notifications:
You’ll receive popup notifications within the app and email alerts each time you get a new review message.
Manage these notifications by going to Account and Settings > Notifications under Global Features. From there, you can enable or disable the types of notification you prefer to receive regarding review messages.
By adhering to these straightforward steps, you and your brand will soon reap the benefits of a more manageable approach to reviews and improved customer relationships. This will simplify your ability to respond to reviews directly and engage with your customers.
How to respond to online reviews
Here are three key practices you should follow when replying to online reviews:
1. Respond to both positive and negative reviews
View responding to reviews, regardless of sentiment, as an opportunity to foster trust with your audience.
Handling negative feedback well can foster connection—79% of individuals would be “likely” or “highly likely” to leave a positive online review if the business turned an initially negative experience into a positive one, as per Bright Local’s survey.
Every piece of feedback merits a response, as you can win back customers even after a negative review or comment. A study conducted by Ipsos MORI in partnership with TripAdvisor found that when a property owner replies with personalization, over 77% of travelers say they’re more inclined to book as a consequence. The research also indicated that 67% of travelers agree that it’s helpful when they can see context around negative reviews and apologies from management.
2. Maintain professionalism and sincerity in responses
When crafting a public apology, it’s crucial to keep responses professional by adopting a tone that is understanding and remorseful. Personalize your response with the reviewer’s name, acknowledge their concerns, and include comments about any steps taken to resolve the situation. If it’s not otherwise clear, conclude with your name and position.
A negative review of the Stinking Rose on Google, where the restaurant replies by expressing gratitude for the customer’s feedback, apologizing for their poor experience, and noting that they’ll address their comments moving forward. In this instance, the Stinking Rose responded to both positive and negative reviews, explicitly mentioning the actions they plan to take in response to the negative review.
The restaurant conveys gratitude for the positive review from the customer and expresses hope to see them again in the future.
3. Provide timely responses to reviews
Customers expect not only responses but also prompt ones. A ReviewTrackers report found that 53% of customers anticipate businesses to reply to negative reviews within a week. The report highlighted that rapid response correlates with higher overall ratings, as the top 10% of brands across sampled industries exhibited faster and more consistent response times.
Thus, having a review response strategy in place is crucial as part of your overarching approach. By being proactive, you can respond more swiftly and reduce the time spent addressing reviews. When crafting a response, remember that while it may target a specific customer, future customers will also read it. They will note your commitment to addressing feedback and the changes made to your business practices.
As illustrated, review management aligns closely with elements you may already have in place as part of a social customer care strategy. By being attentive to your audience’s feedback and willing to engage authentically and constructively, you can connect with your customers, whether handling online reviews or interactions on social platforms.
What features to look for in online review management software
With customers having many options for leaving reviews, it’s vital to have a tool that consolidates your brand’s reviews in one location. The key features of online review management platforms will vary based on your brand’s requirements; here are some of our preferred features:
Artificial intelligence and automation
Effective online review management software can prompt customers via email to submit reviews on your selected platforms. Some software can even pre-screen customers by sentiment before allowing them to post a review. For instance, if they indicate, “I had a bad experience,” a feedback form will be sent to delve deeper into the situation.
AI capabilities can also streamline your agents’ duties, enhancing their responses through auto-generated replies that improve the quality of interactions. For instance, Sprout’s Enhance by AI Assist feature empowers agents to make their drafted replies more friendly, succinct, and professional.
Reporting and analysis
It’s evident that you’ll require reporting and social media analytics tools to recognize trends and develop insightful data narratives, enabling the optimization of your online review management strategy.
Centralized, collaborative workspace
When handling reviews from a variety of channels and locations, a team effort is necessary to address them effectively. Additionally, insights from reviews can inform teams throughout the organization. A unified workspace designed for collaboration, like Sprout, allows your team to work cross-functionally with a single source of truth.
Security and privacy
Given that reviews encompass a broad spectrum of data, businesses require online review management software equipped with substantial security and privacy safeguards. For example, the ability to restrict access based on roles and responsibilities aids in preventing data breaches.
Integration with other CRMs
Customer relationship management (CRM) software is essential for managing and storing details about your company’s potential and existing customers, aligning well with your online review management platform.
Integrating your online review management system with your current CRM will enhance your customer care. Sprout integrates with several platforms including Zendesk, HubSpot, Salesforce, and Microsoft Dynamics 365. These integrations provide essential business intelligence to enhance efficiency and gain a comprehensive view of customers, informing how to forge lasting relationships with your target audience.
Multilingual functionality
If you operate globally with customers and employees from various regions, choosing online review management software that supports multiple languages is an inclusive best practice.
Sprout accommodates a range of languages (English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Brazilian Portuguese) for both publishing and inbound communications.
Sprout also integrates with Google Translate, enabling users to translate inbound messages within the Smart Inbox. Messages in any language can enter the application and be translated into your chosen language(s).
Utilizing multilingual online review management software will also aid in establishing a global presence and monitoring your reputation across diverse cultures, ensuring that language barriers do not impede the provision of support.
Establishing a proactive online review management system
You’ve learned that review management encompasses much more than mere responses to reviews. It represents a strategic element of contemporary business operations that has direct implications for customer perceptions and corporate outcomes. By embracing a strategic approach to review management, you can boost your online visibility, cultivate stronger customer connections, and drive business success.
Initiate a Sprout trial today to enhance your review management strategy and discover how transforming customer feedback into business intelligence can elevate your brand.
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