Reputation Management

Whether you run a small business or a global enterprise, you need to have customers constantly coming through your doors to promote business continuity and growth. For retail businesses with brick-and-mortar stores, customer reviews are one of the most effective ways to increase traffic and drive offline sales. 

With 36% of customers browsing two review sites and 41% checking three or more sites when deciding which local businesses to visit, the power of online reviews is undeniable. 

Create a reliable customer review system that helps you collect high-quality, high-volume feedback, and you’ll likely have a consistent flow of traffic to your store. This could result in increased sales and more reviews (if you play your cards right), helping you attract even more new customers. 

How Do Positive Online Reviews Impact In-Store Foot Traffic?

Positive reviews are one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal. Over 75% of customers trust online reviews—if they’re positive, they’re more than likely to improve potential customers’ perception of your brand and increase traffic to your physical locations. 

They also improve search rankings and visibility and provide valuable information that can help customers better experience your products or services. Here’s a deeper look at the value of positive reviews.

Build Trust Through Social Proof and Credibility

Positive online reviews serve as modern word-of-mouth referrals, reassuring customers about the quality and value of your services or products. They build customer trust and store credibility, making your target audience more likely to pick your business over competitors. 

In fact, a recent survey by Brightlocal revealed that 50% of customers give online reviews the same weight as they do recommendations from their family and friends.

Improve Search Rankings and Visibility Online

We know what you’re thinking—what’s the correlation between reviews and rankings? Well, while reviews aren’t top search engine optimization (SEO) factors, they do have an impact on rankings. 

Google’s algorithm analyzes reviews for relevant keywords when ranking websites, which means that customer feedback can help determine your position in search engine results pages (SERPs). 

Many customers rely on search engines and review platforms like Google, Yelp, and Facebook to find local businesses. So a high volume of positive reviews on these fronts can increase their likelihood of discovering your business online and visiting in person.

Guide Customer Choices with Detailed Reviews

Many customers read reviews when deciding where to shop, dine, or seek services. If they’re detailed enough and positive, these reviews can provide information on your product quality, customer service, and overall experience, helping potential customers feel confident in their choice to visit your store.

Strengthen Your Reputation to Drive Foot Traffic

Consistently high ratings and glowing reviews indicate a strong, positive reputation. After all, customers wouldn’t take the time to leave positive feedback if they didn’t believe you offer high-quality services. 

This type of reputation signals to potential customers that they can expect a great experience in your store, thereby driving foot traffic. 

The Risks of Neglecting Review Management

Some businesses take a passive approach to review management, not really encouraging customers to provide feedback or addressing their concerns when they do. While this may have been inconsequential in the past, it can have detrimental impacts on modern businesses.

Customers have more options than ever, they care more about getting the best experiences, and they want to determine how great of an experience to expect even before they visit your store. If you don’t actively manage online reviews, you may see a continual decline or a lack of growth in your in-store traffic. Here’s why:

• Existing customers may fail to leave reviews, impacting your visibility on search engines and review platforms. 
• Negative feedback may overshadow positive reviews, hurting your credibility and potential customers’ trust. 
• You could get a poor reputation for failing to reply to negative reviews or address customer concerns. 

How to Utilize Reviews to Drive In-Store Foot Traffic

Now that you know the value of reviews in retail, how do you use them to drive traffic to your physical store? Here are some tips to guide you.

1. Ensure effective listings management 

A great starting point is to create and optimize online business listings on popular platforms like Google, Yelp, and Facebook. Make sure there’s an accurate description of your business, including what you offer, when you operate, where you’re located, and how customers can contact you. 

By creating and maintaining an up-to-date, accurate business profile, you make it easier for existing customers to leave their reviews and for potential ones to find you and get pertinent details about your store. 

2. Showcase Positive Reviews

Don’t sit on positive customer feedback. Highlight your top positive reviews on marketing materials, social media posts, and in-store displays. This can broaden your visibility and build trust across a larger potential market, encouraging more new customers to visit your store. 

3. Engage with Customer Feedback

Respond to all reviews, both positive and negative, to show customers you value their input and are dedicated to improving their in-store experiences. Thank them for their positive feedback, and try to get to the root cause of each negative review so you can address customer concerns. This can build trust and improve your reputation, encouraging more in-store visits. 

4. Encourage Reviews

Increase your feedback volume by asking customers for reviews after their in-store visits. Add a QR code to receipts that leads to your feedback platform, or send text messages or emails thanking them for choosing you and include links to review platforms to allow them to provide feedback seamlessly. 

However, be careful not to sway their reviews in any way. Encourage honest feedback, both negative and positive, and highlight how it will help you enhance in-store experiences to showcase your commitment to improving service quality.  

Also, avoid offering incentives like discounts in exchange for positive reviews, as this can result in penalties and reputational damage. A recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ruling that aims to crack down on fake reviews has also prohibited offering incentives or other compensation in exchange for reviews.

5. Promote Reviews in Local Advertising

Include positive reviews in local ads and other promotional materials to increase your visibility among audiences likely to visit your store. This can also enhance your credibility, encouraging more potential customers to visit. 

6. Leverage Geo-Targeted Campaigns

Running geo-targeted campaigns that highlight your positive reviews and overall reputation can enhance your store’s appeal to nearby customers, potentially increasing in-store traffic. 

For optimal results, leverage tools that offer geo-targeting features (like Google Ads and Facebook Ads), incorporate quotes from positive reviews in your ads, and use local keywords, such as “Top-rated store in [insert town].”

