Monitoring is the least interesting part of this category and the one that keeps clients. The value is not a dashboard; it is that you tell your client about a one star review before their partner does, and that somebody replies while it still looks like a response rather than an archaeology project.
What has to be watched
Google first and by a distance, then the one industry platform your client's customers actually read, then Facebook if they are active there. Everything else is a checkbox on a feature list. Ask how quickly a new review reaches you, because a daily digest and a notification within the hour are different products for the same money.
Generation and monitoring are different purchases
A review generation service asks customers and produces new reviews. Monitoring watches what arrives. Plenty of products do both and price them together, and it is worth knowing which half you are actually buying, because generation is what moves a rating and monitoring is what stops a bad week becoming a bad quarter. Buying monitoring alone and wondering why the rating is flat is a common and expensive mistake.
Alerts that get read
An alert on every review trains people to ignore alerts. The useful configuration is immediate for anything at or below three stars, a weekly summary for the rest, and a monthly report for the client. If you are reselling, set that up once as your standard and resist the client who asks for everything, because they will stop reading it in a fortnight and then miss the one that mattered.
Questions people ask about review monitoring
How fast should an alert arrive?
Within the hour for a low rating. A daily digest is fine for everything else, and anything slower than that on a one star review means you find out after the client does.
Is monitoring enough on its own?
No. Monitoring tells you the rating is falling; only asking customers raises it. Products that sell monitoring alone are selling the thermometer.
How many platforms should I watch for a local client?
Google, one industry site and possibly Facebook. Watching twelve produces a longer report and no more action.