Managing and protecting your online reputation

As part of the Tourism Enterprise Development (TED) Programme this workshop looked at managing and protecting online reputation, where Ciaran Connolly from ProfileTree shared his tips to those wanting to protect their online reputation.

To watch more from this workshop click here.

A few of the online review forums  

• Tripadvisor 
• Booking.com  
• Hotels.com  
• Trivago  
• Secret Escapes  
• Google  
• Spa breaks  
• Expedia  

While these forums may seem scary, they provide a great opportunity for businesses to engage with customers and a satisfied customer’s recommendation is worth its weight in gold, not to mention it is most likely a deciding factor when going ahead and booking.  

Google Plug-In  

Customers can now book through Google on their mobile app. Google plug-in is a free and easy way to start creating brand awareness online as it provides everything from opening times, directions and reviews.  
 
If you Google your business, on the right hand side you should see the Google plug-in. Do your eyes focus on yellow stars and reviews? Remember to include this into your online strategy – and when you do, track your metrics, when you make the change, is there a difference? By using these simple techniques you are making it easier for people to book through Google.   

Happy Customer = good business.  
 
Tripadvisor is the number 1 site used by those booking an experience or hotel and there is a correlation between reviews and revenue. It is worth noting that those with good reviews can charge up to 10% more.  

“Reviews influence a property’s reputation, as well as its popularity on TripAdvisor. And that popularity influences the attention and direct bookings a property receives from Travellers.” Minesh Shah, Director of Review Services at TripAdvisor.  

What to consider when building your business online:  

• Your website  
• Your OTA profiles  
• Map profiles such as Google and Bing. Set up your account in order to own these profiles to control this information.  
• Search Engine Profile. For example do a search of your hotel or experience, what are people seeing? Can you spot anything you want to change?  
• Social media channels help to build brand awareness and send traffic back to your site.  
• Analytics. Sometimes overlooked but they provide a wealth of information in regards to understanding your customers.  
• Staff training, for those replying to customers, as once a comment is made online…that’s it!  
• Standard Operating Procedures – have you a strong process to garner reviews and add to your website.  
   

Negative reviews happen! It is the way that your business responds that can turn it into a positive   

• Reply in a timely fashion, be sincere and let them know this will be dealt with. If possible try to take the conversation offline, acknowledging the mistake if necessary.  
• Personalise a response, re-engage with the customer once issue is resolved. If you handle the response well, the customer can become a champion for your business, praising your reply.  
• There are some people who will not be satisfied with any outcome - Don’t take it personally!  
• Go the extra mile.  
• Don’t delete negative comments.  
• Monitor conversations about your brand.  

 
There are Reputation Management Software Tools to help you monitor your brand:  

• Sprout Social  
• Mention  
• Brandwatch  
• Socialbakers  
• Hootsuite  
• Google Alerts – Free! Get updates from news and information about your brand.  
   

Final Tips:  

• Make sure you are easy to find on the review websites.  
• Take note of what guests are saying. Is there a common theme that you can introduce a solution to?   
• Compare your business against your direct competition and if you have better reviews, is there an opportunity to increase price?  
• Actively encourage your customers to leave reviews on multiple sites and remember to build this into your overall strategy.  
• Use your analytics to make better decisions. Top tip: Gold tracking in analytics can do this and see where leads are coming from all the way to your purchase.  
• Monitor the conversation online and be part of it!