While many companies with a one-on-one with the clients, SaaS companies fill in a unique niche that caters to other businesses that are in need of a solution. Because of the important role that SaaS companies play in business efficiency, there are a lot of companies that seem to offer similar solutions.
If your SaaS company is operating in an oversaturated vertical, it can be difficult to differentiate your tool and win over more clients.
This is where reputation management comes into play. No matter how great your website looks, how effective your solution is, or how on-point your marketing strategy is, the fact remains that more people than ever are looking at what other people are saying about you first.
What is Online Reputation?
Online reputation is, essentially, anything and everything that someone could find out about your company as they’re doing a search. This could be a direct search for your company’s name, or information they find when they are searching your particular SaaS vertical.
Search engines, like Google, have set their algorithms to seamlessly take your business’s overall rating and customer feedback into their ranking method. Because the majority of businesses have listings on rating and review platforms, especially Google My Business, it’s more important than ever to get honest feedback posted on those profiles.
Consumers are also becoming smarter. They understand that many companies can have a legitimate-looking website and great marketing that says “We’re the best!”
That’s why they are more likely to trust what’s being said in an online review, by other customers, than even a friend or family recommendation. So, in addition to having that great website, efficient tool, and great marketing, amazing SaaS sales team (internal or externa) you also need to make sure that online reviews are treated as a cornerstone to your online reputation.
What Differentiates Your Solution from Competing SaaS tools
If you are interested in managing your online reputation, or at least learning more about the topic, it’s likely that you are part of a SaaS company that is actively working on helping customers with a great tool.
However, it’s likely that there are a few other companies who are looking to fill a similar niche that you are.
This is where managing your company’s online reputation comes into play. At a basic level, all that separates your solution from someone else’s is how well it can be represented online. Without an in-person demonstration, it can be difficult for a potential customer to see the nuanced benefits that you offer.
However, it they’re able to read about someone else’s true experience, they’ll be able to understand exactly how well your SaaS tool can help their processes.
How to Manage Your Online Reputation
Managing your SaaS company’s online reputation means you’ll need to put in a little bit of work and planning to make this a successful project. Thankfully, online reputation management isn’t something that requires a lot of your time.
If you want to successfully manage your business’s online reputation to gain the most amount of revenue from online outlets, continue reading to find out what you’ll need to do.
Create or Claim Your Professional Profiles
In the world of SaaS companies, having profiles created on review platforms, like Google or Yelp, isn’t as much of a guarantee as it is for more traditional businesses. That’s why you’ll need to take some time to research your company and find out what sites you already have a listing on.
If you have a profile already, you will need to take the appropriate steps to claiming it. In some cases, you may already have the login. When that isn’t the case, you’ll need to input some business information to verify that you have the right to claim the profile. Many platforms lay out how to claim a profile clearly, with most requiring you to receive a robo-call or postcard with a special code as the final verification step.
When you have found all of your existing profiles, it’s time to narrow down what other websites you should have a profile on. Some of the most important platforms include Facebook, Yelp, Google My Business, and Bing. You should also claim or create profiles on any industry-specific profiles to ensure that you are represented where your potential customers are looking.
Update Your Business Information
It’s important for you to review and update the business information that’s publicly available. This includes your business name, industry category, phone number, operational hours, address, and website.
You will also want to update your profiles with high-quality photos and any additional information possible. Some platforms will allow you to add a mission and value statement. Others will give you a free space to write a bio and description.
Remember, the more information you give potential customers, the better you’ll fare next to competitor profiles.
Solicit Customer Reviews
Once you have all of your profiles claimed, set up, and updated, it’s time to start getting feedback.
The best part about this step is that it is beneficial in two ways: it helps boost your business’s ratings and it helps you to improve your services.
Many SaaS companies elect to use a reputation management tool that allows them to upload a CSV of their client list and send out review solicitations in bulk.
When you are sending out these requests, make sure that you are pointing your customers to a specific profile. This will allow you to build up your rating on your most important profiles before circulating to different profiles. Over time, you can build a solid rating on each website before returning your focus to more important profiles, like Google.
Respond to Customer Feedback
Once someone has left you a review, your job doesn’t end there. You should be responding to each and every review, whether it’s positive or negative, with a thank you or an invitation to discuss their problem privately.
By responding to each review, you’ll be showing potential customers that you care about your customer experience. Not only that, but you’ll be demonstrating to your current customers, who are leaving these reviews, that you are actively listening to their feedback and appreciate their business.
To best manage your online reputation, you should be checking in on your professional profiles regularly. The sooner you are able to respond to a review, especially a negative one, the better.
Showcase Your Customer Feedback
One of the final steps to successfully manage your SaaS company’s online reputation is to showcase your company feedback. Every reviewer can become a brand ambassador if you pull quotes from their reviews and distribute it amongst your social media profiles and even your website.
That way, customers will know that you are proud of the services you offer and listen to your customers. Potential customers, on the other hand, will get exposed to real customer feedback while they are learning more about your company while not necessarily looking at your review profiles directly.