The Ultimate Online Reputation Management Guide

The Ultimate Online Reputation Management Guide

What is Online Reputation Management? Images uploaded to Instagram or Facebook by past visitors. Traveler tweets on Twitter. Critiques posted by journalists or bloggers. Reviews on sites like TripAdvisor. The online reputation of your business encompasses everything a customer can find about you on the internet. Everything posted to social networks, booking partners, review sites and more is fair game. Together, these sources combine to shape your online reputation the consumer s perception of your business. This guide is designed to help businesses start managing their online reputations. It s built on four key takeaways: 1. Influence the conversation. You can t control what s said about your business, but you can influence it by actively managing your online reputation. 2. Set realistic expectations. Your online reputation should set realistic expectations so you can exceed them and delight customers. 3. Maximize your efforts. Have a clear strategy and goals to focus your efforts and maximize your return on investment. 4. It s never too late to start. With the right plan, and a few minutes per day, anyone can manage the online reputation of their business. Page 1

Online Reputation Management: Why Does It Matter? Nearly 80% of people report that the internet is the first place they look when they need information, and over 50% are using search engines to research. 1 While you would like potential customers to interact with marketing channels you control like your website or social media accounts, search engines allow them to access a variety of other information that you don t control including reviews, social media posts, consumer photos and more. Not having control over consumers perceptions isn t new to hospitality businesses. After all, many social media and review sites are close to 20 years old. However, more consumers are now making booking decisions based on these independent information sources. In a recent TripBarometer survey, conducted by TripAdvisor, 89% of respondents said reviews had the most influence on their bookings. 2 Similarly, in a 2015 Phocuswright study, over 80% of respondents said traveler reviews are an important influence on their booking decisions and 54% would not book a property that doesn t have reviews. 3 89% of respondents said reviews had the most influence on their bookings 2 This all means that hospitality businesses have a greater stake in managing their online reputations than ever before. Potential customers are being swayed by third party information that a business has no direct control over. But there s a difference between not having direct control and not having influence. That s where online reputation management comes into play. Actively managing your online reputation helps you shift customers perceptions of your business, influence their booking decisions in your favor and, ultimately, put moremoney in your pocket. 1. The Connected Consumer Survey 2014 / 2015, How digitally-savvy are people? 2. TripBarometer Global Edition, April 2014. Further details can be found in the TripBarometer global report 3. Phocuswright Custom Survey Research Engagement on behalf of TripAdvisor, May 2015 Page 2

What s In It For You? Influencing customers booking decisions is only the start. Research shows online reputation management can directly impact the financial success of your business. Consider the following: A recent TrustYou study with Accor Hotels revealed that travelers are 3.9 times more likely to choose a property with a higher review score when prices are equal. 4 Travelers less likely to book Travelers 3.9x more likely to book HOTEL REVIEW SCORE The same TrustYou study concluded that 76% of travelers will pay more for a property with a higher review score. 4 76% of travelers will pay more for a property with a higher review score Medallia research shows hotels that actively engage with social media grow occupancy at double the rate of those that don t. 5 Hotels actively engaged in social media Hotels not active in social media RATE OF HOTEL OCCUPANY GROWTH 4. TrustYou, How to present review content for more conversions, September 2015 5. Medallia, Responding to Social Media Boosts a Company s Bottom Line, New Research Finds, March 2015 Page 3

What s In It For You? (Continued) In fact, there are several reasons why managing your online reputation is essential to your business s financial health: Promote the good and fix the bad Collecting reviews from all visitors gives you a window into your successes and shortfalls. Capitalize on the positive comments and use the less glowing ones to improve. Get the right customers through your door The adage of the customer is always right may still be true but not every customer is right for your business. Responding to feedback from your best customers can help you highlight your business s differentiating features and attract more prospects from your most profitable target market. Keep them coming through your door Share how you ve enhanced your services based on customer feedback. Showing you embrace their opinions encourages repeat visits and attracts new patrons. Amplify your reach Marketing spend can only take independent businesses so far. But with proper online reputation management, you can turn each traveler review, post and photo into a free advertisement to your target customers. EXPERT TIP: BUILD CUSTOMER TRUST People are looking for a place they can trust, where they know they re going to be treated well like family or friends. When an important travel magazine or the TripAdvisor traveler community says a place is good, that helps. That confirmation is what influences them. PAUL BIDAULT Owner of Wego Walking Tours, Paris Page 4

