Reputation management is nothing new on the web. People “google” themselves, since the first search engines (long before Google). Everyone would like to know where and what is written about him. Usually the curiosity prevails there, rarely is it really about the maintenance of the digital reputation. At least not with private persons.
Classic assessment platforms
With public figures and with celebrities it looks different. There is naturally already filed on the external representation, so this is also observed online and, if necessary, addressed.
Mobile evaluation platforms
The same applies to companies, even to an even greater extent. Practically everyone will remember the one or the other Shitstorm of a group in the net. Often, a campaign simply failed, and the company has reacted too late or wrong. In very bad cases, even both. At the end, this can mean millions of euros in the damage limitation and even bring small businesses into a financial crisis.
Example gastronomy
Now this issue has also come to small and medium-sized enterprises. This is especially true for companies with locations that come into contact with their customers there. No matter what industry they come from, whether it be gastronomy or craft, an unseen bad comment at a location can be reflected in lost customers and sales. Missing and incorrect responses can also have a significant impact on the outsourcing of a company.
Also interesting is
Reputation management for places is, in part, already indispensable, but in many cases is not properly understood and lived. Properly used, it can prevent damage, limit it and support positive self-marketing.
Evaluation platforms have existed for some time, some of them also very sector-specific. Relatively early, they have established themselves in the tourism industry, where virtually every online booking platform now offers its own evaluation forum or links itself with an existing one. A good example is TripAdvisor, which is very special to travelers. They use the existing information primarily for pre-planning and information.
In addition to the specialists, overlapping referral portals such as Yelp have established themselves. From the baker to the multiplex kino, you can evaluate every company on a location basis. The same is true for the Google Local and Facebook entries.
Through the use of smartphones, the customer has migrated from the home computer and is increasingly mobile on the road. The GPS features of current smartphones have enabled location-based services to provide location-based information. A well-known example of such services is Foursquare, but now all the classic evaluation and recommendation platforms have become a mobile variant. This is usually a dedicated app, but often also a mobile website. Thus the hurdle for the use of this data and information is relatively low. The mobile search site is thus very simple and very attractive to customers.
Likewise, they can quickly leave their own evaluation. These new data are then linked to a site. They also flow back into the classic evaluation portals and are therefore available in a stationary and mobile manner. Even at the core mobile platforms like Foursquare now have to their app also an excellent website, which customers can comfortably from home use. The speed and simplicity of the services make reputational management a challenge. At the same time, however, this challenge is also an opportunity for companies to react directly in the best case and even to turn a negative customer experience into a positive one.
A good example of the possibilities of active and sensible reputation management for places can be found in the catering sector. It does not matter whether it is a bar, a cafe or a restaurant. This example is about a bar: so you want to drink a beer in a strange city. The product beer, we leave the beer brand on the outside, is in principle interchangeable and should be available in similar quality in every bar.
There are other factors that are relevant to your selection when you make a decision using a smartphone.
Consider the whole thing from the point of view of the owner of the bar. The distance to the location of the customer is not to be influenced. As a rule, he is looking for something nearby and uses his smartphone as well.
Information such as pictures, opening hours, prices and contact information can and should be entered with every relevant service. For this purpose, the corresponding place must be "taken possession", in the virtual sense. The different services use different methods. Once you have taken possession of your bar as a local owner, current and well-kept basic information forms the basis for the digital reputation of the bar. Pictures can and are usually uploaded by customers on the platforms. You can see this as a kind of visual tip, the pictures convey clients a first impression and typically the atmosphere of a place.
Reputami
Unfortunately, the possibilities for comments and the processing of strange images are often difficult and depending on the service also very different or even impossible. Therefore, locals should upload their own pictures, which convey an impression of the place. In this case, high-gloss images must be avoided. It is better to go to the customer level and from this point of view add your own pictures with the smartphone.
The overarching evaluations of the different services are automatically generated and can only be influenced indirectly by further evaluations by the customers. And here it is interesting, because with the opinions of the customers and especially with the handling of these you can as a local owner to the reputation. In this example, it would also be interesting for a customer whether a Barbesitzer interacted with his customers and took care of the external presentation of his bar. This can easily be reflected in one or the other "thank you" to a positive comment. The customer recognizes that his feedback is relevant.
Spotistic
Especially the interaction with a negative comment is indispensable and forms the basis of a dialogue. Even if this customer is lost by a negative experience, an interaction shows potential new customers the positive approach of the place owner. The problem addressed should be addressed with a solution-oriented approach and the appropriate tonality. At best, you will win back the customer.
