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Podium Reviews: 4.6/5 — Highly Rated
Podium is an all-in-one marketing and communication tool specifically built for local businesses that want to grow their business, connect with modern customers, and simplify operations. Podium's all-in-one inbox consolidates reputation management, website chat, marketing campaigns, and mobile payments into a single inbox that helps streamline outreach and campaigns efficiently.
| Capabilities |
API
|
|---|---|
| Segment |
Small Business
Mid Market
Enterprise
|
| Deployment | Cloud / SaaS / Web-Based, Mobile Android, Mobile iPad, Mobile iPhone |
| Support | 24/7 (Live rep), Chat, Email/Help Desk, FAQs/Forum, Knowledge Base, Phone Support |
| Training | Documentation |
| Languages | English |
Compare Podium with other popular tools in the same category.
I like the weekly update of reviews. It makes it east to share information with my staff.
No complaints. We like the system. If we come upon issues I'll let you know!
The benefit is how we are able to share the success of our team, weekly! Very simple.
Podium has been awesome for seeing reviews on multiple websites all in one place and the convenience of seeing what customers took the time to do so and which sales associates are getting accurate information to be able to send the reviews! Also being able to so easily open up a message and then go to another message so quickly is another reason I enjoy podium so much! Once you understand the ins and outs of it there’s not much to it! I also love the fact all the customers from a certain date are right there in front of me! It makes it that much easier to stay in contact with them!! I also love that you don’t have to go to a website and log in every time to use it, it’s a app that remembers all your information for you which is also another convenience of using podium!
I do not like that there are times I’m trying to view a customers question and it will not load and I will have to go in and out of the screen several times in order to see that customers information I also do not like that customers are able to reach before and after business hours because I feel obligated to respond even tho the store itself is closed.
By looking into different features I did learn going to new leads instead of closing the system completely cans one times pull up a customers message
The attentive team and genuine care for their customers. Whenever we have an issue they are readily available. As well they will follow up and check on us and see how things are coming along and how their products are doing. They will not just leave you on your own.
Through no fault of theirs, we sometimes cannot keep up with the amount of reviews and the customers that want to contact us. As well with a plethora of reviews now we do get many good reviews but with that comes some bad ones.
We are getting many reviews online now. We are also able to communicate with customers through the chat on the website. That has become very helpful and we have sold products from using the chat. The reviews have given us more credibility and assurance to the customer.
My coworkers and I can communicate easily on Podium! We can talk to anyone in the company.
Sometimes co workers forget what their log in information is so that can make it difficult to connect but I feel that is an issue on my company not podium.
The problems we solve are with customer invoices or needs on questions about certain product we carry. A manager or other employee and answer quickly and everyone can see their answers
the speed at which we can send a request for a review to either an email or a phone.
no downsides to using this amazing platform.
none
I like that feedback I receive from my clients and that it's automatically posted to my page
There is not anything I dislike about Podium
No problems. The benefits of this is receiving feedback and being able to get messages right away. Capture and convert leads while they're on your website with an easy-to-use button that connects you to your leads through text. Webchat allows customers to connect quickly and easily. Not only does this enable Amerifirst Home Mortgage to answer customer questions on demand, but it also provides our loan officers with valuable leads. “Customers are now able to chat in and send us questions in so we can provide a quick response. Even if customers don’t need financing immediately, we still have the option of keeping all communications available to reflect back on at a later time if needed. Documenting all conversations is very important in mortgage loan originating. Podium is one of the easiest software pieces to use and they have an excellent customer service response in case of any questions or if you get stuck on something.
The Podium platform makes it effortless to gain the valuable reviews our customers need in the competitive marketplace! Any company can use this tool and increase their google presence immediately.
We utilize this tool as a distributor and there really isn't anything to dislike at all! It keeps the team focused on the same goal of taking care of the customer.
Instant customer communication...in this day and age of on demand info it allows us to keep our customers closer AND keep them in the fold. There are so many other tools to implement that a company could use that we don't even use.
The automated messaging system allows us to streamline our review process. It really helps with our office flow.
My least favorite thing about Podium is the inability to weed out any negative reviews before they go live.
Podium has greatly increased our positive reviews online.
So simple to use and makes communication with customers and clientele a blast! Boost your online review score fast! You can filter thru your reviews and view them all in one place. Also, you can communicate with your customers thru it via a local phone number provided to you so you won't have to be giving your personal number out and get messages and calls during dinner. Our company has actually implemented an in-house prize for those who are using Podium and getting those 5-star reviews and having them posted. The app doesn't use a lot of memory space and has no pop-ups or ads at all which i appreciate.
I actually have not came across any dislikes thus far. I have been able to just login and send review links rather quickly! Also, communicating with customers is nice and organized because their name and info pop right up. As I am not an administrator or manager of the business I am unable to add people to the system which would be helpful so we can get this spread throughout the company quickly.
