The case for doing it yourself
Managing reviews in-house has genuine advantages:
- Direct customer connection: You know your customers best
- Immediate knowledge: You can reference specific situations
- Full control: Every word is exactly what you want
- Cost savings: No service fees (but time has value too)
- Personal touch: Authentic voice from the owner
When DIY works best
Consider handling reviews yourself if:
- You receive fewer than 10 reviews per month
- You genuinely enjoy the customer interaction
- Your business is highly specialized or technical
- You have dedicated time blocked for this task
- Budget is extremely tight
The case for outsourcing
Professional review management services offer:
- Time savings: Hours back in your week
- Consistency: 100% response rate, every time
- Quality: Professional, varied responses
- Scale: Handle any volume without stress
- Coverage: Works even during holidays
When outsourcing makes sense
Consider outsourcing if:
- You receive more than 15-20 reviews per month
- Reviews often go unanswered for days
- You dread opening review notifications
- Quality varies based on your mood or availability
- Your time is worth more than the service cost
The hidden costs of DIY
When calculating DIY costs, don't forget:
- Your hourly rate: 5 hours/month × €50/hour = €250
- Opportunity cost: What else could you do with that time?
- Mental load: The stress of pending reviews
- Inconsistency cost: Missed reviews hurt your reputation
A hybrid approach
Some businesses find success with a middle ground:
- Outsource routine positive reviews
- Handle negative reviews personally
- Get alerts for reviews needing special attention
This gives you the best of both worlds: efficiency for the bulk of reviews, personal touch where it matters most.
Making the decision
Ask yourself these questions:
- How many hours per month do I spend on reviews?
- What's my response rate? (Be honest)
- How consistent is my quality?
- What would I do with extra time?
- What's my honest hourly value?
The bottom line
There's no universally "right" answer. Small businesses with low review volume may do fine handling things themselves. Growing businesses often find that outsourcing pays for itself many times over.
The key is being honest about your current situation and choosing what truly serves your business best.
Curious about outsourcing? Try ReplyVo free for 14 days and see if it's right for you.