Online reviews are crucial to the success of your fitness business. A recent study conducted by customer service tech experts Dixa found that a staggering 93% of consumers read reviews online before buying something. Furthermore, 79% of consumers place as much trust in online reviews as they do recommendations from friends and family. Therefore, you need to come up with a robust online reputation management strategy via Google and Facebook.
Build your online reputation management strategies around online reviews that are seen as independent information sources that tell consumers about the experience they’re likely to have with a brand. So, if your fitness company has a ton of great reviews, you are more likely to generate organic leads that convert into customers.
Unfortunately, you can’t guarantee that all of the reviews you receive on Google, Facebook, and similar platforms will be rosy. Negative reviews are likely to threaten your online business reputation, as a considerable 94% of people say that a negative online review has led to them avoiding a business.
Reviews help to form your company’s online reputation; as such, managing that reputation is critical to the success of your business. Let’s explore what online reputation management means and consider some best practices for managing the reviews you receive.
What is online reputation management for gyms?
Every company that has an online presence also has an online reputation to consider. On the basic level, managing that reputation involves creating a professional website and social media pages, then maintaining consistent brand messaging across all platforms.
Reviews are trickier. Your company’s reviews come from previous or existing customers through a variety of platforms including Google and Facebook. Though you may ask for this feedback, you have no real control over whether somebody responds with a review. More importantly, you also have no control over what somebody says in that review. All you can do is wait for it to be posted so you can respond appropriately.
In this context, to strengthen their Google reputation management online, most businesses must participate in a range of activities. Online reputation management involves monitoring, analyzing, and responding to reviews. When managing reputation, if you choose not to track them, you may find negative opinions clouding your business’s reputation, leading to fewer productive leads.
Best practices for review management online
Now that you know the importance of monitoring and tracking your online reviews, you need some best practices to help you do it.
Practice No. 1 – Create a response strategy
A responsive business cares about its customers. At least, that’s the impression that most consumers get when they see you responding to online reviews.
Your response strategy should be fairly simple when it comes to good reviews: thank the reviewer for taking time to talk about your company and demonstrate your gratitude for their feedback.
Responding to negative reviews requires a bit of attention; you need to approach negative reviews that contain valid feedback with empathy and the mindset of solving the customer’s problem.
Aim to respond to negative reviews rapidly. This increases your chances of resolving the problem and shows potential customers that your company tries to fix issues if and when they arise.
Practice No. 2 – Use positive reviews for social media marketing
We mentioned earlier that most people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Use that fact! A skilled social media marketer will use a range of strategies to increase brand visibility and for marketing on social media. Even content marketing and email marketing together play a vital role in reputation management online. Hence, don't just use positive reviews for social media marketing, use it as part of your strategic content marketing and email marketing approach.
Your positive reviews provide potential customers with social proof from independent parties who’ve used your services. If you get a good review on Google or Facebook, share it with your audience.
First, place the review prominently on your website as a testimonial. Then, share it via your social media, as this gives it a higher chance of reaching people who may want to buy from you but haven’t made the decision yet.
Even incorporating reviews into your paid online ad campaigns can show potential clients you have a positive reputation.
Practice No. 3 – Consolidate reviews into a single system for managing online reputation
As your business grows, managing reviews may become more strenuous; you’ll have several platforms to track and the sheer volume of reviews that come in can be overwhelming. Letting a review slip through the net without a response can be extremely damaging, especially if it’s a negative review you need to resolve.
While you can check your reviews on each platform individually - through Google’s business management system and the Meta business suite - manually tracking reviews across different platforms can quickly become a time-consuming and labor-intensive task. You can simplify this task by consolidating your online review tracking into a single online platform.
This single platform for all reviews would allow you to respond to reviews as and when they come in without the hassle of constant manual checks of different review websites.
Use Hapana for review consolidation and reputation management
Still looking for a consolidation system to help you manage reviews and monitor your online reputation?
Hapana can help your fitness business consolidate and manage reputation online. The insights and analytics provided by Hapana are presented in a centralized dashboard that gives you an at-a-glance view of your company’s online reputation. You can also dig into individual reviews to figure out where they come from, allowing you to respond quickly and maintain your online reputation.
This only scratches the surface of what Hapana has to offer to your fitness business. With Hapana, you can manage your fitness center's memberships, create mobile apps with custom branding, and ensure consistency in your brand’s message across multiple platforms for a successful gym marketing campaign.
If you’d like to learn more about Hapana, get a demo version from our team today and start your journey toward building a more engaged client base.