The Secret to Online Reputation Management Improve your reputation by exceeding expectations offline. The vast amount of information available on the internet today can make it challenging for businesses to get a handle on their reputations. How do successful businesses tackle this challenge? Here s the secret: they focus on properly setting realistic customer expectations and then exceeding them. Everything customers read online shapes their expectations of your business. Properties get bad reviews and comments when customers experiences don t meet their expectations. Think about it you would expect something very different from a $100/night hotel versus a $500/night hotel, or a $15/plate restaurant versus a $100/plate restaurant. It s fine to be a $100/night hotel or a $15/plate restaurant when that s what your customers expect from you. But if they go into the experience expecting something luxurious, and instead get something very ordinary, you ll start seeing that feedback pop up online fast. Here s the secret: Be true to who you are as a business. Avoid trying to oversell yourself online. Craft an online reputation that realistically sets customer expectations and then exceed them. Page 5

The Secret to Online Reputation Management (Continued) EXPERT TIP: FOCUS ON CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE Customer service is my number one concern with the business. We want to provide a great experience from start to finish. We re willing to work hard to earn good reviews. DEAN O MALLEY Owner of Jetpack America Online reputation management is not about reading and responding to everything that s posted about your business on the internet or trying to find a way to downplay negative comments. It s about making sure all of the information available on your business properly sets your customers expectations. Your website, photos and marketing communications should complement user-submitted reviews and photos on review sites like TripAdvisor. Your contact details, hours of operation and address should be correct anywhere travelers find them, to ensure that potential customers aren t inconvenienced or sent to the wrong place. If your pool is closed, or there s construction happening outside your front door, you should contact visitors and let them know in advance. And don t stop there it s important to update the resources travelers use when researching. For example, if there are photos of your pool, temporarily update the captions with a date of the re-opening. The easiest way to start managing your reputation online is by making sure customers are receiving service that meets their expectations offline. Page 6

Build Your Strategy Ready to start tackling your online reputation and properly setting your potential customers expectations? Before you jump in, make sure there s a strategy guiding your efforts. A strategy will help you make the most use of your time and determine where to focus. Here are some guidelines to help: Know your business. It s not possible to be all things to all people. Take an honest look at your business and brand. Which customer groups have the best things to say about you? Should patrons expect a luxury experience or a quality one at a fair price? Narrowing down your target market helps you focus online reputation management efforts on your best customers. Set your goals. With your business in mind, set goals that help you target your best customers when shaping your online reputation. For example, a family-friendly resort may prioritize responding to reviews from family travelers over business travelers. Or an attraction offering guided tours in German may not focus too closely on reviews from non-german speakers. Since it s not possible to read or respond to everything that s posted about your business across the internet, setting goals can help you focus on what really matters to you. Create an online reputation management culture. Managing your reputation can t be in one person s hands. (Unless you re a one-person business, in which case, you ve got this!) Each team member needs to know how they impact your customers experience. Prioritize training employees on your reputation goals and encourage them to monitor social posts and reviews. However, be clear that the responsibility of responding to customer feedback falls to a smaller group that s been trained to speak for your business. EXPERT TIP: BUILDING AN ONLINE REPUTATION-MINDED CULTURE People often want a quick fix, but the best results come from a cultural shift that includes every employee in the process of earning positive reviews. This means setting clear goals and strategies, closely tracking reviews, and providing the training, empowerment and recognition employees need to achieve their potential. DANIEL CRAIG Founder, ReKnown Page 7

