Social Media Response by Heritage Golf Group

REPUTATION MANAGEMENT

SOCIAL MEDIA REVIEW TOOLS AND STANDARDS

WHAT IS IT AND WHY IS IT NECESSARY?

REPUTATION MANAGEMENT IS THE PRACTICE OF INFLUENCING STAKEHOLDER PERCEPTIONS AND PUBLIC CONVERSATIONS ABOUT AN ORGANIZATION AND ITS BRANDS. IT INCLUDES MONITORING PERCEPTIONS AND CONVERSATIONS, RESPONDING TO REPUTATION THREATS AND PROACTIVELY SEIZING OPPORTUNITIES TO BOOST REPUTATION.

YOUR BRAND (REPUTATION) IS WHO YOU ARE TO OTHERS, WHAT PEOPLE (MEMBERS, GUESTS, CUSTOMERS) SAY AND SHARE ABOUT YOU. YOUR BRAND IS NOT WHO YOU THINK YOU ARE.

This step-by-step guide is a best-practice tool relating to online club reviews and how to respond to them. Please refer to this guide if you have questions on when or how to respond unsing our Review Tracker tool.

COMPONENTS OF REPUTATION MANAGEMENT

Press Releases

Social Media Sites

Blog Posts

Online Reputation Management

Competitors Sites

Review Sites Forums

WHY IS IT NECESSARY?

CONSUMERS ARE USING MORE SITES THAN EVER TO MAKE DECISIONS

IT MATTERS... CUSTOMERS USE MORE SITES THAN EVER

Surprising Statistics You Should Know

10% 90% 73% 68% 40%

of Consumers spend time researching more than 10 reviews

of consumers read 10 reviews or less before they feel that they can trust a business

of consumers form an opinion by reading up to six reviews vs. 64% in 2014

of consumers will form an opinion by reading just 1-6 reviews

of Consumers form an opinion by reading just 1-3 reviews vs. 29% in 2014.

RESPOND TO ALL REVIEWS

Respond to ALL reviews, both positive and negative feedback are important. If someone took the time to provide feedback, someone deserves a response.

RESPOND RAPIDLY AND PERSONALLY WITHIN 24 HOURS

Respond to all posted reviews within 24 hours of receipt. Quick personal responses validate Member opinions and show we care. A rapid response to a negative review can counteract unfavorable messaging and diminish the likelihood that others will add to it. Avoid using a script or "copy and paste" response.

Heritage GolfGroup Response Standards

EXPRESS APPRECIATION

Express appreciation in a variety of ways, not just “thank you”. Using a couple of sentences to express appreciation adds variety and personalization. Take into consideration the reputation of the reviewer. On Google, you can see how many reviews they have posted along with the quality and rankings their reviews represent.

PROOFREAD

Have a second person read your response before posting it online. Reading aloud is an excellent way to proofread your own work. Poorly written responses, with typos, misspelled words, and grammar errors, reflect poorly on you as well as the club.

ADDRESS ISSUES PRIVATELY

It can be very tempting to respond to complaints with defensive statements about your service, and brands fall prey to this mistake every day. It can also be tempting to try and solve the problem right there in front of the audience, but this is also a big mistake. Invite the member to have a discussion with you in private.

DO NOT ADD A COMPLAINT

Be careful not to inflate the issue. For instance, if a member complains about an appetizer, do not apologize for the entire restaurant. Managers should also avoid restating the problem. Instead of saying, “We are sorry to hear that our staff was rude”, say, “We are sorry your experience with our club staff did not measure up to our standards.”

Heritage GolfGroup Response Standards

REVIEWS WITHOUT COMMENTS 7

Oftentimes reviews will only have a star rating and no actual content in the review. These are opportunities to contact the member and get a better sense of what might have happened to help correct the incident, or better yet, highlight a win.

For example:

1 or 2 stars: “Thank you for your review of our club. I see that you marked a lower than normal star rating and encourage you to reach out to me at info@clubemail so I can address any issues that might have persuaded you to leave this ranking. Thank you!Management”

5 stars: “Thank you for taking the time to give us such a high star rating. When you have a chance, we would love to hear more about your great experience! Thank you again and we look forward to seeing you on your next visit!”

IMPORTANT NOTE: For best results, invite frustrated members to contact you directly through your specific info@ club email address. Help members understand that by contacting this address, they can express their frustration in full detail and work with club management to find a solution. Though club managers may decide to let an employee manage this email, members want to know they will be heard.

Heritage

GolfGroup Response Standards

Be positive, calm and objective]

Clearly indicate your position at the club

Thank the member for his/her feedback and for taking the time to add a review

Apologize for any legitimate complaint

Provide a simple, short explanation to the problem, if appropriate Explain how you have addressed, or will address, the issue

Highlight any positive comments from the reviewer to reinforce the strengths of the club

Encourage the reviewer to visit your club again

Check your response for spelling and grammar before posting

DON'T...

