4 Dangers Of Failing To Monitor Your Online Reputation

monitor your online reputation

Monitoring your online reputation can be time consuming for any business owner, leave alone trying to respond to each and every comment or review. Despite this, reputation management is something you must commit yourself to as it leaves a lasting impression on how people view your business.

Ignoring or not paying enough attention to monitoring your reputation may not only jeopardize your brand, but could also get your business into a hole that might be very difficult to get out of. Here are four reasons why ignoring your online reputation is a huge mistake:

  1. You won’t know what bad stuff is being said about you

It’s inevitable that someone will say something negative online about your business. It’s not just important to know about it – you also need to deal with it quickly so it doesn’t escalate.

You want to suppress negative mentions as much as you legally can, or at least decrease their online visibility. If you don’t know about them, you won’t be able to deal with them, which only worsens the situation.

  1. You won’t know what good stuff is being said about you

It can be quite insulting when someone compliments your business and get no acknowledgement. With so many competitors out there, you could easily lose customers just for that.

A simple note of thanks for positive reviews will help you build your customer relationships, while encouraging would-be customers to do business with you. Additionally, you can take advantage of positive reviews by using them to boost your ongoing marketing efforts.

  1. You will not be able to respond to questions

Discussion forums are choke-full of unanswered questions directed to companies from their own customers. This is simply irresponsible from a customer-care perspective, and suggests that you could care less about your customers concerns.

Monitoring such forums for mentions of your company give you the opportunity to address customer issues. This will go a long way in solidifying existing customer relationships and even boosting sales.

  1. You will miss out on brand ambassadors

Thanks to social media, you can now engage your unofficial brand ambassadors. These are the ones who will mention you on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, showing off the products they bought from you and doing some serious marketing on your behalf for free.

These are the loyal customers that will keep coming back for more purchases and will introduce your business to their friends. I cannot overemphasize the need to acknowledge them and nurture these relationships.

Helpful tip: There are various free tools that allow you to monitor your online reputation without eating into your budget. They include Google Alerts, Social Mention and Topsy and many others.

Reputation management is today an industry in itself, so if you feel overwhelmed, there are professionals out there who are experts at monitoring online reputations. Get them on board and avoid the risk of a few negative reviews destroying your image.

 

When Customers Rant: 4 Steps To Dealing With Bad Online Reviews

online reviews good or bad

You may not want to admit it, but if you’re like most normal people owning a business, online reviews and ratings can really make or spoil your day. Positive reviews are always great and boost your online reputation, encouraging new customers to bring their business to you.

On the other hand, negative reviews have the potential of not just turning away new customers, but turning the whole world against you – even people who’ve never done business with you. This is why you cannot possibly afford to ignore bad review.

Here’s a short guide on how to fix a bad Google review, or any other online review for that matter:

1. Fix your product or service
No matter how difficult it may feel to be rational about a negative review, you need to stay calm. The best first step to take is to assume the customer is right and is in fact justified in posting the review and it’s your job to fix what’s wrong.

With such an attitude, you will be in the best position to identify what may perhaps need improvement on your part.

2. Turn on the customer care charm
Your online marketing could be the best in town, but without an equally strong customer care culture to back it up, you may as well be stabbing yourself in the back. Good customer care actually demands that you go the extra mile in making things right, even if you think the customer is wrong.

Try your best to contact the customer and see whether you can make things right. This is not about serving egos – it’s about investing in your reputation, which is a crucial ingredient in your company’s success.

3. Make it up to them
It’s not just enough to acknowledge customer complaints. If there’s a way to make it up to them, make sure you do just that. In an instance when the customer’s complaint is genuine and legitimate, make amends by apologizing and then offering something at no cost to them.

If you’re offering a service, offer a redo of the service, but make sure this time the customer will have nothing to complain about. If you haven’t fixed the problem, you may make things worse by repeating your mistake.

4. Acknowledge negative reviews
Not all reviews will be fair, but if they’re on a reputable site, they should at least be acknowledged. Even if you have no intention of making it up to an unreasonable customer, you still need to apologize for his or her experience.

However, this should only be done on reputable review sites. Bad reviews on negative rant sites such as RipOff Report should be left as they are, since replying will only build their rankings and increase the chances that they’ll come up on Google when your company name is searched.

Helpful tip: Always respond positively to a negative review. You may be tempted to justify yourself because you’re right and the customer is wrong, but this will do more harm than good. If you can’t be pleasant, then at least be neutral.

If you need expert help building your online reputation and making yours a business success story, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.

 

 

5 Reasons Why You Need To Build Your Online Business Reputation

build online reputation

About 61% of shoppers research products online, and about 90% of customers say their buying is influenced by online reviews. Additionally, 85% of consumers say they will read up to 10 reviews before they can trust a business. This shows that your company’s reputation should be prioritized as part of your marketing efforts.

Your advertising efforts, regardless of how much you spend on them, only serve to introduce your business to the public. However, most people today will go online to find out more about your business and gauge its reputation before doing business with you.

To break it down, here are 5 reasons why you need to build your online reputation:

1. Your online reputation attracts customers or turns them away
Acquiring the trust of your client’s trust is a huge step towards the success of your business. Consumers typically discuss their purchases, and it’s never been easier to do this than it is today, thanks to the internet. It is worth noting that while a good reputation can take years to build, it can be destroyed in a short time. Even worse, negative reviews can cause even your existing customers to go elsewhere.

2. Your online reputation affects your sales
Since customers want to find out about a business beforehand, it follows that a good reputation will bring paying customers to your business. In fact, your reputation may be one of the biggest factors affecting your profits. When the reputation of a business falls, you can be sure that its profits will soon follow.

3. Your online reputation affects your competitiveness
When customers read negative reviews about your business and decide not to buy your products or services, this does not solve their problem. They will keep searching for a company they are comfortable doing business with, and will ultimately buy from your competition. Additionally, customers will often compare ratings before deciding where to buy. In other words, your reputation indicates where you stand in comparison to your competition.

4. Your online reputation affects your business partnerships
With a poor reputation, you have even more to worry about than just the customers. Potential and existing business partners may come across a poor review posted online, or even read about alleged bad business practices in your business.

Your business partners have an even bigger stake in your business than your customers, because they stand to lose their money if your business fails. A poor reputation is therefore dangerous as it could put your future income at risk in case a partner is put off by something online.

5. Your online reputation affects your workforce
Prospective employees will likely research your company before they apply to work for you. A negative blog post by one of your former employees could keep the highly competent professionals you need from your company.

Helpful tip: The best approach to building your reputation is to use a system that allows you to be proactive.

We offer a simple yet efficient system that will not only monitor your online reputation, but will also help build a good reputation for your business. Contact us today for more information.