Your clients trust you with their website, their search rankings, their social media or their advertising campaigns. But a large part of their image is shaped elsewhere: on their Google Business Profile and in their customer reviews. It is often the first thing a prospect looks at before calling or walking through the door. And it is a topic many shops, tradespeople and professionals neglect, for lack of time.
For a web, marketing or communication agency, Google review management is therefore a natural service to offer: useful to the client, recurring, and consistent with what you already do. Here is how to offer it and organize it.
Why your clients need help with their reviews
Shop owners and professionals know that reviews matter. What they lack is time and method:
- replying to every review, positive or negative, ideally within 48 hours;
- handling criticism without getting carried away, when it often feels personal;
- getting more reviews from satisfied customers, regularly and in line with the rules;
- keeping their Google profile up to date: opening hours, services, photos, posts;
- tracking results: rating, number of reviews, calls, visits.
The result: profiles with dozens of unanswered reviews, criticism left hanging, wrong opening hours. All visible problems your agency can fix, with a measurable impact. We covered the link between reviews and revenue in our article on the return on Google reviews.
What you can offer
The initial catch-up
Many clients come to you with a backlog of unanswered reviews. Clearing it is an ideal kick-off service: an immediately visible result that the client sees as soon as they open their profile. Our guide to catching up on unanswered reviews describes the method.
Day-to-day replies to reviews
This is the core of the offer: every new review gets a personalized reply, in the client’s tone, with their arguments and their signature. Two models work:
- you reply on behalf of the client, after agreeing with them on a reply charter (tone, phrasing, sensitive topics);
- the client replies themselves, with a tool that prepares each reply, and you keep a supervisory and advisory role.
Review collection
QR codes on the counter or on invoices, a review link sent after the service, NFC displays: helping your clients get more recent reviews raises their rating and their visibility. See our guide to getting more Google reviews.
Google profile management
Opening hours, special hours, services, photos, regular posts, monitoring of changes made by Google: a complete and lively profile is part of the offer. See our guide to optimizing a Google Business Profile.
Reporting
A monthly review with the change in rating, the number of reviews, the response rate, the recurring themes in reviews and the profile’s insights (calls, directions, visits): this is what makes your value visible and justifies the recurring nature of the offer.
Organizing the relationship with your clients
Access to the Google profile
Your agency needs access to each client’s profile. Google provides owner and manager roles for this: the business owner stays in control of their profile and can add you as a manager, then remove you at any time. Google’s help explains how to add owners and managers. Never ask for your client’s personal login details.
The reply charter
Before replying on behalf of a client, put together a short charter with them: tone, formal or informal address, signature, information to mention, topics never to address, cases where they want to be consulted (very negative review, an employee singled out, a legal matter). Our article on the online reputation of networks offers a charter template that is easy to adapt.
Approval
For the first few months, have the client approve replies to negative reviews. Over time, as trust builds, approval can be limited to sensitive cases.
The legal framework
Review collection must comply with the rules in force: no reviews in exchange for an incentive, no selective solicitation of satisfied customers only, no fake reviews. In France, the DGCCRF sets out these rules, and most countries have equivalent consumer protection rules; your agency has every interest in building them into its method.
Making the offer profitable
Review management is a recurring service, but it can quickly become time-consuming if every reply is written by hand. Profitability rests on three levers:
- a tool that prepares the replies: you review and adjust instead of writing, which cuts the time spent dramatically;
- clear pricing, as a monthly fee per location, possibly with volume discounts depending on the number of locations managed;
- automated reporting, so that the monthly review with the client takes only a few minutes to prepare.
It is also an excellent door-opener: a free audit of a prospect’s profile, with its unanswered reviews and weak points, naturally opens the conversation about your other services.
Replik Unlimited for agencies and resellers
Replik offers a plan dedicated to agencies, resellers, franchises and networks: Replik Unlimited. It gives access to every feature, for all the locations you manage, with a single invoice:
- AI-prepared replies to reviews in each client’s tone, published in one click;
- catch-up on overdue reviews to start each new client on the right foot;
- full management of Google profiles, posts, insights and alerts;
- review analysis reports and competitor tracking;
- collection QR codes and scan tracking.
Pricing is set on quote, depending on the number of locations and your usage, after a call with our team. We agree together on resale terms suited to your business.
The agency checklist
- Identify, among your current clients, those whose Google profile is neglected.
- Offer a free audit to open the conversation.
- Start each client with a catch-up of overdue reviews.
- Formalize a reply charter and an approval process.
- Get manager access to each profile, never the client’s login details.
- Set up review collection and monthly reporting.
- Choose a tool that prepares the replies to stay profitable.
Frequently asked questions
Should you reply in the client’s name or the agency’s? Always in the client’s name: the reply is signed by the business (the manager, the team), never by the agency.
How much should you charge for review management? Practices vary depending on the volume of reviews and the scope (replies only or the full profile). A monthly fee per location, with a catch-up service at the start, is the clearest model for the client.
What if a client receives a defamatory review? Do not reply in the heat of the moment, consult the client, report the review to Google if it breaks its rules, and remind them that legal action is a matter for a legal professional.
In short
Google review management is a useful, recurring and visible service for your clients. Start with a catch-up, set up a charter and a routine, measure results every month, and rely on a tool to stay profitable. To discuss it, discover Replik Unlimited or contact our team.