SAFEGUARDING YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION WITH PROACTIVE REVIEW MANAGEMENT

More than 200 years ago, Benjamin Franklin said, "It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it."

A version of that is still true in today's digital marketing world. It can take many online mentions and a buildup of goodwill to develop a strong reputation. And while a single slip — or even a single negative review — won't bring the metaphorical walls of your deathcare firm down around you, online reputations can be fragile things.

One way cremation providers and other deathcare businesses can safeguard their online reputations is via proactive review management. That means actively encouraging clientele to leave reviews online while also interacting with those reviews in positive ways.

why are online reviews so important?

It's no longer an option for any business to ignore the presence of online reviews. Local service providers in any industry are especially beholden to reviews. That's because almost all people (97 percent) read reviews as part of their research when choosing a local company.
​
Here are some other stats that drive home the message that reviews are must-haves for successful online marketing:

• According to BrightLocal, consumers consider review ratings when choosing a link from local search results.
• Review signals help you rank in Google local pack results, increasing your exposure in search results (aka SERPs).
• More than 90 percent of consumers say online reviews impact their purchasing decisions.

the role of online reviews in reputation management

Simply getting seen online isn't always enough. Plenty of celebrities have had their careers derailed by scandals that pushed them into the limelight more than any of their positive achievements did.

You obviously don't want to be the deathcare firm that goes viral because your online reviews are terrible to the point of hilarity. But you also don't want to get fewer calls because a few online reviews make you appear less caring than your competitors.
​
The first scenario is unlikely; the second is very likely if you're not proactively managing online reviews. Here's why:

• More than 85 percent of consumers say negative reviews impact their buying decisions.
• Reviews are critically important as your target audience moves from Boomer and Gen X to younger generations; people age 18 to 34 trust online reviews as if they were personal recommendations from friends.
• Close to 90 percent of consumers look for and read a business's responses to reviews.
• Consumers want to engage with firms that have a 3.3-star rating or higher.

IMPROVING THE QUALITY AND QUANTITY OF YOUR ONLINE REVIEWS

The takeaway here is that the overall quality of your reviews matters. And because it's unethical (and also banned by Google) to put measures in place to stop people from leaving negative reviews, cremation service providers and other deathcare firms must take additional actions to protect their online reputations.

The first step is to provide stellar service to all families. I'm sure you're already doing that, so I'll cover the other two steps for proactively managing your online reputation via reviews:

1. TRY TO GET MORE REVIEWS.
It's a numbers game based on the law of averages. If you need a 3.3-star rating or higher to help ensure people feel comfortable contacting your crematory, a handful of reviews can be dangerous. But if you have a large number of 3-star to 5-star reviews, you can weather several 1-star reviews without your average rating suffering.

A regular stream of reviews also demonstrates that your firm is active and serving plenty of clientele. Around 40 percent of consumers only pay attention to reviews from the last few weeks for exactly this reason.

Other reasons to chase more reviews include:

• Most consumers want to read at least 10 reviews before making a final decision about a business
• Having more reviews will help your SEO
• Someone is almost 300 percent more likely to purchase services from you if you have just five reviews, as opposed to no reviews

How do you get these reviews? Simple: You ask for them. BrightLocal notes that close to 70 percent of people will leave reviews if they are asked nicely to do so. And you don't have to ask everyone; hedge your bets by requesting reviews from families that seem satisfied with your services.

2. INTERACT WITH YOUR REVIEWS
Leaving the review machine to its own devices isn't an option even after you've achieved a significant number of reviews. People expect to see businesses responding to reviews. Engaging with negative reviews in an effort to correct an issue actually helps increase your brand reputation in many eyes.

Plus, not all reviews are fair or true, and you can take action to report fake reviews or address untrue statements so other consumers are aware of your side of the story.
​
The conclusion is this: Crematories and other deathcare firms can't be passive about online reviews. They've become a critical part of online reputation, and how consumers view you through the lens of their internet search often determines whether or not they reach out to you for preplanning or at times of need.

---

Welton Hong, is the founder of Ring Ring Marketing® and a leading expert in creating case generation from online to the phone line. He is the author of Making Your Phone Ring for Funeral Homes, 2019 Edition.