Getting Started is Easy Now that you ve established your strategy, it s time to set it in motion. Here are five things to keep in mind, along with a helpful checklist to focus your efforts. 1. Commit to listening. Customers are talking about you, whether you re listening or not. Commit to listening to what they have to say even though you may not always like it. To hear what they re saying, search for your business using a search engine. Don t forget to search for images as well. Build a list of the most popular websites where people post comments about you and get into the habit of checking them regularly. 2. Treat reviews like precious gems. Reviews are essentially free evaluations of your business. If there s negative feedback, don t worry. People don t expect you to be perfect all the time. But when something goes wrong, they do expect you to be accountable and fix it. Use negative feedback to make your business stronger. And be sure to tell customers what you ve done, so they know you re always listening and improving. 3. Track the trends. Just like you, potential customers don t have time to read everything about your property. Instead, they look for patterns. One bad comment or image won t necessarily have them moving on to a competitor. However, several bad reviews in a row could convince them to look elsewhere. You should approach online reputation management in the same way. Try to spot patterns early and focus your resources on those issues. That way the only trends prospects see will be good ones! EXPERT TIP: USING FEEDBACK TO IMPROVE We really do care about our guests. Management Responses help us gain their trust. Things do go wrong. We re not afraid to admit it, thank guests for their feedback and share the improvements we ve made based on it. We think it s important to show that to people who are reading our reviews. NINA PECI Relais Borgo Santo Pietro, Tuscany Page 8

4. Don t fear the feedback. Asking people what they think about your business is the best way to understand what s working and what isn t. Be sure to get reviews or opinions from all of your customers. Trying to avoid negative reviews hurts you in the end. If you don t know what s going wrong, you can t fix it. Some sites, including TripAdvisor, have guidelines against cherrypicking and may penalize properties that only request reviews from visitors who had positive experiences. 5. Respond with a (virtual) smile. On websites where it s possible to respond, do. When you respond, use the same tone you would if you were talking to someone at your front desk or check-in stand. Your responses should be personal and sincere. Avoid copying and pasting the same response no one likes a robot. And while it may feel good to write an angry response to a negative review, it will hurt you in the long run, as it will not make the best impression on future customers. DON T FORGET: CHECK THE RULES Before requesting feedback on a particular site, check its rules. For example, TripAdvisor encourages businesses to ask all customers for reviews. But being selective and only requesting reviews from certain customers is against our guidelines. Not knowing the rules can result in penalties if you unwittingly break them, which ultimately damages your online reputation. EXPERT TIP: HOW OFTEN SHOULD I RESPOND TO REVIEWS? The number of reviews you respond to varies based on your business s goals. At a minimum, I recommend businesses always have at least one response visible on their first page of reviews. That way, customers can see the business cares about feedback and responds, without having to search through multiple pages of reviews for the last negative one. BRIAN PAYEA Head of TripAdvisor Industry Relations Page 9

An Online Reputation Management Checklist Getting Started Establish your strategy and goals for managing your online reputation. TIP Share your strategy with your team and make sure they re all on board. Use search engines to find what s currently being said about you online. Choose the top result and follow these steps: This may require registering as a representative of the business Upload recent photos, if possible. Read the most recent reviews, posts or tweets from consumers. Search for your business s exact name and location like Blue Hawaiian Helicopter Tours, Maui. If customers tend to shorten your business s name, or call it something else, search for those terms as well. Take note of any trends you re seeing. Repeat this process for the rest of the relevant search results. Prioritize results closer to the top, as these will be more applicable. Create a list of popular sites customers use to learn about you and register for each site. Use an alert service (such as Google Alerts or Mention) so you re notified when your business name is posted on a public website. Each Week Encourage customers to share feedback, reviews, posts and tweets on your most popular sites, including TripAdvisor. TIP Visit each of the most popular sites. On each site: Review the latest traveler feedback. Take notes on what s being shared. If possible, engage travelers by adding your own posts and tweets As trends emerge, prioritize improvements based on feedback from customers in your target market. Prioritize writing responses to customers in your target market. This shows potential customers who are researching your property that you care about their experience. When you make improvements, respond to the reviews, posts or tweets that prompted the change. Respond to customer feedback, to show you are part of the conversation. Use your online reputation management strategy as a guide. Seasonally Revisit your online reputation management strategy and discuss it with your team. Add new photos and update your information on popular sites Complete a fresh search for your business to find any new sites customers are using. To start managing your reputation on TripAdvisor, visit the TripAdvisor Management Center: tripadvisor.com/owners Page 10