What is your business worth to you? If it is important to you, then you need to strive to make it important to your customers too. That means that you need to manage your reputation well. Here are some suggestions to get you started.
Make sure you’re very personable on the web. Unless you are truly communicating, people won’t care what you write online. Answer questions posted to you. If someone posts a question and you don’t have the answer, tell them you don’t know but you’re working on getting the answer for them.
Satisfy displeased customers and keep your good reputation. Working to better a customer’s bad experience will show them that their satisfaction matters. It is great to display this online. This will give others the opportunity to see how you addressed the issue and make them more receptive to doing business with you.
To improve your online reputation, see if you can optimize your websites. Your company’s name is one good example. Search engines, such as Google, like authoritative pages. If you can build up your authority, it can really increase your rankings.
Social Media
Pay attention to social media forums. Many consumers expect their questions to be answered on social media websites. Reply promptly if you can. Since most businesses are not as vigilant, being responsive will really make you stand out.
Keep an eye on your online presence. You don’t know when a negative comment is made so you have to check often. Being mindful of search results will help you stop these things from reaching the first page. Try to do this a couple of times per month.
Keep sales or secret promotions quiet. This tip can be especially important if a deep discount meant to rectify a problem is involved. One thing to avoid is posting the things you’re doing to remedy a customer complaint and then receive more complaints because people want free things.
Remain informed as to what is happening on the online social networks. Many people discuss companies on these sites. When you monitor your social presence, you will be able to see anything negative being said about your business, and nip it in the bud quickly. That can help protect your company from bad press.
If you don’t have the time or resources, find a company to manage your reputation. You will surely need to stay hands-on with this, but it does not hurt to have some extra help. This can be very beneficial to your business.
If you come across negative reviews of your business online, you might feel anger towards someone who left feedback that is not entirely true. The best approach to take in this situation is to respond with just the facts that show that what was said was not true. Give readers the facts, and let them make up their own minds.
Always admit when you make a mistake, don’t try to hide it. There is no sense in trying to fool your customer base. Instead, own up to the fact that your company made an error, and apologize humbly for that. Your customers are much more likely to give you forgiveness, particularly if you offer an extra incentive to compensate for the gaffe.
As previously mentioned, if your business is important to you, you must make it important to your clients. Your reputation is instrumental in doing this. Use the great tips and things you’ve learned here to make sure your reputation is taken care of.