7. Monitor and Analyze Review Insights

One of the surest ways to increase in-store traffic, sales, and customer loyalty is to continually improve your services. Regularly monitoring and analyzing review insights will help you do just that. 

Reviews can help you gauge customer satisfaction and highlight recurring issues that need addressing, allowing you to make well-informed decisions regarding in-store experience optimization. 

Strengthen your Reputation and Review Management with Pearl-Plaza

Online reviews can help drive in-store traffic by improving your business’ visibility, building customer trust, and strengthening your reputation. Of course, this is contingent on how you handle the reviews. 

For optimal results, respond to all customer feedback (positive and negative), showcase positive reviews in your marketing efforts, and improve the customer experience based on shoppers’ feedback. 

With Pearl-Plaza’s review management software, you can seamlessly leverage customer reviews to increase in-store traffic. Our solution monitors reviews across 100+ sources and provides real-time notifications, giving you a visual of your review volumes and allowing you to respond to customer feedback quickly. 

Schedule a demo with Pearl-Plaza today to see how our review management software can help improve your online reputation and drive in-store traffic.

Too often, growing retail businesses end up with a growing image problem.

By the time a company has dozens or even hundreds of locations, many processes have become standardized and efficient. But not everything that worked well with just a handful of stores scales as effectively as company leaders hope. 

One of those complexities is what to do about all the online reviews streaming in. We’re talking the good, the bad, and the ugly here—to keep a brand’s reputation intact, every review must be evaluated, understood, and (if possible) responded to.

Without making an effort to streamline review management across multiple locations, brands risk significant reputational harm, which can hamper or even stall growth. 

But effort isn’t enough if your business’s processes are unscalable. That’s why growing businesses need a way to unify multi-location review management.

Challenges in Multi-Location Review Management

Managing reviews and online presence across numerous locations is a difficult task, and the larger you scale, the more complex the challenges grow. 

Maintaining Consistency Across Locations

Whether you have 10 locations or 1,000, your brand has a voice, tone, and image it wants to convey consistently across all of your locations. But this can be difficult to do with decentralized review management.

When every single outlet is responsible for responding to location-specific reviews, you’re leaving quality and brand voice in the hands of dozens (if not hundreds or even thousands) of individuals. 

Managing High Volumes of Reviews

Review volume can also be a challenge, whether you leave management up to individual locations or use a centralized approach. 

In most cases, an individual store, branch, or restaurant can’t afford to hire a full-time employee just to deal with Google reviews. So someone typically has to handle all the various review platforms in addition to their other job responsibilities. Often, this devolves into a choice between timely responses and staying on top of other responsibilities.

For brands using a centralized approach, volume can still be an issue. Manually responding to thousands of reviews is time-consuming and error-prone, which can lead to embarrassing brand reputation issues.

Addressing Localized Issues

Multi-location business is local business—just in numerous different localities. That’s why centralized review management sometimes fails to ring true. 

A customer experience (CX) agent in Albuquerque or Mumbai may have difficulty responding authentically and empathetically to customers in urban New Jersey or rural Oregon. Some multi-location brands need an approach that supports location-specific concerns, unique customer experiences, and local market dynamics.

Handling Negative Reviews and Crisis Management

When negative feedback occurs (and especially when it occurs in large quantities), multi-location businesses need strategies to quickly address that feedback and manage potential reputation crises effectively. Brands seeking to do this at scale often find it difficult to be nimble, timely, and appropriately empathetic.

Local-Level Review Handling vs. Company-Wide Review Coordination

One of the first decisions to make about review management across multiple locations is this: Should individual locations manage their own reviews, or should a team at the corporate office manage business reviews for all locations company-wide?

Both approaches carry pros and cons that businesses should consider. 

Individual Locations Manage Their Own Reviews

When individual locations handle reviews at the store/branch level, it’s easier to address issues more personally (such as a restaurant replying to a poor review in the manager’s first-person voice). Local stores can also manage regional quirks and conventions more effectively.

But this approach has plenty of downsides and can increase reputational risk. Inconsistent responses and brand voice can range from embarrassing (typos and grammar issues) to disastrous (a local manager lashing out inappropriately). The person doing this work at each individual location likely has other responsibilities as well, making it difficult to control response times. 

There’s also the risk of factual or experiential inconsistencies. One location could easily make exceptions or offer discounts that other locations don’t know about (and won’t honor), adding to brand inconsistency. 

Company-Wide Review Coordination

While it’s true that a company-wide or corporate approach reduces location autonomy and could lead to missed location-specific details, this approach provides numerous advantages.

It’s much easier for corporate teams to maintain a consistent brand voice and to ensure consistent, accurate responses to similar issues at different locations. Responses tend to be more professional, more timely, and more carefully planned as well, further improving your brand image.

Last, centralized review management adds a powerful benefit that isn’t possible using a localized approach: rich data insights across your company’s entire portfolio of locations. Brands can use these insights to identify trends and outliers that can help struggling locations improve. This data can also improve reputation management efforts themselves.

Best Practices for Managing Reviews Across Multiple Business Locations

Use these best practices to manage reviews across multiple business locations in ways that are healthy, scalable, and effective.

1. Centralize Efforts With a Reputation Management Platform 

For most businesses, centralization is the clear winner, as it allows companies to pull together review tracking, response management, and performance analysis across all locations. This combined information leads to insights that can help all locations improve. 

