Franchise Review Management Strategies for Consistent Brand Success

This article discusses franchise review management, which is the process of monitoring, analyzing, and responding to customer feedback across all locations.

A robust online reputation is a valuable asset for franchises, directly impacting business growth and customer engagement. And a large part of effective reputation management is monitoring online reviews, including professionally responding to both positive and negative feedback.

Furthermore, review management is crucial for maintaining a strong online reputation across multiple franchise locations.

In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of online reviews for franchises and offer pro tips for managing feedback.

It’s possible to create a robust, positive online reputation even if you’re starting from zero or rebounding from a PR crisis. Explore our services or call us at 844-230-3803 for more information.

The Importance of Online Reviews for Franchises

Online reviews play a significant role in customer decisions. Consider these stats:

• Over 93% of online shoppers read reviews before making an online purchase.
• 91% of consumers say their overall perception of big brands is impacted by reviews of local branches.
• 36% of consumers use two review sites when researching local businesses, and 41% use at least three sites.
• The top factor that decreases consumer trust is if a business deletes negative comments and reviews from customers.

Positive online reviews can make a huge difference in attracting potential customers and driving business success. Generating and managing positive reviews is crucial for achieving better reviews, which enhance online reputation and brand trust. Good reviews also boost local search engine optimization (SEO), directly impacting sales.

Negative reviews, on the other hand, can harm a franchise’s reputation and deter customers. You don’t want to ignore them, though. Customers take notice if brands ignore poor feedback. Instead, tackling negative reviews head-on is the best way to protect your digital reputation.

We work with clients to help them build their online reputation and take control of their digital presence. Give us a call at 844-230-3803 to learn more about our services.

How Franchises Can Manage Customer Feedback

Customer feedback is a vital component of reputation management, providing valuable insights into customer satisfaction and sentiment.

Generate New Reviews

Franchise businesses should implement a review-generation strategy, using tactics such as:

• Email requests
• In-store prompts
• SMS review requests

Automating the review request process can save time and increase the volume of customer feedback. For example, you can have a QR code that links to your preferred review platform printed at the bottom of every customer receipt. For online sales, you can automate follow-up emails to be sent 24 hours after purchase or delivery, asking the customer for their honest opinion.

Offer Multiple Review Platforms

Franchise businesses should encourage customer feedback through various channels, including online review portals and social media. Managing feedback at individual locations is crucial, too, as it allows for localized strategies that foster community engagement and trust.

Optimize Local Business Listings

Local SEO is critical for franchise businesses with multiple locations, helping customers find their local franchise through online search. Accurate and up-to-date listings on Google, Yelp and other directories are essential for local SEO.

Plus, these platforms often have review capabilities, allowing customers to leave feedback and others to learn more about the business as they research it.

Franchise businesses should claim and optimize their online business listings, ensuring consistency across all locations. For example, the business name should always be spelled and capitalized the same way. Low-quality listings can confuse customers, negatively impact their trust in your brand and deter people from leaving reviews.

Get Active on Social Media

Social media can play a significant role in shaping a franchise’s reputation, as customers often share their experiences on social platforms.

Furthermore, social media can be used to promote positive brand content, share success stories, and build customer loyalty by highlighting stories from satisfied customers.

Franchise businesses should also maintain a strong social media presence by engaging with customers and responding to feedback in ways that reflect brand values. Monitoring social media posts and responding promptly to customer inquiries is essential for maintaining a positive reputation.

Professionally Respond to Reviews

Responding to customer feedback in a timely and professional manner is essential for maintaining a positive reputation and strengthening local customer relationships. Most consumers expect a response to their review within 2 to 3 days and no longer than a week.

When using social media platforms to connect with brands, there’s an even greater expectation. On social, 30% of consumers expect a same-day response, 23% of consumers want a response within 1 to 2 hours, and 16% of consumers expect to get a response within minutes.

Responding to Negative Reviews

Responding to negative reviews is a critical component of reputation management because it’s the best way to mitigate the impact of negative feedback. A poor review for one location can impact the entire franchise, affecting its overall reputation and brand perception.

Franchise business owners should respond promptly to negative reviews, apologizing for any issues and offering a solution. Referring to standardized responses ensures that the tone is aligned with the brand. However, it’s also important to update and personalize those templates accordingly to offer personalized solutions.

Responding to negative reviews in a professional and polite manner can help to turn a negative experience into a positive one. Not only might the reviewer improve their view of the brand, but potential customers who see the exchange will trust that your business takes care of its customers.

Here’s another benefit to properly managing negative reviews: they present opportunities to identify areas for improvement and implement changes.

Monitor Online Feedback

Monitoring online reviews in real-time is essential for responding promptly to customer feedback and maintaining a positive reputation. Review monitoring tools pull in new reviews from platforms like Facebook, Google, and Yelp, adding them to a single dashboard for easier management.

Some review monitoring tools are even able to use AI to write review responses. For low-stakes reviews, like ones that say, “Love this product!” standard responses may be all that’s needed to show your audience you’re engaged with them.

Analyze Feedback and Customer Sentiment

Analyzing customer feedback can help identify recurring themes and areas for improvement. For example, systematic problems can point out areas where operations need to be improved. Or, post-support feedback may point out gaps in training for customer service agents.

Additionally, analyzing customer sentiment is a cornerstone of effective franchise reputation management. By closely monitoring online reviews, social media posts, and other digital channels, franchise owners can gain valuable insights into how customers perceive their brand.

Sentiment analysis tools help identify the attitudes and emotions behind customer comments, revealing recurring themes such as slow service or exceptionally friendly staff members. Understanding these patterns allows franchise owners to address pain points, enhance the customer experience, and foster greater customer satisfaction. Basically, you’ll be able to fix problems while maximizing what you’re doing right.

By proactively responding to customer sentiment, franchises can encourage more positive online reviews, strengthen their online reputation, and ensure the brand remains a top choice for potential customers.

Common Reputation Risks for Franchises

Common reputation risks for franchise businesses include inaccurate listings, negative online reviews, and social media crises. Furthermore, franchises often face challenges in managing customer reviews when they lack a centralized tool to handle feedback from multiple locations.

To mitigate these risks, franchise businesses can:

• Implement a review-generation strategy
• Monitor social media for brand-related conversations
• Respond promptly to reputation crises
• Establish consistent brand guidelines for review responses

Franchise businesses should also have a crisis management plan in place to respond to and recover from reputation crises.

OnlineReputation.com provides franchise reputation management services to help you protect your digital presence. Get started with a free online reputation analysis here.

Wrapping Up

Brand success doesn’t happen by accident — it’s built through intentional, ongoing reputation and review management. By actively generating reviews, monitoring feedback across platforms, and responding thoughtfully to all types of comments, franchises can protect their reputation while strengthening customer trust.

Whether you’re opening a new franchise location or rebounding from a PR crisis, our franchise reputation management services can help. Contact us today at 844-230-3803 for a free consultation with an expert.