Unlike traditional communication media (TV, radio, print, outdoor, etc.) that assume one-sided communication, digital media change the game, transforming the customer from a simple receiver to a receiver-transmitter and partner in communication and value creation . In the digital environment, it is not just a passive element of communication, it can intervene, change and shape communication, it can help increase the notoriety of your agency and create an image closer to reality.
What are reviews?
Reviews are the opinions expressed by customers, tourists, in relation to an experience, a service, a website or a location. Taking into account the fact that they reflect the experience they had in interacting with one of the elements, they will always be subjective, and the impact they will have will be mostly emotional, be it positive or negative.
How do reviews help you in tourism?
Most likely the last time you looked for a vacation, accommodation or experience for yourself, you looked primarily for the reviews that others have left. And most often they influenced you in making a decision. Sometimes they make you postpone a decision, sometimes they make you change your mind completely, and every once in a while they make you make that decision on the spot.
Positive reviews left by other travelers help boost your online travel agency's reputation by expressing the trust of other travelers. You must first of all make sure that you have an online presence in all the environments where your tourists find themselves and that you offer them the channels of communication and expression through which they can convey their opinions, impressions, reviews.
A series of positive reviews can be a valid tool through which you will demonstrate the value of the services you offer and the benefits of purchasing from your website. Reviews will also have a significant impact on how Google will position you in organic searches, and over time can increase your conversion rate.
Reviews on the website
Have you considered using reviews as a marketing tool? Well, it might be the most effective way to build trust in this digital space that many still don't fully trust.
People are frequently looking for feedback before purchasing a service or product, and you need to be able to give them the perspective of other tourists about that product (or about the agency in general).
What you have to look for when adding a section dedicated to reviews on the website is that the message presented is concise, contains an evaluation of the quality of the consultancy offered, maybe even an evaluation of the price but also of the experience of using the online booking website . All these details will help other people find answers to questions they have about your online travel agency more easily. Optionally, you can ask them to add a picture for even more credibility.
It is very important here and recommended that you separate the evaluation of your travel agency from the evaluation of the purchased tourist product through the questions. Given the limited control you have in managing the product or tourist service provided at the location, it can help you to delimit the activity of your product review agency a bit, to limit the impact of an experience that can turn into a negative review.
Reviews on Google
Your Google Business Profile is probably the first thing that will show up on Google when someone searches for your travel agency online. In the search engine, the local business presentation area has a very visible reserved place, and when searching for the agency's brand, it will be organically displayed very high. Which will make all information, including reviews, very visible.
The "stars" can lift you up, but you'll need to make sure you're an active player contributing to their growth through exemplary customer service and always asking for reviews. Those who are satisfied write quite rarely, but those who are dissatisfied write frequently. Make sure you have an automation set up that asks for reviews after the stay ends 7-10 days away. The number of days will help fade some less pleasant memories and help "sediment" the good vacation memories.
Reviews from Social Media
Social media followers are highly reactive to the reviews they read and tend to contribute often (especially negative experiences). When a potential customer studies your social media activity, they rely on the experience and words of others to make sure they are making the right decision to use your services. More often than not, they will be able to gauge how often and how you respond to the comments they receive and make a purchasing decision based on that.
Did you know that many online travel agencies have reviews turned off on social media? Yes, yes. Because there was no review collection strategy, and in tense moments when negative reviews started to flow (sometimes for reasons independent of the agency's activity), 5 stars quickly turned into 4, 3 or 2. You have to you always make sure to ask for reviews from satisfied customers to counteract that weighted average that results in the number of stars.
What do you do with negative reviews?
Sometimes it can happen that you also get deserved or undeserved negative feedback. Your online travel agency will often also be evaluated through the prism of your vacation experiences, where you usually have the least control. The test you have to pass online is how you respond to negative reviews and how you choose which negative reviews to respond to.
You will receive subjective but well-founded negative reviews, to which the customer service will have to intervene not only with a nice digital PR message, but also with an active compensation of the tourist and/or change of procedure, communication or tourist offer . You will learn about hotels or experiences that have a good image but should be removed from the offer. It won't be enough to just answer politely and then keep selling that thing.
And you will receive aggressive, malicious negative reviews, to which you will have to give answers many times validated by a legal consultant. The number 1 rule for this type of review is "don't engage". You must give a simple, clear and short answer that leaves no room for interpretation, and after you have given that answer, do not write anything, no matter how challenging the answer you receive will be.
How do you encourage review submissions?
As I said above, the positive review comes quite hard (many tend to forget to write), but the negative one comes almost certainly. That means you need to make sure you have automations set up (or maybe even your sales team) where you ask for customer reviews and encourage them to write them on your channels. You can also give them an incentive, but make sure it's something symbolic because the appearance of a "bribe" for a positive review (because an unreasonably large gift for a review can seem like it's trying to influence) may arouse negative emotions and will generate a negative review.
Finally, I want to remind you that all online travel agencies on the TravelFuse platform benefit from a simple and effective way to add testimonials.
Increase conversions and as many positive reviews as possible!