We recommend adopting an Integrated CX solution like Pearl-Plaza, which pulls a wide range of CX functions (including review management, local business listings, sentiment analysis, and more) into one easy-to-use platform. 

2. Establish a Unified Response Policy

Centrally managing reviews is a strong approach, but it must be executed well. For this to happen, businesses need to establish clear guidelines that apply across the board when responding to reviews. These should include:

• Company style manual (formatting, vocabulary, etc.)
• Guidance on tone of voice (how you want to sound)
• Brand guidelines (adherence to branding and values)
• Professionalism dos and don’ts

The good news is that, at your current operational scale, some version of these materials (hopefully) already exists. So it’s just a matter of adapting them into a unified response policy.

3. Ensure Prompt Responses to Negative Reviews

Third, make sure you’re responding to reviews promptly—especially when those reviews are negative.

Why? Because prospective consumers and guests are reading these reviews. A 2024 survey found that 88% of consumers will choose a business that responds to every review, but only 47% would choose a business that never replies to reviews.

If consumers are reading reviews—including the negative ones—then they also see something else about your business: either a reply or silence.

A reply gives your brand a chance to share another perspective, commit to making it right, empathize, or show the watching world that you care about resolving customer concerns.

A lack of reply is a much bigger risk. For some, it will communicate nothing at all. But for others, it will read like indifference, incompetence, or overwhelm—none of which is a good look. 

4. Showcase Your Positive Reviews

Sometimes a little bragging is a good thing. In the realm of reviews, this is certainly true! Use whatever methods you have (website, social media, and other marketing channels) to highlight or showcase great positive reviews. 

Put them front and center for any consumers who go looking for reviews, which is most consumers—69% of shoppers will pull out their smartphones while physically in a business to check review sites.

By putting the good reviews front and center, brands can build trust with consumers and pull in more first-time or hesitant customers.

5. Build a Process To Encourage Satisfied Customers To Leave Reviews

Of course, following the previous best practice requires collecting those golden reviews in the first place. So building a process to pull in reviews from satisfied customers is key. 

Follow-up emails and in-store prompts are tried and true tactics here, and modern CX platforms may offer additional ways to incentivize positive reviews.

6. Leverage Geotargeted Insights

Businesses that centralize review management have access to better data about their locations. Geolocated insights can reveal patterns and regional trends that could allow a multi-location business to tailor strategies for regions, groups, and even specific locations.

7. Integrate With Customer Experience Platforms

It’s possible to centrally manage reviews separate from other customer experience efforts. But integration is better. An Integrated CX platform allows businesses to sync review data with broader CX initiatives. 

Does a spike in negative reviews at a location coincide with other CX information you have? Probably, but figuring this out manually and at scale just isn’t workable. With Integrated CX, you’ll see both types of information in context with the other, creating a seamless feedback loop that helps you keep improving.

8. Invest in Training for Local Teams

For brands that choose to stick with the distributed approach (where each location manages its own reviews), boosting the quality of local efforts is key. Providing training for local teams is relatively costly and can be logistically challenging, but it’s the only surefire way to improve response quality and adherence to brand standards and voice. 

9. Automate Routine Tasks

Where it’s possible to do so, automate any repetitive or routine tasks in your review management workflow. One small example is automating the process of sending review requests. This can be an email or text message that you write once and send automatically after every new purchase. 

Numerous other automation possibilities exist depending on a business’s size, market, and digital maturity. Automating responses to certain reviews is possible (thanks to sentiment analysis and similar tools), and even manual responses can automatically generate follow-up workflows.

10. Regularly Audit Review Responses

Last, healthy review management efforts should include periodic audits of review management processes. No business gets every process perfectly right on the first go-around, and circumstances will change over time. New technology enters the picture, consumer expectations change, and your processes have to keep up.

These periodic audits are the perfect time to ensure the processes you have in place are consistently leading to the results you want to see. If adherence to brand guidelines still isn’t happening, or you identify any other challenges or areas for improvement, take the time to make adjustments. Then reassess at your next audit and continue fine-tuning. 

How a Reputation Management Platform Simplifies Multi-Location Review Management

Reputation management software is the answer to many of the customer-centric scalability problems that growing businesses face. 

Not convinced? Take a look at these features and capabilities made possible through reputation management software: 

