02 Jun When to Manage Reviews On Your Own
As an entrepreneur, you’ve likely mastered almost every skill in your business – from accounting to human resources. That is largely an advantage as you are building your company because it means you don’t have to rely on anyone else to get the job done and can always pinch-hit whenever you have a gap in resources. While managing positive reviews may not be at the top of your list, at some point you will prioritize it and try to determine how and when you should attempt it on your own and what warrants using and paying for a third party to help with that task. If you know your reputation is important and want to get the review process moving forward but not sure how to start and when to hire help – here’s a quick list to guide you.
1 – How Big is Your Customer Base?
If you have a manageable customer base that might net only a handful of customer reviews a month, then it may be worth creating a simple system (like one-to-one email) to reach out to them and ask for positive reviews. If, on the other hand, you have too many customers each month for a simple manual process, then automating your review process is probably the way to go.
2 – What Kind of Review Do You Need?
What kind of review will be the most valuable to you and what is required to obtain it? If you would benefit from an in-depth description of your services that requires a one-on-one interview to get an appropriate level of detail, then figuring out a way to go after those reviews yourself would be practical. Or, you can even combine that very personal approach for some customers with a more automated review system for more volume.
3 – What Review Quality Do You Expect?
Are most of your customers happy or do you have a significant volume of negative reviews coming in? Also, how badly do negative reviews or lack of reviews hurt your business? If you’re absolutely sure that reviews do not play a big role in your success, then a small, manual review system might be enough to get by. In most cases, however, reviews (both positive and negative) make a substantial difference in a company’s reputation and leaving it to chance is probably a risk you shouldn’t take.
4 – Can You Be Consistent?
One of the most important aspects of the review process is consistency. Old reviews or a handful of positives scattered among many negative reviews can hurt almost more than no reviews at all. If you have the time to create and maintain an active, ongoing, consistent review program – go for it. But remember you have to keep it going on a regular basis to see the true value and unfortunately for entrepreneurs, these are the tasks that sometimes get pushed first.
5 – Do You Have the Resources?
Do you have the time? We’ll repeat that. Do you really have the time? It’s hard to discern that when you are an entrepreneur because you almost never have the time but you always manage to get things done. The problem is that some things will always get pushed and reviews are typically one of them. Be honest with yourself and if you genuinely do not have the time, outsourcing and automating the review process can be easy and cost-effective.
6 – Can You Afford a Partner?
While it’s always the first instinct of an entrepreneur to do the work themselves – it’s often not cost-effective to use valuable time that can be outsourced affordably. In the case of reviews, the cost can be minimal and the results successful with the right partner. So if you’re considering adding reviews to your plate it can be a simple question of affordability. You can’t afford not to chase reviews but if you can afford a third party – it’s probably worth it.