Opened a whole new horizon with our clientele and customer communication! Send review invites quickly and easily with Podium! We've drawn in more customers and boosted sales with a better review score thanks to Podium! So, if you're looking to improve your flow of customers and income Podium is definitely something you need! I do think the app could use some upgrades and tweaking for more ease of use but no ads is great! It makes me strive for great customer service just so I can send them a review to submit specifically with my name in it which causes a great sense of pride in your work!
Love how they are able to leave reviews from other clients
No dislikes I like how everything works and very easy to use
If client are unhappy and didn't tell me , I call to make sure they are handled
That you can instantly get responses and express how you feel about services.
I don't dislike anything about it. It's wonderful.
None the benefits are the fast response time.
Reaching out to our customers is easy and the love they have shown us is fantastic. Podium helps us grow our business with the help of our customer base and Podium made it easy.
Review upload speeds could be better. .
Easy way to get our customers reviews on all major social media and search engines
How the number of reviews improved with Podium.
There is nothing that I dislike about it
Podium helps to improve the number of reviews and it increase the number of business I get.
Using podium has increased our businesses review numbers on social media and google which gives us a great online presence and customer confidence. It is very easy to link to our point of sale system to podium. We can see which sales associates are asking for reviews and how many times they are asking whithin a certain time period. The chat box feature that we added to our website is also very useful and it is a highly effective tool for our business. Once the conversation has started through our webpage, social media accounts, or google, it is very easy to see and track which employees are responding and interacting with customer leads. The seamlessness getting a message and then receiving the conversation and questions directly to podium in real time is such a wonderful thing.
Podium does not have an easy way to turn off text notifications after business hours. It would be nice to have a silent mode in the app that is more functional to use.
We are solving the problem of not being able to connect with online customers easy. Now we can through the text based chat system. We have increased our sales because we have been able to talk to online customers and invite them into the store.
We like being able to handle concerns quickly and also like that we can commend the employees who receive compliments and kudos from customers.
I wish there was a little more information that we can get as there are times where we are unable to respond to a few customers due to a lack of contact info.
As described above we are able to quickly resolve concerns with associate interactions or pricing etc.
I love the options for the different templates to make connecting faster and easier. The fact that you have a record of interactions with guest and that other employees have access to engage as well to help answer potential clients questions. The leader board feature also is a great way of tracking your progress on guest experience reviews and creates motivation to reach out for client feedback.
I wish there was a delete feature so if you send a wrong name or number invite you can't go back and correct it. I also wish that we had more options for alerting us when a client is not just leaving a review but just asking general question about a product they have seen online or on previous visits to the store. Also if the client doesnt have a facebook or google account they can't leave a review which is the case with alot of older or less tech savvy client.
The main benefit to this is growing your online presence by getting 5 star reviews and also keeping a pulse on the consumers mindset of what kind of experience they are actually encountering in your store. We are improving employee client relations by having a interactive encounter with our clients. It gives the clients a voice.
our rep and contacts at Podium have been helpful and very easy to work with
There was an annual contract to start that had us a little weary
Another tool for customers to contact us as well as review gathering
It makes you to show the best of you and your company, and then ask others honest opinion how you did, it’s a perpetual encouraging tool to make you better and better.
Nothing I dislike, it’s a great communication tool between us and the clients.
There is no problem solving, but the huge benefit is that all staff try to be their best at all time because of the open line communication with clients through podium and that makes all of us more successful
Another blurry quick and organized method of communication.
On the app there is a lag in responding to reviews. Just needs some behind the scenes tweeking.
Great way to communicate for after hours hours calls.
Seeing and review open and closed messages. Notifications via email that are prompt and consistent assist me in assisting my customers. Google reviews are formally sent to us. It is automatically sent which ensures we are sending review requests to all our customers. In the year I have been utilizing Podium it has not failed or gone down for maintenance during business hour. I like very much how you can see not only your personal messages but coworkers. When someone is out and you are able to see messages in the ALL folder no customers are thrown to the wayside.
I do not have many dislikes. It is a very functioning program and software. The only thing is that my inbox becomes very cluttered. When a message is assigned to someone and it is forgotten to be closed or customer doesn't respond they should expire.
I am able to contact customer conveniently and quickly. I can talk on the phone while handling calls with customers who are working or unable to talk. I am easily able to search previous discussions. Podium is integrated with our customer base and labels their messages with the first and last name associated with the account.
1) Incredible Support from Podium Staff 2) Software is Easy to Use 3) Analytics are Detailed And Help Support Marketing Efforts
I would like to see automated marketing reports on which web pages are producing chats.
We needed a reputation management and live chat solution that was easy enough for tech challenged employees to utilize. Podium solves this effortlessly. Consumers in our space are moving more and more to rely on chat and podium addresses that.
Ease of use for contact for new prospects as well as existing. Ability to send and receive texts from your cellphone within the app without having to divulge your personal telephone number.