• Comprehensive review monitoring across multiple platforms: The right reputation management tool can aggregate reviews from various channels and platforms into a unified dashboard. Businesses can more easily track and manage feedback across locations, regardless of where that feedback lives.
• Centralized data and insights: With data and insights centralized, businesses gain a holistic view of customer sentiment across all regions and locations. They can identify trends more effectively, identifying reputational and even performance issues earlier. Equipped with this knowledge, multi-location businesses can respond faster and with greater precision.
• Automated alerts and responses: Businesses can set parameters that monitor reviews and alert responders when new reviews arrive. Pre-configured response templates speed up response times and ensure that customer engagement is both timely and consistent.
• Localization: An Integrated CX platform can enhance local search visibility and local SEO by optimizing individual business profiles (Google Business Profile / Google Posts, Bing search, Apple Maps, etc.) and keeping them updated and accurate in near real-time. With better localization, customers can easily find and engage with any location they are near.
• Sentiment analysis: Businesses can use advanced sentiment analysis tools (like Pearl-Plaza’s Adaptive Sentiment Engine) to understand customer emotions at scale.
• Social media integration: Some reputation management platforms can integrate with a business’s social media accounts, giving businesses the ability to monitor and respond to feedback from multiple social media platforms via one unified interface. With social media integration, businesses can extend their review and reputation management efforts into the social media realm.
• Scalability for enterprises: Enterprise businesses benefit from features designed for companies at their scale, including multi-brand reporting and hierarchical permissions. Robust reputation management platforms also empower enterprises to scale seamlessly across a large number of locations.
• Multi-language: Support for managing reviews in English and Spanish helps businesses streamline review management with fewer linguistic hurdles. Other globally minded features further help businesses manage their reputation effectively across the world.
• Competitor analysis & alerts: With a better understanding of how a business compares to rivals (across numerous key metrics), leaders can make more informed decisions and keep employees informed of what’s happening in the industry. Businesses can adjust more quickly based on competitor moves, helping them retain a competitive edge.
• SMS surveys: Turning microsurveys into two-way SMS-native surveys boosts response rates by a stunning 3–4x. It also reduces friction (text messages are stickier and more intrusive than emails or receipt messages) and allows for richer, more actionable feedback. Pearl-Plaza’s Ask Tool (a paid add-on) is incredibly easy to set up, providing deeper insights and massive ROI.

Plus, when you choose Pearl-Plaza’s Integrated CX platform for reputation management, you also gain Enhanced Location Scoring with Industry, Target, and Performance Scores:

• Industry score benchmarks locations against standards using data-driven metrics. 
• Target score allows for customized scoring to meet specific business goals
• Performance score provides actionable insights into location effectiveness.

Using these enhanced scoring metrics adds unprecedented clarity, helping businesses make smarter prioritization decisions and understand what’s driving performance.

Turn Your Reviews Into Revenue With Pearl-Plaza

Managing reviews at a growing multi-location business can be a key driver of new customers (and the revenue that they bring). But this becomes increasingly difficult as your brand scales. Manual processes can’t handle the load, and leaving the task to individual locations can lead to less-than-effective results.

Pearl-Plaza is the integrated CX solution growing businesses need to effortlessly handle reputation management at any scale—and much more. The platform is incredibly easy to set up and use, greatly increasing your brand’s capacity to respond to customer reviews wherever and whenever they occur.  

Ready to see how Pearl-Plaza’s Integrated CX suite helps you manage reviews at scale? Explore our reputation management capabilities.

Credit unions are significantly reliant on the trust of their members for success. Their community-centric nature encourages prospects to value public opinion when making a decision. This is true for financial institutions in general, with almost 90% of consumers using online reviews to make banking decisions. Focusing on credit union reputation management is crucial for building trust with existing and potential members.

Why Is Reputation Management Important for Credit Unions?

1. Attracting New Members
2. Member Loyalty
3. Competitive Advantage
4. Crisis Management

Credit unions are member-driven financial cooperatives. As a result, their success relies on the trust their members place in them. The online space, especially in the form of social media and review sites, amplifies public opinion. One bad experience with your credit union leads to a negative review that can be enough to turn away many potential members.

In fact, 49% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Here are four key reasons why online reputation management for credit unions is important:

Attracting New Members

Your credit union’s online reputation is a major deciding factor for prospective members. A positive reputation encourages new memberships by highlighting your reliability and value. Meanwhile, negative reviews and testimonials make it easy for potential members to consider other options.

Member Loyalty

Existing members are more likely to remain loyal to a credit union they trust. Reputation management efforts ensure you make your members feel heard and valued. This member-centric approach helps build stronger relationships and improves retention rates.

Competitive Advantage

The reality is that you are competing not just with other unions but also with larger banks. A positive reputation highlights the unique benefits your credit union offers to members. 

For example, glowing online reviews will likely convince individuals to choose your member-first approach over traditional banking. With customer feedback influencing decision-making, a strong reputation is your key to standing out in a competitive space.

Crisis Management

Online complaints about your financial institution can quickly escalate and damage your reputation. With community ties playing a pivotal role in your institution, a single negative experience can spread like wildfire online. 

Proactive reputation management enables credit unions to navigate crises by monitoring and analyzing member sentiment. A quick and empathetic response is crucial for transforming reputational risks into opportunities to strengthen trust.

What Are the Benefits of Reputation Management for Credit Unions?

Credit union reputation management offers a competitive edge by boosting member trust and loyalty. Key benefits include:

• Improved member retention as a result of quick responses and effective issue resolution.
• Stronger customer loyalty due to increased member satisfaction. For example, closing the feedback loop with a disgruntled member can turn them into a loyal advocate.
• Community ties strengthen as reputation management efforts reinforce positive perceptions and member engagement.
• Competitive edge over financial institutions as a result of consistently high member satisfaction leading to positive brand image.

Why Are Listings and Reputation Management for Credit Unions Important?

1. Boost Discoverability
2. Enhance Local SEO
3. Build Trust
4. Drive Member Growth

Digital search is one of the most popular channels for discovering your credit union. Most prospective members are likely to look you up on Google, Bing, or Apple Maps before making a decision. Here are four powerful results you can accomplish with listings management:

Boost Discoverability

Prospective members often rely on online searches to find nearby credit unions. Maintain accurate listings on platforms like Google, Yelp, and Apple Maps. This ensures your credit union appears in search results with correct contact details, work hours, and locations. As a result, you boost your visibility, making it easier for potential members to find and trust you.

