The growth of your business depends on reviews. A negative review can have lasting effects on the amount of new & loyal customers you retain and the revenue you generate. Businesses who want to improve their online reputation management, might not have the means to do so.
Luckily, there are many platforms to help businesses transform their online reputation and generate positive online reviews. Outsourcing this job leaves you with more time to focus on your business. Many of these platforms give customers a straightforward method to leave a review and manage leads more effectively.
Let’s take a look at the Best Reputation Management Software and the perks they provide:
The Best Overall Software for 5-Star Reviews: Podium
Overview
Podium is powered by convenience. Podium was built on the idea that customers actually want to leave reviews. Instead of cleaning up negative reviews, Podium provides a simple method to give happy customers a more convenient way to share their positive experiences. Podium’s software generates reviews through convenient conversation channels like Facebook messenger and mobile phone texting.
Gone are the days of creating an account on Yelp or Google or being burdened with navigating to the website itself and leaving a review. With a convenient and seamless review journey, customers can quickly reply to a text message and leave their reviews that way. Additionally, Podium is designed to manage leads more effectively and help customers get the information they need quickly.
Price
Podium has customized plans to fit your business individually, according to your unique needs. There is a free option if your business wants to see how Podium works before signing a yearly contract. There are fewer features with the free plan, but for some businesses, it might be a good starting point. Especially, if your business just wants to manage leads more effectively and wouldn’t need access with a large team
Monthly Podium packages start at $399/month, then increasing to $499 and $700/month, increasing in the number of features overall. Because Podium is on the pricier side, to truly get everything a business might need out of the software, larger teams will benefit more from what Podium can offer.
The Best Software for Customer-Driven Marketing: Birdeye
Overview
Just like the other ORM competitors, Birdeye is centered on creating better experiences for your customers. Birdeye not only provides review management software but comprehensive marketing management centered on your customer’s feedback. This makes Birdeye stand out from competitors who are looking for a few more features than simply ORM. Birdeye has three main categories; Attract, Convert, and Delight.
Birdeye has made managing the software simple, through one convenient dashboard. This dashboard houses all of your customer interactions, review monitoring, customer feedback, data & analytics, competitors’ data, and marketing tools in one convenient location.
Birdeye focuses all of your decisions and tools around the customer to not only provide better service but customer-driven marketing. Additionally, the integration of Birdeye’s software is simple and can be intertwined with the major ERP, PMS, POS, and CRM systems.
Price
Birdeye is customizable depending on the needs of your business. General pricing starts at $299 per month for a single location when you pay annually. Depending on the needs of your business, Birdeye might be a helpful reputation management solution for customer-driven marketing.
The Best Software for Brand Identity & Growth: Vendasta
Overview
The creators of Vendasta understand that brand identity is one of the most important factors in the success of your business. The way customers view your brand and identify with it will ultimately determine if they buy from you or move on to another brand. Vendasta offers a robust white-label platform that you can use to grow your customer base and brand.
Vendasta’s products are divided up into service groups that you can choose from, depending on what your brand needs. Groups like CRM, local marketing, marketing automation, and ecommerce to name a few of the most popular. Vendasta offers a wide range of services that not only transforms customer marketing and service experience but keeps the reputation and identity of your brand at the forefront.
Price
While Vendasta’s prices are lower than similar competitors, their packages aren’t customizable. They offer 5 price packages with different features and tools. However, like Podium and some of the other ORM platforms, you pay for everything in the package without customization.
The Free and Startup packages are inexpensive and designed for a small business that doesn’t need the bells and whistles but still wants to improve its online reputation. Businesses who can afford the larger packages will see that they are designed with extra services and tools they might need as their business continues to grow.
The Best Software for Lead Management & Business Verification: Yext
Overview
Yext is designed with authority in mind. For some businesses, conflicting hours, locations and information causes customers to leave negative customer feedback. For businesses who want to clean up this misinformation and build brand authority while still generating positive reviews, Yext is the best choice.
Yext is an ORM tool as well as a data management tool. Yext syncs the information about your business on multiple forums and directory listings to build brand authority and improve your potential lead’s search experience. Yext software provides tools to syncs your:
- Business Details (Current name, address, and phone number)
- Business Hours & Locations
- Products and Services offered
- Yext team photos, videos, bios, menus, calendars, and special events.
- Address, phone number, and content in any language
Their tools are broken down by answers, listings, knowledge graphs, reviews, pages, and analytics to provide a better search experience to your customers and leads.
Price
Yext has 4 packages that range in price depending on the needs of your business. The smallest plan is priced at $199/year, making it a cheaper option than competitors. These plans are designed to meet the various needs of small and medium-sized businesses.
A mid-range option for medium businesses starts at $499/year. Depending on where your business is, the most comprehensive package might be a good choice if you need all the benefits of Yext.
The Best ORM Software for Small Businesses: Thryv
Overview
Thryv’s software is centered on helping small business owners stay on track by managing their day-to-day activities. Thryv manages Google, Facebook, and Yelp review sites and can also schedule appointments and set reminders so owners never miss a beat.
Thryv can also fulfill marketing roles by helping owners schedule posts on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. These tools are essential for busy owners who want to keep up with their online presence but don’t have a team of people who can handle it.
Businesses powered by Thryv can also accept online appointments without a reply from the business. having to wait for a reply from the business. This feature is helpful for managing leads and filling up appointments with customers who are genuinely interested.
Price
Thryv offers a quote-based pricing plan, similar to Podium. A customized plan means your business only pays for services they need. Thryv has a marketplace where customers can pick and choose which tools and services they want. This is nice for businesses whose budget changes over time and don’t always know what they need. Especially for a small business that might not have as much experience, Thryv’s pricing marketplace is ideal.
The Best Budget ORM Software: Reputation
Overview
Reputation.com is a strong competitor when it comes to reputation management software. Reputation.com provides many tools for not only generating positive reviews but managing your business’s day-to-day activities. You can schedule social media platform posts and stay ahead of your online presence. You can also use the most basic package for online directory removal if the information found online is inaccurate or misleading.
Price
Reputation.com’s services are customizable depending on what your business needs. The services start at $99 a year and steadily increase with the most expensive package priced at $499 annually. Pricing is customized to the client’s needs. Reputation.com is listed as the best budget ORM solution because it is cheaper than its competitors.
Podium’s cheapest package starts at $399, for reference. With a smaller package from Reputation.com, there aren’t as many tools and features and you get less customization. However, for a small business that just needs help managing basic tools or removing some false information online, this could be a solid option.
Conclusion
The right online reputation management platform will be different depending on what your business needs. Different platforms will offer customization so you can pick and choose which tools will help you reach your goals. If one thing is true, it’s that the importance of a business’s online reputation isn’t going away anytime soon. To take back control of your customer’s feedback and flip the script, a review management platform is your best bet. Get started with one of these options today.
Reputation management is fun