If you have implemented these points as a local owner and addressed them, then you are actively implementing reputation management for your location. This sounds partial more elaborate than it is, really important is the lasting care and interaction. Reputation management must be lived on a daily basis and must be planned accordingly in the workflow. This can be done on a point-by-point basis, in fact, it happens fluently during the opening hours. This opens up possibilities to speak directly and personally with a customer and to solve a possible problem promptly and directly. At the same time, active communication online is another point to influence decisions of other customers which may be taking place at this time, and to lead them accordingly to their own location, for example the bar referred to.
It is important for the respective industry and the location to identify the relevant platforms. If you run a bar in a large city, Foursquare is probably important to you. On the other hand, in this example, you are less interested in TripAdvisor, unless it is a hotel bar. Once you have found your platform (s), you can use it manually for monitoring and interaction. Depending on the number, this is also practicable, but you must tackle this discipline and take care of yourself.
Conclusion of the two services
As in other areas, there are now also services in the area of reputation management that actively assist you in the monitoring of a place and thus relieve the local owner of manual tasks. Two of these services are Reputami and Spotistic.
Reputami, a Cologne-based company, offers a monitoring solution, which directly integrates several assessment and recommendation platforms, social networks and location-based services. Currently, the Foursquare, Yelp, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, TripAdvisor, HolidayCheck.com, Booking.com, HRS and Restaurant-Kritik.de.
When integrating the different data sources, Reputami already supports you during optimization. Basics are provided, whereby the local owner can already place his presences on the corresponding services in advance on a solid basic basis. The tips may sound trivial for experienced users, but are very helpful at the beginning. All possible data sources are evaluated by Reputami and are reflected in an overarching rating, the Reputami ranking. Interesting in the evaluation is the automatic division into positive and negative contributions, whereby this is done automatically by a sentiment analysis. The evaluation is not error-free, but it allows a simple correction and learns to do so.
Additional features such as automatic translation simplify life as long as the audience is international. Everything can be handled relatively easily and intuitively. In addition, categorization is available in thematic areas. The ratings and tips are categorized (eg cleanliness), evaluated and graphically prepared.
A big advantage of Reputami is the dashboard. Especially in gastronomy, you can use a tablet to create a simplified view separately and centrally for the staff. This gives you the opportunity to actively interact with customers when you identify them. Reputami as an influencer, especially the people, are very web-friendly and can have a strong influence on the opinion of a place.
There are also different ways of notifying via e-mail. These are summaries for a location, but also important ad-hoc information (for example, if an influencer checked in at your location). A particular strength of Reputami is the focus on branches. These can be grouped and thus enable a superior reputation management. In the basic version, Reputami costs 14.99 euros per month for a location. The Profiversion for Fialisten starts at 19.99 Euro per month and branch, but also offers advanced functions.
Spotistic, which also offers a tool for local reputation management, comes from Berlin. The services available are Foursquare, Yelp, Facebook, Google+, Instagram and Twitter. Spotistic is currently only available in English and also determines its own score for each linked location. In addition to this score, there are monthly interactions and contacts that are available to you.
In fact, Foursquare, Facebook and Google+. This is done manually and is simply implemented. In the detail views also dips up later. Spotistic places a focus on competing places. On an additional tab, you can add them manually, and then appear in the Dashboard for comparison. From the stream of interactions, you can interact directly, provided it is enabled by the appropriate platform. If this is not possible, you can go directly to the relevant service by means of a link and can comment there. Sorry, there is no way to filter the stream.
Likewise, there are no other functions apart from the above mentioned possibilities for interaction. Therefore, it can also be overlooked at many locations. Spotistic calculates nine euros per monitored location and month and offers a 14-day test phase.
Both services support reputation management for places, no question. If only one place or a few similar places are to be monitored, Spotistic is a good choice and definitely helps. Visually, Reputami is more appealing and intuitive. There are simply more options, and also the number of services to be integrated is higher. Many additional features and filters help to manage a high number of locations reasonably. Although sentiment analysis is not perfect, it helps in advance, and errors can be corrected quickly. In addition, the dashboard is a good aid tool in the catering trade. In the first instance, every local owner can implement the foundations of the reputation management itself. With discipline and good planning, much works directly on the relevant platforms.
From this initial experience, there is a need for professional services like Reputami and Spotistic.
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