Podium Overview – The Good and The Unhealthy for 2023


Podium is one among fairly just a few on-line repute administration firms in the marketplace at the moment. However as a messaging platform providing a simple strategy to accumulate Google critiques, is Podium all that it’s cracked as much as be? Whereas managing your small business’s on-line repute may be tough, particularly when you’re coping with an inflow of unfavourable critiques, on-line repute administration firms will help, however some are higher than others. By wanting on the good and the unhealthy, let’s discover out if Podium is the precise platform for you. 

Podium home page

Podium In comparison with the Finest On-line Fame Administration Corporations

Podium is one among our favourite methods to handle and achieve Google critiques for your small business. However they’re hardly the one selection for repute administration. Try these three different stable decisions, pulled from our full put up on prime on-line repute administration firms

WebiMax customizes the repute administration technique to suit the precise wants of every of their shoppers. Attain out at the moment for a free quote.

NetReputation can deal with all issues associated to your digital repute, from sentiment monitoring and branding to content material elimination and disaster administration. Get began by reaching out to NetReputation for a session.

InternetReputation.com is our most popular selection for people on the lookout for assist for his or her private branding. Contact them at the moment for a free session.

Podium: The Good and the Unhealthy 

Similar to for all on-line repute administration firms, there shall be good and unhealthy options to think about. Podium gives some wonderful options for repute administration and buyer interplay, nevertheless it additionally has just a few drawbacks that might make or break the product. Let’s take a deep dive into each side of the spectrum, and you may resolve what works finest for you. 

The Good

Wonderful For Getting Google Opinions: Getting prospects to depart a Google evaluate could be a tough process, however Podium will help alleviate this problem with its built-in omnichannel performance that makes use of MMS and SMS prompts. As an alternative of e mail chains and chatbot requests, after your preliminary buyer interplay, the Podium software program will ship out a evaluate request by way of textual content message. The textual content message will supply a one-click hyperlink, so your prospects can click on the hyperlink, select which platform to evaluate on, and go away their evaluate. 

Podium is the simplest method we’ve discovered to obtain Google-specific critiques. Google is likely one of the hottest search engines like google for critiques, and with Podium, your prospects are led proper there with a click on of a button. Podium additionally lets you embody Fb and different trade evaluate websites as choices to your prospects.

Simple Group Collaboration: Whether or not you might have two staff members or 20, Podium makes it straightforward to collaborate along with your staff whereas giving context to each buyer dialog. With Podium, there are not any unopened emails or complicated cellphone transfers, particularly not when you might have entry to at least one easy and manageable inbox. You may as well collaborate along with your staff members by sharing buyer conversations and connecting with them from anyplace. 

With Podium’s unified inbox, you possibly can ship direct and group messages with footage, movies, GIFs, and attachments for max impact. You may as well regulate your notification preferences and filter out the updates you don’t want, making it simpler to remain up-to-date and prioritize sure buyer interactions. Podium’s staff inbox gives customizable templates, autoresponder, automations, permissions, and the flexibility to assign conversations for relevance. 

Sensible Buyer Suggestions: Buyer suggestions is crucial for the development of your small business, and identical to for critiques, Podium makes it straightforward so that you can get fast responses out of your prospects—all it’s important to do is ask a query. In contrast to different on-line repute firms, there are not any hyperlinks or prolonged surveys. Podium depends on SMS messaging for buyer suggestions, so you possibly can count on extra responses inside minutes and never months. 

As soon as a buyer has despatched via their suggestions, you possibly can instantly view their rating and soar right into a dialog in actual time, making it simpler so that you can resolve any points in the event that they come up. Podium gives you suggestions templates, or you possibly can write extra related customized questions. Another nifty options embody real-time notifications, schedule suggestions requests, automated responses, analytics, NPS, and a switchboard. 

Omnichannel Buyer Interactions: With Podium’s wonderful omnichannel capabilities, you possibly can work together with prospects in additional methods than one. Not solely does the platform make the most of MMS and SMS messaging, nevertheless it additionally allows you to reply buyer questions immediately via video chat and webchat. With Podium’s video chat function, you possibly can personalize your buyer’s expertise and reply extra meaningfully to detailed buyer questions and shorten the gross sales cycle—all with out the necessity for in-person interplay. 

You don’t should obtain any third-party apps both, as you possibly can ship a video name invitation hyperlink to your prospects via your Podium inbox. You additionally get entry to digital appointments, display sharing, and a flip digital camera. 

Alternatively, Podium’s webchat function allows you to seize leads straight out of your web site. Reply questions, schedule appointments, and shut offers with out sounding like a robotic and aesthetically match your model with customization choices for buttons, avatars, greetings, and after-hours reminders. The webchat function additionally gives multi-location transfers, day by day digest emails, autoresponder, sensible responses, and leaderboard functionalities to check every worker’s response occasions. 

The Unhealthy

Very Poor Buyer Help: Sadly, Podium has just a few drawbacks, with the primary space being buyer assist. There’s a excessive quantity of unfavourable critiques on many evaluate websites relating to Podium’s subpar buyer assist, with many customers complaining about related points. The most typical situation surrounding Podium’s buyer assist was that it will take weeks for purchasers to listen to from a consultant, and after they did, it was lackluster or totally unhelpful. 

Many customers discovered that Podium’s buyer representatives would typically switch calls to different reps who didn’t know what the problem was, so prospects needed to re-explain their state of affairs. Others discovered that Podium’s assist staff would by no means comply with up on points, and getting anybody to reply a cellphone name appeared inconceivable.  

