This document summarizes a presentation on best practices in online reputation management. The presentation covers: [1] how online reviews impact hotels through customer selection, sales conversion, and price setting; [2] key trends in reputation management like the importance of customer service and using semantic analysis; [3] different types of review sites; [4] tips for listening to customer feedback and using tools to analyze sentiment; and [5] best practices for responding to reviews and developing an organizational culture focused on reputation.

1. Best Practices in Online Reputation Management
A special presentation for Avvio by Josiah Mackenzie
November 2011

2. Best Practices in Reputation Management for 2011
Seminar Agenda
Today, Josiah Mackenzie will discuss:
– The Overall Impact of Reviews on Hotels
– Key Trends In Reputation Management Right Now
– Types of Review Sites Today (And How They Differ)
– Tips for Becoming A Better Listener
– Using Semantic Analysis To Understand Sentiment
– Best Practices in Responding to Reviews
– How to Develop a Culture of Reputation Management
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3. Best Practices in Reputation Management for 2011
The Overall Impact of Reviews on Hotels
• Reviews and reputation affect hotel selection
– “….Past experience, reputation, recommendations, and online reviews…are now
more important to guests than either hotel location or price.” (Market Metrix,
January 2010)
– 35% of holidaymakers changed their choice of hotel last year after browsing social
media platforms (WTM 2010)
• Reviews and reputation affect sales conversion rates
– “On Expedia.com, good reviews of 4.0 or 5.0 generate more than double the
conversion of a review of 1.0 – 2.9,” Jennifer Davies, Expedia
• Reviews and reputation affect the prices you can charge
– Consumers were willing to pay up to 20-90% more for a 5-star rated product than
for a 4-star rated product [on review sites]. (comScore/Kelsey, October 2007)
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4. Best Practices in Reputation Management for 2011
What’s New In Reputation Management for 2011
• Customer service plays a bigger role in marketing
– So what? Raise internal awareness
– Try this: Show your front-line staff how actions they take are talked about by others online
• Semantic analysis helps improve advertising and marketing communications
– So what? Guests can help you run more effective marketing campaigns
– Try this: Get ideas for your advertising campaigns based on online feedback
• Semantic analysis helps improve quality
– So what? Now you have a virtual 24/7 mystery shopper
– Try this: Make your investment decisions based on semantic analysis of reviews
• Quality indexes can be used to maximize revenue
– So what? There is a direct link between your online reputation and the prices you can charge
– Try this: Cross-compare pricing data with reputation indexes
• Reputation plays an increasingly important role in the sales cycle
– So what? Opportunities exist for increasing sales volume and conversion rates
– Try this: Let your guests act as salespeople by sharing their online feedback
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5. Best Practices in Reputation Management for 2011
Types of Review Sites Today (And How They Differ)
1. Travel communities
(TripAdvisor, Qype)
2. Online travel agencies
(Booking.com, Expedia)
3. Social networks and „mini-reviews‟
(Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare)
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6. Best Practices in Reputation Management for 2011
How To Become A Better Listener
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7. Best Practices in Reputation Management for 2011
How To Use A Paid Tool To Become A Better Listener
. Use a review dashboard to get a centralized overview
. Use alerts to receive instant notifications
. Use reports to show guest satisfaction trends over time
. Use saved social searches to identify real-time opportunities
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8. Best Practices in Reputation Management for 2011
Semantic Analysis To Understand Sentiment
The value of semantic analysis is in understanding the feelings
expressed online toward specific areas of your hotel or brand.
» Use this for improving quality
» Use this for investment decisions
» Use this for advertising strategy & marketing communications
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9. Best Practices in Reputation Management for 2011
Use semantic analysis to guide decision making
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10. Best Practices in Reputation Management for 2011
Basic Best Practices In Responding To Reviews
• Why respond to online reviews?
• Establish your response system and internal workflow
• Remember: speed of responses and the meaningfulness of those responses are
important
• Stand out from 95% of companies by
– Listening
– Acting on feedback
– Communicating the changes back to the customer
• Opportunity: use social media to identify items before they turn into major issues
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11. Best Practices in Reputation Management for 2011
How To Develop Your Company Culture
• Actively encourage online feedback from guests
• Build a culture of online reputation internally
• Clarify different roles for different people
• Create specific uses for online feedback to help
your managers become more effective in their roles
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12. Best Practices in Reputation Management for 2011
Any Questions?
Want more ideas?
• Presentation by TripAdvisor and HK Hotels at Tnooz:
http://josiah.ms/Tnooz-TripAdvisor
• Free guides and case studies:
http://www.ReviewPro.com/blog
Any questions about optimizing your online reputation?
Ask me any question, any time:
• josiah@reviewpro.com
• Twitter: @HmarketingHelp @ReviewPro
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