In this day and age, it’s essential for every business to manage its online reputation effectively.
It used to be that a business’s reputation was mostly word of mouth, but today, that reputation is largely online. For businesses that are doing it right, this is a great thing, because it makes them stand out and allows them to get more exposure. But for businesses who aren’t taking steps to manage their reputation, there’s a lot at stake.
Staying on top of your online reputation is one of the best things you can do to gain new customers and hold onto existing ones. In part one of this series, we touched on a few important online reputation management tips that all business owners should be aware of. Check it out if you haven’t already, and keep reading to learn about five more expert online reputation management tips:
#6. Focus on providing great customer service.
There is a lot of competition out there, and that’s true regardless of what industry your business is in. With so many businesses offering similar products and services for around the same cost, the thing that makes one business stand out among the rest is the kind of service they provide. Great customer service is something that benefits your reputation as a whole, both online and offline.
Providing exceptional customer service won’t guarantee that you’ll only get five-star reviews. There may still be a select, few, rogue clients that may leave negative reviews, but in general, the reviews you get will reflect the service you offer. When your clients are genuinely happy with the service you provide, more than likely, they’ll leave a positive review, especially if you ask them to.
#7. Use negative feedback to improve your business.
In some cases, a bad review may criticize something that’s completely out of your control, blown out of proportion or downright made up. However, the majority of the negative reviews companies receive are based on real issues. And if one of your customers experienced an issue, chances are, other customers in the future will also experience that issue if it’s not taken care of.
The best way to deal with negative feedback is to really listen to it and learn from it. If you can correct the issues, not only will it help to turn around the experience of that individual customer who left the negative review, but it will also ensure better service for future customers, ensuring a better all-around reputation for your business. No one wants to receive negative feedback, but if it helps you provide better service for your customers and improve your reputation, it can be a very positive thing.
#8. Respond to reviews, especially negative ones.
When a customer leaves a review, it’s important to respond. And this is especially true when a customer leaves a negative review. When you respond to your reviews, it shows your customers the human side of your business.
Responding to positive reviews demonstrates to your customers that you value the fact that they took the time to leave you a review, and responding to negative reviews demonstrates that you actually care about the customer’s feedback enough to respond to it.
#9. Respond to negative reviews the right way.
While responding to negative reviews is a good thing, if you don’t respond in the right way, you could end up making the problem worse. However, when you respond in the right way, you could win back the customer who left the negative review as well as show other customers that you’re willing to go above and beyond to make any issue right. Here are a few tips for responding to negative reviews in the right way:
- Don’t argue with the customer – Whatever you do, don’t argue with the client about their review in your response. You’ll only end up making yourself look petty and hurting your business’s online reputation even more. If you disagree with the customer’s feedback or want to explain your side of the story in more detail to the customer, invite them to email you or call you to discuss the matter more privately.
- Apologize to the customer – First and foremost, you should always apologize when a customer has had a bad experience, whether you deem their feedback fair or not. Offering a real and transparent apology will help to pave the way for diffusing the situation more effectively than anything else.
- Make it right – Once you’ve acknowledged the problem and apologized for it, you now need to figure out how you’ll make it right. Whether that means offering future discounts, redoing the work for free or anything else is up to you. But no matter what, it’s always important to take steps to make a negative experience right, especially when you know that the world is watching!
#10. Invest in your reputation.
As you can tell from this article, there are many different aspects of reputation management, including your website’s organic rankings, your social media engagement and so much more. Staying on top of your online reputation is a big job that takes a lot of time and energy. If you don’t have the bandwidth for a dedicated reputation management expert on your staff, or you don’t have the time to fully manage your business’s online reputation yourself, it’s time to invest in professional reputation management. This is incredibly important if your business’s reputation is particularly bad or tricky.
Your business’s online reputation is not something that should be taken lightly or put on the back burner. That reputation can make or break your business, and if you want your business to grow and prosper, you need to make a real investment of your time and money into it.
Are you ready to start taking control over your business’s online reputation?
If so, take the first step toward effective online reputation management by signing your business up for Top Rated Local® today! Top Rated Local is free to join, and it’s a great option if you’re hoping to rank for more of those “near me” searches. Sign up today!