Enhance Local SEO

Accurate listings improve your local SEO, which helps attract more members. Start by understanding your local audience, including pain points and preferences. Incorporate relevant keywords in your listings to boost visibility in search results. Track SEO performance by monitoring changes in local rankings. The insights will help you adjust your strategy and target the right individuals.

Build Trust

Consistency across online listings and your website strengthens trust. For example, conflicting information about your hours or address can frustrate potential members. This negative sentiment can impact your market share as members flock to competitors. Listings management prevents such confusion by ensuring accurate and complete business information.

Drive Member Growth

Credit unions with accurate listings and strong reputations see higher engagement and membership growth. For example, a member searching for “credit union with great loan rates” will likely choose an institution with glowing reviews over one with unresolved complaints or poor online visibility.

Financial Services Reputation Benchmarks 2024

See where your credit union stands by downloading Pearl-Plaza’s 2024 Financial Services Reputation Benchmarks Report! This report examines in great detail the reviews and ratings data of today’s top financial service brands.

Financial Services Reputation Benchmarks 2024

Pearl-Plaza’s 2024 Financial Services Online Reputation Benchmarks Report provides a top-level view of the state of reviews today for the financial service industry — and how these reviews reflect the experiences financial services consumers want to have. The benchmarks serve as a valuable tool for organizations looking to assess their reputational performance, set goals, make informed decisions, and drive continuous customer experience improvement.

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How to Improve Your Credit Union’s Online Reputation?

1. Understand Your Target Audience
2. Encourage Member Reviews
3. Monitor and Respond to Feedback
4. Analyze Competitors
5. Invest in Reputation Management Software

Understand Your Target Audience

It’s essential to understand your target audience profiles to improve your chances of engaging them. For example, if you want to target younger members, a good practice would be to enhance your social media presence. You can even identify and use viral trends to better connect with such members.

Active engagement with current and potential members will help you tailor your marketing efforts. Use a social listening tool like Pearl-Plaza to track and analyze online conversations around credit unions. The insights will help you understand specific pain points that you can solve to engage your target audience. It also helps you customize your outreach efforts, establishing your brand as reliable and trustworthy.

Encourage Member Reviews

Positive reviews influence potential members by highlighting you as a credible organization. 88% of both millennial and Gen-Z consumers rely on online reviews when evaluating a financial product or institution. 

Therefore, it’s important to improve your members’ experiences and encourage them to leave positive reviews online. The authentic voice of a satisfied member can be enough to build trust with prospects.

Monitor and Respond to Feedback

Implement a member feedback loop by monitoring and responding to feedback. Responding to both positive and negative reviews enhances your reputation by showing members you care.

Leverage survey requests and online mentions of your credit union to collect feedback. Pearl-Plaza’s XI platform is an excellent tool for connecting member feedback from various channels and analyzing it for insights. Its automated alerts feature is especially useful for quickly identifying and responding to a member review. Quick and effective responses help close feedback loops and enhance member satisfaction.

Analyze Competitors

Monitoring competitors’ online reputations can help you identify market gaps and differentiate your offerings. For example, let’s say your competitor is facing complaints about limited branch hours. You could take advantage of this opportunity by highlighting your 24/7 digital banking options in your marketing.

Pay attention to what members appreciate or criticize about other credit unions. Use this information to improve your services and position yourself as a better alternative. This approach will help establish your service as a reliable alternative and increase your market share.

Invest in Reputation Management Software

Collecting, analyzing, and responding to member reviews is an essential but tedious process. A good reputation management platform can streamline these processes for you. Pearl-Plaza’s industry-recognized review management software helps you track each piece of incoming feedback for effective monitoring and analysis. It provides actionable insights for your credit union so that you can invest more time in managing member relationships.

Reputation Management Tools for Credit Unions

1. Pearl-Plaza
2. Rize Reviews
3. Hootsuite
4. Brandwatch
5. MemberXP

With many options to choose from, selecting the right reputation management tool can be a daunting task. In this section, we have rounded up the five best tools to help you narrow your focus and make an informed decision.

Pearl-Plaza

Pearl-Plaza provides reputation management solutions for credit unions looking to dominate local search. It allows financial institutions to monitor and connect customer reviews from various channels, including social media and review sites. 

With its response automation feature, you can leverage generative AI to provide quick and helpful responses. This enables you to implement and close feedback loops with members. Beyond collecting feedback, you can use Pearl-Plaza’s AI-enabled analytics to better understand member sentiment and behavior. The insights you gain from this analysis help you identify areas for improvement and address market gaps.

Boosting your local search rank is essential for visibility. The platform’s local listings management software provides ROI-specific insights from your Google or Apple Maps listings. This information helps you outrank competitors and enhance your online presence without increasing ad spend.

Fill out the calculator below to see the return on investment you could get from utilizing Pearl-Plaza’s reputation management tools:

Calculate your business’s ROI using Pearl-Plaza’s reputation management tools.

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Pearl-Plaza Helps You Unlock More Insight from Your Data — Starting Right Now.

Whether you are curious about other programs/ROIs, want to gain a better understanding of options in the market, or are insight-obsessed like us, you can gain unlimited access to all of our valuable calculators by simply entering your email. You’ll also unlock valuable customer experience analytics resources, articles, and other tools to help you quickly elevate your CX program and grow your business.