Nonexistent Onboarding: We’ve discovered many critiques claiming that Podium gives little to no onboarding help, with some prospects ready months for assist, even after paying for the product. Onboarding help appears to go hand in hand with buyer assist, as many shoppers have spent weeks to months making an attempt to get into contact with a consultant to assist with quite a lot of set up inquiries. 

Software program onboarding ought to be a seamless course of, however sadly this doesn’t appear to be the case for Podium, as many discovered that its buyer representatives had been unresponsive. 

Points with Cancellation: Most software program firms will can help you cancel your account or subscription on-line instantly. Nonetheless, with Podium, the cancelation coverage insists that you will need to contact assist 30 days earlier than. Many customers have complained that they’ve tried to cancel their subscriptions for weeks however are repeatedly ignored or transferred to different reps who can’t assist. 

In response to many customers, Podium has made it extremely tough to cancel your subscription, and there have been just a few circumstances the place Podium would constantly cost prospects afterward. Whereas the problem of repeat expenses is barely rumour, we discovered too many unfavourable buyer experiences to not point out on this evaluate.

Podium Pricing and Choices

Podium doesn’t presently disclose its pricing packages on its web site. Nonetheless, we discovered many critiques that declare its pricing choices to be steep. 

Podium "See for yourself" page with form to fill out contact information and watch demo

In response to one evaluate web site, Podium begins at $249 per 30 days, however different evaluate websites and customers have mentioned they paid between $300 and $400 per 30 days. Right here’s a fast overview of what we discovered:

  • Podium Customary — $399 per 30 days
  • Podium Webchat Add-On — $100 per 30 days 

There are not any free trials out there, however you possibly can request a free demo and create a customized pricing bundle with Podium’s gross sales assist staff. 

Podium Campaigns 

Podium has just a few different product choices that enable you to create significant buyer interactions and construct a constructive model presence on-line. One in every of these choices is named Podium Campaigns, which is a brand new function that allows you to make the most of the 98% open price of textual content messaging and implement SMS advertising into your campaigns. 

Podium page that says "Conversational SMS marketing that gets a response."

Podium’s marketing campaign function allows you to develop your advertising database naturally and obtain quick insights, all whereas advertising like a human. With opt-in decisions constructed into Podium’s interactive instruments, you possibly can go about enterprise as regular with out the necessity to attain out to a number of prospects. 

You possibly can ship advertising messages to the identical prospects you’re already constructing a relationship with by utilizing the identical SMS thread. There’s no must create a number of new message threads or ship out bulk emails when you might have Podium to do all of the be just right for you.

Whether or not you need to measure, view, or maximize your outcomes, Podium offers you quick insights into your advertising efforts. You possibly can perceive how your SMS advertising campaigns are working with digestible outcomes via tables and graphs from the Podium Dashboard. 

Tailor your campaigns to your particular enterprise wants with customizable templates and particular teams. You can also make your content material extra personalised and preview it earlier than sending it off to your prospects. 

Podium Campaigns is a separate product, and you may watch a free demo to get began. 

Podium Funds

Enhance your buyer satisfaction, cut back charges, and save time with Podium’s funds function. Whether or not you’ll want to ship invoices or accumulate funds, Podium has received you lined. 

Podium page that says "Make payments part of the conversation."

The Podium funds function allows you to promote when you textual content by sending a easy hyperlink to shut offers earlier than a buyer loses curiosity. And in case you run a bodily retailer, you possibly can re-engage prospects who’ve already walked out. 

This function allows you to save beneficial sources and in the reduction of on postage, paper, and cellphone tags. You don’t must do an ideal deal to ship and obtain funds when Podium does all of the be just right for you. Not solely are you able to get monetary savings, however you will get paid quicker by requesting cost in an current Podium textual content dialog. 

Alongside many areas of the Podium software program, you possibly can create customizable invoices as properly by branding them along with your firm identify and brand. You may as well set up totally different cost strategies for sure forms of prospects and purchases, reminiscent of solely permitting e-checks or eradicating bank card purchases. 

You possibly can export the funds function to your favourite accounting software program, as Podium gives integration-friendly knowledge codecs. These codecs will help you see who has accomplished cost and who wants a follow-up message. 

Podium funds additionally allow you to rapidly course of refunds straight from the dashboard, join a number of financial institution accounts, simply itemize your invoices, and provides flexibility to your prospects with a number of methods to pay, reminiscent of credit score, debit, Google Pay, or Apple Pay. The function additionally gives superior fraud safety and safe funds with Podium’s PCI-compliant software program. 

Podium Funds is a separate product, and you may watch a free demo to get began. 

How Podium Ranks 

Podium is increased within the ranks when in comparison with different on-line repute administration firms in the marketplace at the moment. With its omnichannel capabilities and deal with SMS messaging, it’s no shock that Podium is simple to work with in the case of grabbing Google critiques. 

Total, Podium is an honest on-line repute administration firm, particularly for receiving Google critiques. Its SMS messaging software program makes it straightforward so that you can create significant buyer conversations and construct model loyalty. 

With further product choices like marketing campaign and cost options, there’s a probability for Podium that will help you enhance your buyer interactions and advertising efforts. 

Nonetheless, you need to positively take into account the place Podium falls brief. Stable buyer assist is a crucial space for a lot of customers, and never having correct entry to it might probably make or break a product, particularly when different repute administration firms might supply higher assist. 



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