Be angry, defensive or “nitpicky”

Create/perpetuate an argument by blaming, criticizing or “attacking” the member

Question the reviewer’s legitimacy. If you suspect a fraudulent review, please alert management

Respond with “corporate speak” that is vague or insincere

Promise any compensation (i.e., discounted or “comp” rounds/foods/vouchers) as a means of reconciliation

Reveal personal or sensitive information about any member or associate

Tell them that you don’t want their future business

Overact or react to one comment – look for trends

Do this...not that

DO...

In addition to addressing negative reviews through responses, the best approach is to use the feedback to fix what is broken at your club so that the next wave of reviews will counter the earlier negative one

The reviewer is not notified of the response and may not see it, so the response should be written with all readers in mind, not just the reviewer

Remember, once a response is posted it cannot be modified

If needed, forward comments to the appropriate person at your club for assistance in responding and to let them know if there is an issue in their department. If the GM is not managing the responses, inform him/her of any significant issues

Never submit fake reviews to counter negative reviews. Not only is this unethical, but it will also lead to Google penalizing your listing

Check your reviews at least once a day

Ideally, management responses should be made within 24 hours of the review to demonstrate the importance of customer feedback and to help mitigate the effects of any negative reviews

Other Considerations when Responding

KEEP

MIND...

How to respond to positive reviews:

POSITIVE REVIEWS

Responding to positive reviews gives you the chance to secure the loyalty of your most enthusiastic members. Your response validates their behavior and increases the likelihood they will leave similar reviews in the future.

It also shows potential members that they can expect the same satisfying experience when they visit any Heritage Golf Club.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Positive reviews are considered to be reviews that give you a score of 80% or greater (4 or 5 out of 5 stars). However, strining to achieve a score of 4 will bring down your club's overall score. Thus, your goal should always be 5 out of 5 stars. Occasionally members will give you a low score and write a good review. When this happens, respond to the comment and not the score. You can still leverage great comments about your property, even if the score isn't perfect.

POSITIVE REVIEW RESPONSES - STEP ONE

Validate good experiences and emphasize your club’s competitive advantages

Validate your member’s good experiences by repeating or reemphasizing the positive aspects mentioned in their review. This leads to repeat business and attracts new potential members and guests. This is a chance to emphasize your competitive advantages. If you bring up complementary strengths, you have more control over the messages about your property online. Done tactfully, this is an opportunity for free advertising.

Step ONE

Tell

stories and share insights to help guests feel like insiders

POSITIVE REVIEW RESPONSES - STEP TWO Step TWO

Enhance the member’s experience by making them feel like they have the inside scoop on your club. People remember and connect with stories, and many aspects of your club and service have unique stories behind them. Whether it’s a course design, new menu or special, or the personality of your staff, members like to know the behind-the-scenes details. Create content for members and engage them by sharing short stories.

Give them a reason to come back

POSITIVE REVIEW RESPONSES - STEP THREE Step THREE

If guests return to your club, it won’t be because you said that you hoped to see them again… it will be because of the experience they had or want to have. Give them a real reason to return by mentioning something they may have missed, or by previewing some of your club’s upcoming events or improvements.

How to respond to negative reviews:

NEGATIVE REVIEWS

A great response to a negative review does not simply pacify an unsatisfied guest.

A great response resolves a concern and/or solves a problem.

More than 80 percent of people who have their concerns resolved by a company say they will do business with that company again, so responding appropriately to a negative review is actually an opportunity to win repeat business.

Zero in on the guest's primary concern

Carefully read each complaint to decipher the heart of the concern. Identifying a guest’s primary concern requires two steps:

NEGATIVE REVIEW RESPONSES - STEP ONE Step ONE

1. Investigate the complaints to determine what caused the problem. For instance, if guests complain about the fitness facility being too small, you wouldn’t want to apologize for the room’s size if it turns out some of the machines were simply being serviced.

2. Read between the lines. Guests often leave multiple complaints in a single review, but the complaints might be rooted in a similar cause. Once you have zeroed in on the primary concern, you can accurately address the trigger for the negative review.

Validate guest concerns without specifically restating the problem

NEGATIVE REVIEW RESPONSES - STEP TWO Step TWO

When guests leave negative comments, they want to know you understand their complaint, that you agree there was a legitimate issue, and that you are sorry about the problem. You demonstrate this by expressing empathy. If appropriate, build common ground and decrease negative feelings by agreeing with the reviewer.

As you work on validating guests’ concerns, be careful not to restate the problem. Restating the problem reinforces what went wrong. Instead, refer to concerns in broad categories.

Emphasize the positive at your club

NEGATIVE REVIEW RESPONSES - STEP THREE Step THREE

No matter the complaint, it is advantageous to remind guests of your club's unique amenities and strengths. Stay positive and avoid sounding defensive.

TOOLS

reviewtrackers

Allows us to Gather and Respond to Reviews in one Safe Place

How Does reviewtrackers Work?

Respond to Reviews Notifications Reporting Ability to request reviews Email Kiosk SMS Encourage Good Reviews to be posted online Capture Negative Feedback Reporting for internal feedback Social Sharing for Outstanding Reviews Request (Proactive) Respond (Reactive) Capture (Proactive) Share (Proactive)