The Best Yext Alternative: Elevating Online Reputation Management

With 95% of customers reading online reviews, online reputation management tools have never been more important. Yext is a digital presence tool that helps multi-location brands manage customer success and maintain customer engagement. However, as industries evolve, so do their needs. This article examines Yext alternatives that can assist businesses in aligning their customer success management process with their business objectives.

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What is Yext?

Yext is a digital presence platform designed to assist businesses in managing their online reputation. It allows businesses to monitor and respond to reviews across various platforms, including Google, Facebook, TripAdvisor, and Yelp. With features such as Review Generation, Sentiment Analysis, and Competitive Intelligence Tracking, Yext Review aims to help businesses enhance their online presence and engage with customers effectively.

According to Enlyft, Yext is utilized by 9,624 companies. It is primarily favored by companies with 1-10 employees and $1M-10M in revenue. While this statistic is impressive, the offerings and pricing structure of Yext may pose challenges for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), potentially placing it out of their financial reach.

What is Yext used for?

Yext is primarily used for online reputation management, enabling businesses to monitor, respond to, and generate reviews across multiple online platforms. It also offers features for managing business listings, optimizing search rankings, and providing valuable insights through data-driven analytics.

Moreover, Yext aids in optimizing search rankings by enhancing visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs), thus increasing the likelihood of attracting potential customers.

What are the advantages of using Yext?

Here are the benefits enjoyed by Yext users:

1. Centralized feedback management

Yext's centralized dashboard allows hotels and restaurants to efficiently monitor and respond to reviews from platforms like Google, TripAdvisor, and Yelp. For instance, a hotel chain can track and address guest feedback across multiple locations, ensuring consistent service quality and reputation management.

2. Personalized responses

Hotels and restaurants can leverage Yext to craft personalized responses to guest reviews, reflecting their unique brand voice and values. For example, a boutique hotel might use Yext to respond warmly to positive reviews, expressing gratitude for guest feedback and reinforcing its commitment to exceptional hospitality.

3. Review generation

Through Yext, hotels and restaurants can actively request authentic reviews from satisfied guests, thereby boosting their online reputation and trustworthiness. For instance, a newly opened restaurant can prompt diners to share their experiences on platforms like OpenTable or Facebook, helping to establish credibility and attract new customers.

4. Sentiment analysis

Yext's sentiment analysis tools enable businesses to delve deeper into customer feedback, identifying trends and sentiments that may impact their business. For example, a hotel chain can use sentiment analysis to identify recurring issues across properties, such as cleanliness concerns or service quality, and take proactive steps to address them.

5. Competitive intelligence

By tracking competitors' reviews and ratings through Yext, hotels and restaurants can gain valuable insights into market trends and consumer preferences. For instance, a luxury resort can benchmark its performance against competitors in the same category, identifying areas where it excels and opportunities for differentiation, such as offering unique amenities or enhancing customer service.

What are the disadvantages of using Yext?

While Yext remains a popular choice among many businesses, certain brands have voiced concerns and drawbacks about utilizing the platform on G2.

1. Complex interface

Users often find Yext's interface overwhelming and not very user-friendly, especially when navigating through the reviews they receive. The admin and user portal can be daunting to use initially and may require a learning curve to fully grasp its functionalities.

For hotels and restaurants, where staff members may not have extensive technical expertise, navigating Yext's complex interface can be particularly challenging. This may lead to missed opportunities for engagement or addressing customer concerns promptly, potentially impacting guest satisfaction and loyalty.

2. Data presentation challenges

Yext presents data in a sorted and categorized manner, but the terminology used can be diverse and sometimes confusing. This can make it difficult for users to interpret and extract meaningful insights from the data provided.

For example, understanding the performance metrics of different locations or identifying trends in guest feedback may require additional effort and training. This could result in missed opportunities for improving service quality or addressing recurring issues across multiple properties.

3. Non-intuitive reputation management

Some users have reported that Yext's reputation management features are not as intuitive as they would like. Tasks such as managing online reviews and responding to customer feedback may require extra effort and training to effectively utilize the platform's capabilities.

This drawback could pose challenges in effectively monitoring and responding to online reviews, especially during peak periods when customer feedback is rapidly generated.

Best Yext Alternative: MARA AI Review Reply Generator

The MARA AI Review Reply Generator stands out as a top alternative to Yext, offering similar functionalities presented in a user-friendly interface. Driven by artificial intelligence, MARA streamlines review management by automating responses, thereby optimizing time and resources while ensuring personalized interactions with customers. Equipped with sentiment analysis, review generation capabilities, and competitor monitoring tools, MARA enables businesses to bolster their online reputation efficiently.

Notably, MARA's appeal extends to both hotel chains and alternative accommodation providers, enabling them to stay competitive within their respective markets. By offering accessible yet powerful reputation management solutions, MARA empowers businesses to navigate the digital landscape effectively and maintain a favorable online presence.

Why is MARA the best Yext alternative?

Here are the specific reasons why MARA stands out as the premier alternative to Yext, particularly tailored for businesses operating in the hospitality sector:

Intuitive Review Inbox

One of the key features of MARA that sets it apart from other online reputation management tools, including Yext, is its easy-to-use and comprehensive Review Inbox. Your review inbox makes responding to reviews as simple as hitting "Generate reply" and clicking "Send". The Review Inbox connects to multiple review sources, including Google, Booking.com, and Tripadvisor, giving you a panoramic view of all your reviews.