Rize Reviews

Rize Reviews simplifies the process of acquiring reviews to manage your online reputation. Key features include automated review requests, real-time feedback alerts, and a centralized dashboard for managing reviews. These features help credit unions improve their search rankings with high-quality reviews.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a review tracking and analysis tool that helps credit unions understand conversations around their services. Its Pearl-Plaza integration lets financial institutions monitor reviews on a dashboard for effective responses. The integration is also useful for filtering out the best reviews and highlighting them for reputation enhancement.

Brandwatch

Brandwatch enables real-time monitoring of brand mentions across social media and online review sites. Its analytics and reporting features are useful for gaining insight into member behavior and sharing them with stakeholders. 

MemberXP

MemberXP is an experience management platform that focuses on feedback collection and analysis. It enables real-time review monitoring to help credit unions provide immediate responses. The platform also provides competitor insights highlighting how organizations compare to other credit unions.

Improve Your Credit Union’s Reputation with Pearl-Plaza

Credit unions thrive on a positive online reputation that strengthens member relationships. Building trust is key, which is why you need reputation management to highlight your credibility to members and prospects. Pearl-Plaza’s XI platform makes it easy to establish trust by tracking, analyzing, and acting on member feedback. Schedule a reputation management demo today to see how you can get started!

Google Posts are an invaluable tool for businesses to communicate updates, offers, and events directly to their audience. This guide will cover everything you need to know to make the most of them.

What Are Google Posts?

Google Posts are short updates published on Google My Business (GMB) profiles. These posts appear on your business listing, providing a direct channel to communicate updates, promotions, and events.

Types of Google My Business Posts

There are three primary types of Google Posts you should familiarize yourself with. Each type offers specific details about your business to encourage engagement and drive actions, such as purchases or visits to your location.

Offers: Organically promote discounts or special offers directly on your Google Business Profile. Offers appear near the top of the Business Profile on Google Search and Maps, as well as in the “Updates” tab with all other posts.

Updates: Provide general information about your business. Use this post type to share news, announcements, or updates that give potential customers more opportunities to learn about your brand.

Events: Share details of upcoming events to increase registrations and drive foot traffic. Events that meet specific criteria may also appear on the “Overview” tab of your Business Profile, making them more visible to customers.

Why Are Google Posts Important?

When shoppers browse online and land on your Google Profile, they look to understand if your business offers what they are searching for. Leveraging Google Posts to share business updates, events, and promotions would inform potential customers and allow them to make better decisions about whether they should visit your location. 

Google Posts boost engagement by fostering a direct connection with your audience. When integrated with other local SEO strategies, they can enhance your brand visibility and drive higher conversions, making them a powerful tool for local marketing success.

What Are the Benefits of Google My Business Posts?

Incorporating Google Posts into your listings management can significantly enhance brand equity and visibility as well as improve customer acquisition. Here are a few benefits to consider when evaluating if Google Posts are worth your time and effort:

Enhance your local marketing strategy: Google Posts can help strengthen your local presence, making it easier to attract nearby customers. By sharing information about your business, you keep your Google Profile fresh and complete, optimizing engagement and driving more conversions.

Increase engagement: Google Posts enable you to build direct connections with your audience. Using photos, clear calls-to-action, and timely updates demonstrates to shoppers that your business meets their needs and encourages meaningful interactions with your brand.

Decrease your ad spend: Marketing teams invest heavily in promoting their business and offerings. Highlighting offers, discounts, and events on your Google Profile creates an effective inbound channel strategy for generating organic traffic and engagement, reducing the need for expensive paid advertising.

By leveraging Google Posts to enhance local marketing strategy, foster customer engagement, and drive organic traffic, you can amplify your business’s impact while reducing paid promotion.

Do Google My Business Posts Help SEO?

Google Posts indirectly impact your local SEO performance by supplementing your Google Business Profile with additional information and enhancing its relevance. Regularly updating your Google Profile with posts ensures it stays fresh and complete, which signals to Google that your business is active and engaged with its audience. 

These posts also help you share timely updates, offers, and events, which can drive more clicks and interactions with your profile. The increased activity and engagement not only attract local customers but can also contribute to increased brand visibility. 

It’s important to remember that Google Posts alone would not help your brand rank in the local pack. To optimize your search performance, you need to focus on your overall local SEO strategy – invest in listing management and improve your online reputation.

How to Post in Google My Business?

There are two ways to publish a Google Post on your Google Profile. You can manually do that for each location by logging into your GMB profile. To do that follow the steps below:

1. Log into your Google My Business account.
2. Select “Add Update.”
3. Choose the type of post you want to create.
4. In the dialog box, fill in the details.
5. Publish!

While this approach may work well for single-location brands, organizations with multiple locations often struggle to scale their efforts. If you are a multi-location brand, implementing a reputation management solution that offers listings management, including Google Posts, would help you create and publish posts at scale, while consolidating your daily operations into one platform.

See how easy it is to publish Google posts from the Pearl-Plaza platform by taking a tour of the platform here!

What Are the Google Posts Dimensions?

All types of Google Posts allow a description of up to 1,500 characters. Use this space thoughtfully to craft engaging content that highlights the most important information while inspiring readers to act.

For images, prioritize high-quality visuals that are clear, well-lit, and professionally composed. Avoid significant alterations or excessive use of filters to ensure your images look authentic and appealing.

