Turn customer reviews into trust magnets with the right customer review management software

Customer review management software is crucial for businesses, as online reviews influence brand reputation and customer trust. Whether you run a small business or manage multiple locations, customer feedback can significantly impact your business success.

However, manually handling customer reviews across multiple platforms can be time-consuming and overwhelming. This is where customer review management software becomes invaluable. It automates the process, helping businesses request, monitor, and respond to reviews efficiently.

In this blog post, we’ll explore about customer review management software, online review, and reputation management and explain how Birdeye can help local businesses do it well. 

Review management and reputation management 

Most people assume review management only involves getting and responding to reviews – but nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, review generation and response are only two important parts of review management. 

Review management, by definition, means monitoring a business’ online reviews across various channels. On the other hand, reputation management involves building and maintaining a positive reputation for your business.

Review management and reputation management are inherently connected – which means the more review sites your business is on, the easier it becomes to establish a strong online reputation.

For successful reputation management, businesses need a comprehensive review management system that can::

• Actively generate more reviews for their business
• Notify them when a new review comes
• Highlight potential issues to resolve 
• Provide a bigger picture for business growth and development 

These four things can be hard to achieve manually, especially if you’re a growing business with reviews on hundreds of sites. That’s why investing in an AI-powered review management solution is key; it helps businesses turn customer feedback into a powerful trust-building asset.

An overview: Customer review management software 

Traditionally, customer review management software helps businesses manage their online reviews across multiple platforms while streamlining their reputation management efforts.

An effective system should do more than just collect and display reviews—it should enable businesses to generate new reviews, respond promptly, and maintain a consistent brand image across all channels.

A study by Birdeye found that  57% of customers only consider businesses with four or more stars. This highlights the direct impact of review management on customer trust and decision-making.

Why businesses need customer review management software 

Building customer loyalty is key to business success. You need the right customer review tool to strengthen brand credibility and identify trends. Here are the reasons why you should opt for a review management platform: 

1. Enhancing online visibility and brand reputation

• Online reviews are a critical ranking factor for search engines. More reviews and positive ratings boost local SEO, making it easier for potential customers to find businesses.
• A study by Birdeye found that 34% of marketers believe most customers discover businesses through online reviews.

2. Improving customer interactions and sentiment analysis

• Businesses can gain insights into customer sentiment by analyzing feedback trends.
• AI powered tools help identify pain points, allowing companies to refine their services.
• Personalized responses build trust, showing customers their opinions matter.

3. Automating review requests and responses

• Sending SMS review requests ensures higher response rates.
• AI-generated responses help businesses respond quickly to reviews, saving time while maintaining brand tone.

How to choose the best customer review management software for your business

Selecting the right review management software depends on:

• Business size and industry needs: Small businesses may need a simple tool, while multi-location businesses require advanced features.
• Ease of use: A clean and intuitive interface helps businesses manage reviews effortlessly.
• Scalability: Choose for software that can accommodate business growth.
• Customer support: Opt for platforms offering reliable support and onboarding assistance.
• Integration capabilities: Ensure the software integrates with your CRM, marketing tools, and business platforms.
• Pricing: Compare different platforms to find one that offers the best value for your budget.

The top review management tools overview

Here’s a quick overview of the best customer review software available:

• Birdeye: GenAI reputation management with automated review requests and sentiment analysis.
• Podium: Best for SMS-based review requests.
• Yext: Ideal for businesses focused on local SEO and brand visibility.
• Trustpilot: Well-known for gathering reviews and social proof.

An effective review management platform enhances online reputation regardless of business size. Some platforms cater to multi-location businesses, while others offer enterprise-level solutions.

The best tools provide automation, AI-driven insights, and seamless integrations to improve customer interactions. Find the Perfect Review Management Solution – See the Comparison

Birdeye: the leading customer review management software

Businesses can achieve a stellar online reputation by listening to their customers and giving them an opportunity to leave feedback.

With Birdeye, review generation and monitoring is easier than ever. We’re the leading customer review software on the market, and we’ve helped more than 150,000 local brands and businesses manage their customer reviews. 

Our product is designed to keep your business one step ahead across the entire marketing flywheel – and our customer review management system is at the core of it. 

Our solutions can help you outshine your competitors during the discovery phase, perform better during the conversion phase, and delight customers at every stage of the buying journey.

Let’s take a closer look at Birdeye’s customer review and reputation management services. 

Review generation 

Let’s say you’re a local business looking to improve your online reputation. You know you need to increase your visibility, so your first focus is on local listing websites and your Google Business Profile. But you quickly realize that just creating a profile won’t cut it. You need reviews to boost your presence on these websites. 

