Online reviews can either make or break you as a company, having really good reviews will likely give customers more trust in you and your business but having some really bad reviews can really hurt your client base.
This is why online brand reputation management is extremely important and is definitely something that needs to be considered for you and your business. Some methods you can use to monitor and keep on top of your brand reputation include hiring a brand management specialist, purchasing a good reputation management software, and be receptive and respond when necessary to reviews.
Hire a Brand Management Specialist
If you’re really serious about maintaining a good reputation online you may want to consider actually hiring someone to do this for you. As a busy business owner, it will be hard for you to keep on top of all of the reviews and online attention your company may be getting by yourself if you hire a professional your much more likely to manage these online reviews more efficiently.
A professional Brand Management Specialist basically just manages the way your brand is seen by the public eye both online and in person. They will continually go through reviews and online platforms scoping out the negative ones and bringing them to your attention the minute they are posted. You are also able to add responsibilities to their role as needed where you could even have them respond to the negative reviews and completely take that off of your plate.
Purchase a Good Reputation Software
If you don’t quite have it in the budget to hire an actual employee to manage your online appearance you can always download a reputation and brand management software program. This software makes it easier for you to manage the reviews that are being posted about your business and has different features that you utilize to automatically send you updates and even advice on how to respond to each individual inquiry and comment.
The price point on this software is much lower than hiring a professional to do the job just as well. The only perk to having the professional brand management employee is that they typically do more of the work for you and give you that human touch to it all.
Be Receptive and Respond to All Negative Reviews
It can be really hard to take criticism from strangers but as a business owner in order to be successful, you must be able to take what your customers are saying seriously. I know sometimes the reviews will be bogus and are just based on one bad experience or something that was out of your control but you still need to make amends with that reviewer and be sure to respond to their negative comment in a timely and respectful manner.
Although this may not win back that particular customer it may have an impact on other potential customers that might be reading that review and taking it very seriously. You also need to be sure you are not making a mockery out of anyone in your responses and be kind and informative as much as you can.
By doing these few things you will be able to keep more customers happy and hopefully, prove to other customers that you are listening to their concerns and you do in fact care about their needs.
Most business owners would concur that taking steps to maintain your online brand appearance is worth the money and time that it may take to do it right. Your online presence is sometimes the first and only impression someone may have about your business and keeping it a good vision will increase your customers and therefore increase success.