08 Aug WHY ONLINE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT IS SO IMPORTANT IN THE TRADES
The past few years have seen big changes in how customers search for and evaluate businesses online, with review sites, social media, business directories, and Google Business Profile becoming increasingly important in the buyer’s journey.
This has created a bit of a headache for business owners, and the trades businesses are no exception. Now, alongside the demands of the job and admin, you need to stay on top of:
- Reviews and responses to reviews
- Comments and enquiries via social media
- Optimising your Google Business Profile (GBP)
- Managing your business listings on online directories
All these elements add up to what’s called your ‘online reputation’ and, as the title of this article suggests, managing that reputation is essential to ensuring your trades business stands out from the crowd. Below, we give you our top tips for not only managing your online reputation but boosting it as well.
- Optimise your Google Business Profile (GBP)
With 81% of consumers using Google reviews to evaluate a business, it’s pretty clear your trades business needs to have a GBP. If you haven’t claimed and set up your GBP, you can do it by following the steps here
Once you have a GBP, it’s crucial that you keep it up –to –date and optimise the features it has to offer, as it has become the first point of call for a majority of consumers when searching for a business. These features include adding photos and videos; the ability to get and respond to reviews, send direct messages, post FAQs and provide quotes, plus access to Google Insights and Analytics to track how your GBP is performing. Best of all, it’s completely free.
- Encourage and respond to reviews
There’s no doubt that reviews play a huge role in whether a customer chooses your trades business and makes that all-important phone call. In fact, 75% of consumers either always or regularly read reviews before deciding on a product or service.
The first step, then, is to encourage your customers to leave a review once a job is complete, whether you ask them face-to-face, send a follow up email with links to your review sites, or message them on social media. When your business starts getting some reviews, it’s crucial that you respond to them, both negative and positive. A massive 88% of consumers say they would use a business that responds to all their reviews, while only 47% would use a business that doesn’t respond. The takeaway from these stats – reviews have become increasingly central to establishing and managing your online reputation.
- Take advantage of social media
Social media continues to play a significant part in consumers’ business research journey with 45% using Facebook, 34% using Instagram and 23% using TikTok. This highlights the need for trades businesses to have a presence on at least one social platform and to make the most of the close relationship with your customers that social media facilitates.
Alongside its use as a marketing tool, social media is a great customer service platform with a range of benefits. First, it’s efficient, giving you the ability to respond to reviews, comments, or enquiries immediately and from anywhere. Second, it’s free, reducing the need for phone calls or customer support software. Finally, it’s where your customers are spending their time, with an astounding 20.8 million social media identities in Australia as of 2024.
This makes social media an ideal forum for trades businesses to build an online reputation that sets you apart from your competitors and turns customers into loyal advocates for your business.
- List on trades business directories
A key element in establishing an online reputation is to list your trades business on as many relevant and authoritative business directories as possible. These listings play an important role in boosting your local SEO and improving your rankings in ‘near me’ and location-based searches, something that is particularly crucial for trades businesses.
The main things to focus on with online directory listings is to keep them up to date with your business details, ensure your branding is consistent across each listing, and take advantage of their features. For example, many directories include the capacity for reviews, the provision of quotes, click-to-call, and direct messages, making them yet another opportunity for you to connect with prospective customers and grow your trades business.
How to stay on top of your online reputation
Keeping track of all the moving parts of your online reputation might seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. An online reputation management platform like Thryv lets you update your directory listings (including GBP), manage your reviews, and monitor customer communications and social media interactions from the one central platform, saving you time and energy to focus on your trades business.
To learn more about how an online reputation management platform can help your trades business stand out from the crowd, check out the full article here.
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