When it comes to local SEO, over 30% of customers in a recent Birdeye poll say that generating customer reviews is their biggest challenge. Another study found that 74% of consumers write reviews for local businesses. 

So, why is there such a big gap?

Businesses without a review generation strategy might struggle to get the number of reviews they’re looking for. That’s where Birdeye can help. With our all-in-one platform, you can: 

• Integrate your existing CRM software and send review requests without lifting a finger
• Ask customers to leave reviews at their happiest moments to ensure a prompt response
• Request reviews from new and existing customers to boost your review count and improve your online reputation.

Content for preformatted block: Birdeye Reviews AI makes this process seamless by:

• Sending automated SMS and email review requests to increase response rates.
• Providing website review widgets and QR codes to make leaving reviews easy.
• Integrating with CRM systems to request and manage reviews in a streamlined way.

Here’s what a typical review request from Birdeye looks like. You can rest easy knowing reviews will come in on autopilot while you’re managing other aspects of your business.

Review monitoring

You can also do customer review monitoring and respond to every review from your Birdeye dashboard. By responding to reviews as soon as they’re posted, you can boost your SEO ranking and improve your Google Business Profile. 

It can be tough for some businesses to monitor every review site and reply to reviews manually. The Birdeye dashboard populates your latest reviews from all linked review sites in a single place. Your dashboard refreshes every 24 hours, but you can also do a manual refresh if you know a customer has just left a review. 

You can also use your Birdeye dashboard to: 

• Monitor what your customers are saying about your business across more than 200 review sites
• View, respond, and manage your reviews on all integrated review sites
• Get reports on your most active review profiles, latest reviews, and reviews for each business location
• Track which employee generates the most reviews
• Improve customer experience by understanding customer feedback
• Find revenue opportunities for referrals, upsells, and loyalty programs
• Send referral emails to customers who have written positive reviews about your business
• See recent review activity across every channel 

Review monitoring is especially important for multi-location businesses. One location may outperform other locations, and those star ratings could skew your national average.  Birdeye can help you identify your top locations and your locations that need a bit more attention. 

Review response

Responding to customer reviews can improve your Google Business Profile, local SEO efforts, and your online reputation management. However, responding to each and every review can be challenging for some local businesses.

Birdeye’s all-in-one dashboard makes responding to reviews easier than ever. With our platform, you can: 

• Respond to online reviews across more than 200 reviews sites
• Use custom templates to respond to positive and negative online reviews quickly. 
• Set up automation to respond to reviews at scale. 
• Go live on all linked review sites on day one. Birdeye offers an easy-to-use UI, integration with over 3,000 systems, and a world-class onboarding experience. 
• Receive instant alerts whenever a new review goes live so your team can get on it immediately. 
• Assign negative reviews to the appropriate team members via our ticketing system. 

Watch this video to learn more about  Birdeye’s review automation feature.  

Review marketing 

Online reviews can help create social proof, improve customer sentiments, and build trust in your business. With Birdeye’s review marketing feature, you can improve your reputation across every active marketing channel and share your best reviews across the internet. You can also automatically share your reviews on your social media channels. 

Check out our webinar on review marketing and its role in reputation management for more details :

Customer review management tool 

Reviews are a great way to understand your customers’ feelings about your business. They give you helpful insights on what you’re doing right and want can be improved upon.. But sometimes, you have to dig a little deeper. And that’s where surveys come in. 

Traditionally businesses have used standalone customer feedback software systems to manage feedback. But that’s not the case with Birdeye.

Birdeye brings you surveys, insights, and review management all built into the same system to make customer feedback management a breeze for businesses. 

Our solutions help you generate, manage, analyze emerging issues and feedback your business receives via surveys to make informed business decisions. 

With Birdeye’s customer review platform management tool, businesses can: 

• Automate surveys to customers with negative reviews to know their experiences in detail. 
• Create in-house customer support tickets to handle issues raised in negative responses.
• Encourage customers with survey responses to leave a positive review or refer a friend. 
• Analyze business performance and make changes for the better.

FAQs about customer review management software

Birdeye: The all-in-one GenAI review management solution

Birdeye is an AI company designed to help businesses manage online reviews, enhance brand reputation, and drive client feedback effortlessly.

With its comprehensive review aggregation, competitor benchmarking, and brand visibility enhancement, Birdeye remains a top-rated customer review management software on G2 and Capterra. Using Birdeye, businesses can build social proof, gain insights, and increase sales while maintaining a strong online reputation.

Take control of your online reputation, showcase your best customer experiences, generate sales and gain loyal customers effortlessly with Birdeye. Get started today, watch a demo now.