A good or bad reputation is something that will chase your business for years to come. Bad customer experiences about your business posted online can make a great impact on your business in terms of profits. It will take a lot of time to get in the momentum again once your online reputation is tarnished. Even though creating a positive online reputation takes lots of effort and time, it is well worth it in the end.
You may want to think about Online Reputation Management or ORM if you have any sort of online presence, so that you can make that presence to stay positive. Here are some tips on online reputation management to help you in this regard.
#1 Google Yourself
To find out what is being said about your business online take time to Google your business name. You will be surprised to see the results. Your potential client’s perception about your business can be affected by these results. If there is any negative thing about your company then it may influence some people to terminate their business deals with your company. Sometimes due to the use of specific keywords, certain search results may come up which is not even related to your business.
#2 Respond to Negative Reviews Sensibly
Never ignore negative reviews. Make sure that you comment on it directly if you find anything negative online. Be proactive and interact with the person who wrote that review about your company and make your best effort to resolve that matter in a short span of time. Sometimes you have to deal with few fake reviews. You also need to deal with these smartly by putting a question or in a humorous way. Make sure that you respond to all reviews because it is very difficult to distinguish between a real review and fake review. This way, your customers will have a positive view about your company as they will think that you are sincerely listening to them and concerned about their issues.
#3 Develop a Social Media Policy
Social media sites like Twitter, Facebook provides a easy and quick way for your former clients, potential clients and current customers to interact with you directly and vice versa. You should be there talking back, if people are talking about your company online. You will get more exposure by positively using the social media platform. However, it always pays to think before you speak when you are using social media because one ill conceived statement can cause offense or damage your company philosophy.
Even though this is a very effective method of managing your reputation online, it consumes lot of your valuable time by responding to your fans and followers on social media sites. Hence, it is advisable that you should consider hiring an Online Reputation Management company to deal with this aspect on your behalf.
