“Nowadays, online reputation is everything,” Daniel Vivarelli shared at the start of the interview that we held in order to write this article.
In a fast paced world, consumers are looking to save time when making buying decisions. Whether they are shopping around for a product or service, everyone wants a shortcut to the “best choice” for themselves.
This shift in consumer behavior is why Daniel Vivarelli places such importance on online reviews. They serve as a magnet of sorts. According to Daniel, if your company reviews are well-managed, they can increase the credibility of your product or service and can be the key determining factor in attracting customers to make a purchase.
Daniel Vivarelli | Expert in Reputation Management
Before anything else, let’s talk about the expert that we invited over to explain the importance of reputation management.
Daniel Vivarelli is the founder and CEO of Starloop. Daniel can talk about the importance of reputation management because he’s been entrenched in the Online Reputation Management (ORM) industry for almost a decade.
This experience has allowed him to build up Starloop — a company that helps businesses generate genuine reviews by intersecting commerce and ecology. And, after all these years of thought leadership in online reputation management, he has even more of a position to discuss the subject.
He likes to employ ‘blue ocean marketing strategies’ that break the mold and open new opportunities. A key example is Starloop’s current software, which takes advantage of regenerative marketing in order to encourage customers to write reviews by promising that a tree will get planted in a deforested area for their trouble.
Why Should You Care About Online Reviews?
Does your business really need reviews? Well…
“9 times out of 10, consumers will look at available reviews before completing a purchase,” Daniel Vivarelli said to answer this question.
If you want more specific statistics, then statistics from 2020 state that, when comparing one local business with another, 97% of consumers read reviews online in order to make a determination as to which local business to call.
91% of adult shoppers also say that they trust online reviews just as much, if not more than, the recommendations that come from close family, friends, and acquaintances.
Winning the “Popularity Contest!”
Taking those numbers into account, there’s no denying that the winners of this silent ‘popularity contest’ are the ones that have the most reviews.
With enough positive reviews, you can pretty much steal away the prospective customers of your competitors. You become the clear choice — or, even, the only choice, if your competitor is particularly bad at reputation management.
And this is not to mention the hidden benefits that come with being considered a high-quality product or service. Like, for example, the fact that businesses with good reviews have better rankings on Google Search.
So, not only will having good online reviews increase your credibility, but also your overall visibility, making it more likely for customers to find their way to your door in the future.
Long-Term Investment
The beauty of reviews is that they’re not a short-term thing. These reviews will stay on the internet and will slowly help drive more and more sales.
Or, as Daniel Vivarelli said, “Online reviews are the newest asset class, and every review that you get pays you dividends forever.”
By investing in your online reviews today, you can get bigger and better ROI on your reputation in the future.
It’s an investment that continues to appreciate. Some may think that as long as you have a relatively good online reputation, you will be okay. However, if you don’t put in the effort, there’s no doubt that you will get left behind by a competitor who is more strategically focused on having the most reviews.
How to Generate Genuine Reviews?
Now, as for how to start generating reviews, everyone has a different approach. Some of which are far more effective than others.
When we asked Daniel Vivarelli about it, he of course introduced his Starloop model as an example. On the surface, Starloop greatly appeals to businesses with high ecological consciousness. After all, those that care about the environment are more than willing to write a review for the sake of helping the world become a little more green.
However, Daniel claims that Starloop’s business model also works with any kind of business thanks to the Law of Reciprocity. “No matter your business, your customers are human beings and most of us like the idea of a tree being planted — which results in our Members being able to get the reviews they deserve.”
Start Investing for the Future!
“The ROI from your online reviews can be staggering if you don’t get left behind by your competitors. The best time to start investing into your reputation was yesterday. The next best is right now,” Daniel encouraged everyone as a finisher to the interview.
There’s no use delaying any further, especially with the competition already moving ahead.
Of course, if you want to learn more, or you just want to ask some general questions about reviews or reputation management, Daniel Vivarelli encourages you to hit him up on social media any time:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellodanno
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danno/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/steeldanno
- Others: https://www.instagram.com/hellodanno/
