Reputation Management – Do You Know Your How Your Business Is Perceived?
The reputation of your business is extremely important to its success. If mismanaged, your reputation can become damaged. This could cause your business to suffer. If you would like some tips on managing and protecting the reputation of your business, read the article below.
Always offer great follow up to your customers. This is especially the case if your business is larger. Your customers want to feel they are important to you. Implement automated systems that will help you check in with them. Make sure you ask them to report in on their recent purchase experiences as well.
The best defense for negative content with regard to your brand on the Internet is to have a good offense. Make sure that there is lots of positive feedback and reaction to your brand, and you’ll simply drown out any negative feedback. Keep posting positives to allow the negative to slip.
Make sure that your unhappy customers are not ignored. If you can change their perception, they may be a customer for life. Do this online, as well. Other customers and prospects will see that you are proactive in addressing customers’ problems and will be more inclined to do business with you in the future.
Watch social networks. It has been shown that fifty percent of those who post comments and concerns online expect to receive replies. Make sure you reply promptly, preferably within an hour or two. Being responsive will help your business stand out.
Make it a point to know what is going on in your business niche. This will help ensure that the information you are supplying your customers with is the latest information. Spend 5 or 10 minutes each day searching online for the newest info on the industry you’re in.
Monitor the presence you have online. You never know when you will have a disgruntled customer or someone that is not fond of you or your company. Monitoring bad search engine results can prevent negative things from getting to the top. Try this at least twice a month.
With business growth, the volume of customer contact will increase as well. This will include complaints that you must address. Not only that, you need to know how to deal with it in the most appropriate way that is agreeable to all parties involved.
Work towards transparency. This will include being honest with the clients that you have. A good reputation comes with transparency.
Make sure that you contact your customers often if they show interest or have an issue. A lot of times they won’t detect any issues in just a few days or the customer is going to take their time using a product. Doing a check in can help you head issues off before they become a problem.
Stay wary of what gets shared online. It could be used at a later date against you, so be careful. Even if your social media accounts can only be used by a few, caution is still key.
Check your search results every month. Search your company’s name and review the information. Make sure there is no negative feedback on your site. Be aware of negative content at all times. Do what is necessary to limit the damage done.
Deal with negativity head on. Do not remove negative feedback, address it calmly and honestly. Customers appreciate real honesty, not just perfection,and therefore you need not worry about occasionally admitting a mistake has been made and is being addressed.
Never react in anger if your customers give you backlash. Keep from attacking clients through social media. If problems escalate and the client is inappropriate, just ignore them rather than engaging in an argument on the Internet.
When your company is hired to do a job, always look for ways to do a little extra for your customer. You don’t have to take a bunch of time or anything, and the positive response from a customer will help you quite a bit! Extra little things can motivate your customer to remember you in the future.
When you own a business, it’s a good idea to pay special attention to your company’s reputation. Negative press cannot be ignored. Reputation is a key catalyst to your success. Keep the tips from this article in mind to protect the reputation of your company.