The recommended Google My Business post image size is:

Default Size: 720x 540pixels (4:3 aspect ratio)

Inches: 12.5 x 9.38 inches (width x height) at 96 DPI

Minimum Size: 480x 270 pixels

Maximum Size: 2120x 1192 pixels

Format: JPG or PNG up to 5MB

Google Business Posts Best Practices

Avoid phone numbers in descriptions: Including a phone number in your post description may result in rejection. Ensure this information is listed in the appropriate section of your Google Profile. You can attach a “Call now” button to your post that uses your verified Business Profile phone number.

Focus on quality: Make sure your posts are free of misspellings, gimmicky symbols, or meaningless content. Avoid anything that appears automated or overly distracting. While it may be tempting to use all 1,500 characters in your post description, focus on the primary goal of your post and highlight the most important details in an engaging way that resonates with your audience.

Make them actionable: Always include a call-to-action in your Google Posts, along with a link to a landing page that aligns with the next step in your buyer’s journey. A strong CTA can drive clicks, bookings, conversions, and in-person visits to your business.

Use high-quality images: Adding visuals to your Google Posts makes them more eye-catching and increases engagement. Use high-quality images that align with your brand, and avoid low-resolution visuals that fail to represent your promotions effectively.

Best time to post on Google My Business: As a general rule, avoid posting on major holidays or during very early or late hours. Depending on the type of post, consider the recommended times and days to publish to maximize engagement on your Google My Business profile.

• Business Updates
  • Best time to post: 8 am – 10 am
  • Recommended days: Weekdays
  • Worst time to post: Before 7 am, after 9 pm, major holidays
• Offers
  • Best time to post: 2 pm – 4 pm
  • Recommended days: Thursday and Friday
  • Worst time to post: Before 7 am, after 9 pm, major holidays
• Events
  • Best time to post: 3 pm – 5pm
  • Recommended days: Midweek
  • Worst time to post: Before 7 am, after 9 pm, major holidays

Examples of Google My Business Posts

Now that we’ve covered the basics of publishing Google Posts on your Google My Business profile, let’s explore a few examples to inspire your strategy.

Good Examples Google My Business Posts 

A good example demonstrates a well-crafted Google Post that effectively engages its audience.

It features a high-quality, visually appealing image that aligns with the content, capturing attention instantly. The message is concise, clear, and focused, highlighting a 30-day trial for yoga classes without requiring a membership commitment. Additionally, it includes a compelling call-to-action (CTA) that encourages participation. 

By incorporating a deadline, the post creates a sense of urgency, motivating potential customers to act. This post was also published on the Google Profile at the start of the offer, ensuring timeliness and relevance.

Poor Examples of Google My Business Posts

Now, let’s examine a Google Post that wasn’t as thoughtfully constructed as the previous example. What’s the first thing you notice? It’s missing an image! Without a visual element, the post fails to grab attention. 

Looking closer, you’ll see that the workshop’s listed start time doesn’t match the title and description, creating confusion for the reader. Additionally, the event description could be clearer and more concise, making it easier for users to quickly understand the post’s purpose and take action.

Can Google My Business Posts Get Rejected?

Yes, Google My Business Posts can be rejected if they fail to comply with Google’s content policies. To avoid rejections, ensure you follow best practices when creating your posts. Below are some common reasons for rejection:

Low-quality media: Posts featuring poor-quality visuals, such as blurry or pixelated images, may be removed. Per Google’s policy, removals based on media quality cannot be appealed.

Prohibited or restricted content: Posts containing irrelevant or misleading information, such as off-topic content, fabricated experiences, or repetitive and unclear language (e.g., random characters), are likely to be rejected. Additionally, links leading to suspicious or untrustworthy websites are prohibited.

Phone stuffing: Google does not allow phone numbers to appear within post content to prevent abuse. Ensure contact information is provided only in the designated sections of your profile.

By adhering to these guidelines, you can reduce the chances of your posts being rejected and maintain a professional presence on Google My Business.

Google My Business Posting Software

Incorporating Google Posts into your online reputation management strategy and listings management activities is worth your time. However, manually publishing posts for multiple locations can be overwhelming. Implementing a solution that enables you to create and publish Google Posts in bulk can save time while unlocking the full benefits of this feature.

But how do you choose the right Google My Business posting software? Consider these key factors when evaluating your options:

Align with reputation management goals: Ensure the tool supports your broader reputation management strategy by helping you build and maintain a strong online presence that attracts and retains customers.

Listings management capabilities: Select a local listing management software that simplifies managing multiple locations, ensuring your profiles are consistent and up-to-date across all platforms, and allowing you to publish Google Posts in bulk.

Scalability: Opt for an all-in-one platform that streamlines operations across locations and adapts as your business expands. This approach enables you to monitor results from a centralized dashboard, improving your strategy and results.

Ease of use: Opt for software with an intuitive interface that lets you start quickly without a steep learning curve. This not only saves time when adopting a new tool but also enables your team to manage Google My Business profiles more effectively.

Access to support: Look for platforms that provide reliable customer support, offering prompt assistance and access to tips and best practices to help you succeed in the long term.

With the right software, you can simplify Google Posts publishing, enhance engagement, and focus on growing your business by maintaining a positive reputation and boosting your brand’s visibility in search results.

Take Your Local Listing Management to the Next Level with Pearl-Plaza

Partner with Pearl-Plaza to build a reputation management strategy that turns online searches into location visits. Our reputation management software allows you to optimize the performance of your business listings and increase search visibility and engagement on your Google Profile.

We make it easy for multi-location brands to create and manage Google Posts while providing them with a centralized place to streamline their listings and reputation management efforts and improve results in less time than other vendors. 