You can even configure review response automation: Why not allow MARA to automatically respond to simple reviews, like 5-star Google reviews with no text, ensuring you never miss a review? Daily notifications about new reviews keep you updated and in control.

Simplified Review Analytics

To help you understand and analyze the multitude of reviews in the easiest and most efficient way possible, the Review Assistant also incorporates Review Analytics. MARA provides actionable, comprehensible insights that are tailored exclusively to your business.

With MARA, you can quickly get the gist of all your reviews without needing to read each review. The analysis is so detailed that you can find out about specific issues like "water in the pool is too cold" or "lack of vegan breakfast option”. These insights help optimize guest experience without requiring you to be a data expert.

Group Analytics Overview

Yext takes pride in its ability to help multi-location brands manage their online reputation, and so does MARA. Our group analytics overview can provide a quick evaluation of the performance of each location. Other than key metrics such as response rates, ratings, and the number of reviews, MARA also offers category scores based on advanced AI analytics.

In the screenshot below, you can find an analysis of hotels with category scores for areas like Food & Beverage, Front Office, and Housekeeping. This analysis aids in swiftly identifying potential weaknesses, with a preview of detailed topics appearing when you hover over a category.

The most personal response AI

Online reputation management isn't just about efficiency; it's also about personalization. While Yext integrates AI into its review response generation, MARA allows you to train your AI through the Brand Voice feature that adapts to your tone, ensuring that your responses sound authentically you.

Plus, with Smart Snippets, you can "teach" the AI how to respond to recurring praises or complaints. Your AI then incorporates this information into its responses, but always with different words, providing more personalized, relevant replies.

MARA AI review response assistant has quickly become a game-changer for over 2000 customers. Its promising capacity to elevate your overall rating, amplify response rates, glean insights from customer feedback, and economize both time and money, is the reason behind its growing popularity.

Other Yext Alternatives

Here are other alternative platforms to Yext, each offering unique features and functionalities tailored to meet diverse business needs.

a. Podium

Podium allows businesses to monitor and respond to reviews across various platforms. With features like review generation, social media messaging, customer profiling, and more. Podium helps businesses improve their online reputation and enhance customer engagement.

While Podium can effectively streamline reputation management within its platform, integrating it into hotel POS systems can pose challenges, as noted by some users. Several instances have been reported where it disconnects from POS systems for days at a time. Therefore, it is highly recommended to opt for web-based solutions that seamlessly integrate with your existing management infrastructure.

b. Birdeye

Birdeye specializes in online reputation management, offering tools for review monitoring, response generation, and sentiment analysis. Its platform enables businesses to gather authentic customer feedback, manage online reviews effectively, and enhance their brand reputation.

Birdeye's social media management feature is seen as subpar compared to other platforms, lacking the ability to add closures or notices to specific locations within listing management. Users also find some social reports to be centered around vanity metrics, and encounter difficulties selecting multiple images and graphics for a single post, according to a user review.

c. Broadly

Broadly provides online reputation management solutions tailored to businesses of all sizes. With features like centralized review monitoring and personalized response generation, Broadly helps businesses maintain a positive online presence and improve customer satisfaction.

Users have observed that Broadly lacks advanced automation features, which are crucial for efficiently streamlining online reputation management processes.

d. Cloutly

Cloutly provides sizeable ORM online reputation management tools, encompassing features like a website review widget, review collection campaigns, and review listing management. This platform enables businesses to extract valuable insights from customer feedback, empowering them to make data-driven decisions to bolster their online reputation.

Despite Cloutly's capability to facilitate review collection via email and SMS, some users have encountered challenges in setting up automation for these processes, either individually or concurrently. This issue could potentially impact the integrity of businesses' customer databases, as incorrect email configurations may lead to emails being flagged as spam.

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e. BrightLocal

BrightLocal focuses on local SEO and online reputation management, providing tools for review monitoring, response generation, and citation management to enhance businesses' local search visibility and reputation management efforts.

However, some users have reported frequent encounters with bugs on the website, which may affect the overall user experience and platform reliability.

f. Review Trackers

Review Trackers offers comprehensive online reputation management solutions, empowering businesses to monitor, analyze, and respond to reviews from multiple platforms. With features like sentiment analysis and competitive intelligence, Review Trackers assists businesses in improving their online reputation and boosting customer satisfaction.

However, some users have reported erratic notifications, suggesting a need for improvement in this aspect. Additionally, there is feedback regarding a heavy focus on a limited selection of resources.

Final Thought

While Yext remains a popular choice for online reputation management, alternatives such as MARA AI Review Reply Generator offer innovative solutions and competitive advantages. Alongside MARA, platforms like Podium, Birdeye, Broadly, Cloutly, Brightlocal, and Review Trackers provide diverse features tailored to meet various business needs. By evaluating the features, benefits, and pricing of these alternatives, businesses can make informed decisions to effectively manage their online reputation.

Ready to streamline your review management process and gain valuable insights? Try MARA AI Review Reply Generator today—it's free to test, requires no credit card, and can be fully operational in less than five minutes.

This article is part of our hero content on “Online Reputation Management for Hotels".