Occasional glitches and website can be buggy. However, in my experience Podium support has been quick and efficient when it comes to solving issues.
Podium has helped us get into contact with clients who inquire but are not ready for a verbal or face to face conversation. The comfort of having all of the information at their fingertips and given to them by a real life person makes it easier to gain rapport with even the most skeptical of clients.
From the beginning, I have always found the platform to be user-friendly. It is straightforward relative to setup/settings,as well as, the everyday use for sending/receiving/responding to reviews. Even an indignant salesperson that knows everything can't complain about using Podium. We have had Podium for several years. We started with one store and we now use it in six of our stores. This is the most outstanding thing about Podium: THEY DO WHAT THEY SAY. Podium staff knows what they are talking about, they answer the phone, they walk you through processes, and don't get mad when you don't have time for a monthly call. Podium keeps getting better! Unlike other franchise-imposed, third parties we are forced to deal that promise you they have a great product and within two months you realize it sucks and can't get out of a contract mostly bc the rep disappeared or a GM signed up unknowingly. If someone says they aren't crazy about Podium? They aren't using it like it was meant to be used. Podium really works. So here is the breakdown: One simple interface, serious increase in # of reviews, consistency, minimal effort to get reviews - you don't have to hope the employees are asking anymore! Higher ratings PLUS less negative reviews bc of the private way we can manage feedback.
I may possibly be the only one that feels this way, however, I am not crazy about the mobile app. It's not as maneuverable as desktop. As far as just reading & responding to reviews, is fine, it's some of the backend stuff I'd like to be able to use.
Problems: The way that Podium communicated with ADP/CDK was spot on. We switched to AutoMate over a year ago and since then, I have noticed weird things. I would have to say I am pretty sure it isn't Podium but that being said, I wish that when a customer wanted removed, that it removed that number forever and ever and that it didn't send yet another text confirming they have been removed. People get grumpy about that. Sometimes numbers will slip back in and it can get real tricky with customers, particularly divorced couples. I know Podium relies on the DMS to send the proper information, which always tells me it's the user who entered it before the info pushed to Podium. So, please, just block the number in the Podium system even if a DMS sends it again. Wishlist: I would like to see an integration into our CRM in addition to our DMS. This way, if a customer doesn't buy on that particular visit, a review is just a valuable for sales in the early stage as it is for a closed repair order or closing a deal. You can't always rely on a salesperson they work harder to manipulate the CRM than they do the actual work. BUT having a Podium review helps make sure the salespersons' stories match with the sales managers. Benefits: There is a way to use this system beyond just reviews. You have to figure that out on your own. Podium is great and I hope they keep adding capabilities, maybe like service reminders or delay - send messaging.
Podium makes it possible for customers to give honest reviews, in which turn bring new customers.
Podiums UI is a little tricky to navigate. Maybe an update to that.
How to better our service as a store and as a company.
I appreciate the ability to be able to immediately text and communicate with clients, as well as send files or pictures.
nothing I can think of. the service was great and it was beneficial to my income!
I can't recall any problems
Its fast and easy and allows us to send pictures.
Does not have group texting. Would be an asset for us.
Response time is faster and easier.
I love that I can chat with customers and not talk over the phone ! You can just text them!
I don't like that we cant talk to more people ..
We are doing home services. The benefits are that we can see the pictures if they need to send them !
I love that all my stores leads are filtered into one bucket. It makes it easy for me to oversee what my internet agents are saying to who. Also i love the ability to transfer conversations to other people while the customer doesn’t know.
I don’t like that i can’t respond to dealer rater reviews within podium. I also don’t like how automated texting hasn’t come out. Lastly, i don’t like that there is not automated templates and responding to reviews like reputation.com
Some issues are reviews being sent out before the customer even takes delivery of their vehicle. The benefits far our way the drawbacks
It’s is very user friendly and allows us to reach out to customer in a safe and efficient way. Has also helped us boost our reviews! Pre-writing templates made specific outreach fast and simple for our entire staff to use. It also made online live chat a breeze
I wish you didn’t see your entire teams messages in your screen. Only administrators should see everyone’s. This would make employees engagement very simple.
The way we follow up with customers is revolutionized! Our follow up has improved tenfold. We have also boosted our online review quantity and grade with Facebook and Google significantly. Online live chat has helped us drive a large quantity of online business as well as in store traffic because of how easy the communication is.
I like the webchat. Made easy and simple for customers to interact with us in live time, even later at night when most/all stores are closed.
Sometimes the platform is slow on my phone, even when its completely updated.
Sold many pieces of jewelry via text. It makes us similar to the online retailer (Blue Nile), but we can close sales quicker since your speaking with a person who knows inventory. This Generation is scared to speak on the phone for whatever reason so it makes it simple, except when they text at 2am asking if we have a ring in stock...