Schedule a strategy session with our reputation management experts to learn how we can help you build a brand that attracts customers! 

Fake reviews are an escalating problem for both consumers and businesses. Nearly 30% of online reviews are now estimated to be fake, and this figure keeps rising. As consumers grow more aware of this issue, they’re becoming increasingly cautious about purchasing products or services. 

In fact, over 50% of consumers say they wouldn’t buy a product if they suspected the reviews were fake. Businesses can report fake reviews on platforms like Google and to the FTC, and using tools like Pearl-Plaza’s Reputation Management can help gather authentic reviews and strengthen customer trust.

What is Considered a Fake Review?

A fake review is any review that is misleading, fabricated, or incentivized in a way that doesn’t represent a genuine customer experience. These can include reviews written by paid individuals, ai-generated reviews, or even disgruntled competitors looking to harm a business’s reputation.

Where do Fake Reviews Come From?

Fake reviews originate from various sources. Some businesses might pay for positive reviews to boost their products or competitors might post negative reviews to undermine other businesses. 

Automated systems, often referred to as bots, can also be programmed to flood review platforms with misleading feedback. Additionally, incentivized reviews, where customers are given free products or discounts in exchange for positive reviews, are increasingly common.

How to Spot Fake Reviews?

Spotting fake reviews can be challenging, as they often blend in with genuine feedback. Inauthentic reviews—whether excessively positive or sharply critical—can distort a business’s real value and lead to misguided decisions. Here are some quick tips to help you identify fake reviews:

Overly positive or negative language:  Authentic reviews tend to be more balanced. Be cautious of reviews that are excessively enthusiastic or intensely negative, as they may be less trustworthy.

Generic descriptions:  Watch for vague language that lacks specifics about the product, service, or experience. Genuine reviewers typically mention specific features, benefits, or issues they encountered.

Reviewer history: Check the reviewer’s profile age and activity. Fake profiles are often newly created, with little review history or reviews across unrelated categories.

Consistent monitoring: Regularly review customer feedback to catch suspicious patterns early. Set up alerts or schedules to keep track of any sudden changes that could indicate fake activity.

Fake Review Checker

Several tools are available for detecting fake reviews, such as Fakespot and ReviewMeta, which analyze reviews for patterns that may indicate inauthentic behavior. These tools can be helpful for evaluating the credibility of product reviews on platforms like Amazon, but they are less effective for location-based reviews found on platforms like Google Maps, Yelp, or TripAdvisor. 

This is a limitation for businesses interested in managing their local reputation, as location-based reviews significantly impact consumer trust and search rankings. While tools tailored specifically for location reviews are less common, review management software can help you monitor your customer feedback and address fake reviews at a location level.

How to Report a Fake Review? 

Many review platforms allow users to report reviews they suspect are fake, though the process can vary by site. When reporting, it’s helpful to gather as much information as possible to support your claim. Supporting evidence can include specifics like unusual language patterns, repeated phrases across multiple reviews, or timing patterns that seem out of the ordinary.

Businesses also have an additional avenue for reporting fake reviews: they can file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FTC takes consumer and business reports seriously as part of its mission to protect against misleading practices.

How to Report a Fake Review on Google?

With 57.5% of all online reviews appearing on Google, knowing how to report a fake review is essential. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you attempt removal if you suspect a review is inauthentic:

1. Sign in to your Google account and go to Manage Your Business Profile.
2. Open the profile for the business you’d like to manage.
3. On the left-hand menu, select Reviews.
4. Locate the review you want to report, then click Flag as inappropriate.

Once flagged, Google will review the report. If the review is found to violate Google’s policies, it may be removed. To check the review’s status, you can visit the support page or contact Google support if no action has been taken within a few days

Are Fake Reviews Illegal?

Yes, fake reviews can be illegal in many jurisdictions. In the U.S., for instance, the FTC has clear guidelines against deceptive practices, which include posting or commissioning fake reviews. The FTC considers fake reviews a violation of the FTC Act, as they mislead consumers and distort fair competition. Companies found guilty of such practices can face substantial fines and other penalties.

The Risk of Faking Your Reviews

Posting or encouraging fake reviews carries significant risks beyond potential fines. For example, fake reviews can damage a brand’s credibility if customers suspect or uncover them. Once trust is lost, it’s hard to regain, and a company’s reputation may suffer in the long term. Search engines also have algorithms that detect suspicious review activity, so the risk of detection is high.

It’s far better to invest in strategies that organically boost positive customer reviews and ratings. Reliable, honest feedback is always more valuable and sustainable for business growth.

Boost Authentic Positive Reviews With Pearl-Plaza

Pearl-Plaza can help you get more authentic reviews and elevate your customer experience. Our Reputation Management solution empowers brands to grow their positive review base, all while staying compliant with FTC guidelines to protect brand reputation and foster long-term trust.

With Pearl-Plaza, you can request reviews and even automate your solicitation workflows, saving valuable time while maximizing results. Review and keyword alerts enable your team to quickly address issues and spot reviews that might be fake.

Additionally, Pearl-Plaza’s Integrated CX approach combines reviews with other valuable experience signals, such as survey data, competitor insights, call center data, and more. This unified perspective uncovers actionable insights for operational improvements that help you enhance customer experiences, leading naturally to more 5-star reviews.

Say “no” to fake reviews with Pearl-Plaza! Schedule a call with us today to learn how to get more real reviews and boost your reputation.