When it comes to businesses, the trust of your consumers is your best asset. A single mistake, whether it’s damaging tweets or bad reviews, could ruin everything you’ve worked hard for. You’d have a hard time regaining their trust, as this digital age offers a plethora of choices.
Why would they ever go back to transacting with you when they can easily find another business just like you online? Thus, you must ensure your consumers will trust you. Key to that is to take control of what your potential consumers could see and search online.
Here are a few things you can do to protect your reputation online so your consumers will keep trusting you.
Take Advantage of the Power of Customer Feedback
Most consumers trust the reviews they see online as much as they trust recommendations from friends and family. So why not show off the feedback your customers give on your website? When you do this, you’re creating good expectations from any of your site visitors. If a negative review pops up some point, all the positive reviews you have will outweigh it.
In case you do not understand how to get your customers to leave feedback, you can send them a personalized email or include a satisfaction survey on your website. Why not even reach out directly to them on messaging platforms? It’s up to you, as long as you give them gentle encouragement without being too pushy. Some local digital agencies suggest offering freebies in exchange for reviews.
Claim and Verify Online Listings
Search engines can validate your business through online listings, which you can find on directory websites. If you don’t claim and verify these listings, you’re missing out on possible traffic both to your website and your brick-and-mortar store.
Customers will usually look up businesses online before they visit them. Your listings on Google and directory sites can contain important information that could help them decide whether or not a visit is worth it. No address, contact number, or operating hours? Chances are the potential customer will look for other businesses that have the information in their listings.
Your customers aren’t the only ones that benefit from directory listings. Search engines tend to show businesses that have information on review sites and directories first. If your information is incomplete or inaccurate, you’re less likely to show up on search engine results.
Don’t Forget to Go Social
Social media affects the reputation of businesses positively and negatively, that is why you must monitor yours. Change is constant in the digital world, so you have to be always ready to take charge of any social media crises. Otherwise, your business might suffer. That rant by a customer on one of your public Facebook posts that you forgot to respond to could ruin your entire reputation.
It isn’t always about the negative, though. You can use Twitter, YouTube, Facebook or LinkedIn to post content about your company. Make sure your customers know about what’s going on with your business so you stay relevant and active.
The sad fact is that most businesses only consider ORM when the damage has already been done. Remember, online reputation management isn’t just about damage control. It is your catalyst to a successful brand image, so take care of it before it’s too late.
How to Protect Your Brand Online / A Quick Guide to Online Reputation Management
Summary:
If you’re a business in Florida, you’ve got your work cut out for you with so many businesses to compete against in the area. To stay ahead of your marketing competitors, one aspect of digital marketing you should never forget is online reputation management or ORM.
Introduction:
When it comes to businesses, the trust of your consumers is your best asset. A single mistake, whether it’s damaging tweets or bad reviews, could ruin everything you’ve worked hard for. You’d have a hard time regaining their trust, as this digital age offers a plethora of choices.
Why would they ever go back to transacting with you when they can easily find another business just like you online? Thus, you must ensure that your consumers will trust you. Key to that is to take control of what your potential consumers could see and search online.
Here are a few things you can do to protect your reputation online so your consumers will keep trusting you:
Take advantage of the power of customer feedback
Most consumers trust the reviews they see online as much as they trust recommendations from friends and family. So why not show off the feedback your customers give on your website? When you do this, you’re creating good expectations from any of your site visitors. And if a negative review pops up some time in the distant future, all the positive reviews you have will outweigh it.
If you have no idea how to get your customers to leave feedback, don’t worry! You can send them a personalized email or include a satisfaction survey on your website. Why not even reach out directly to them on messaging platforms? It’s up to you, as long as you give them gentle encouragement without being too pushy. A digital agency in Tampa suggests offering freebies in exchange for reviews.
Claim and verify online listings
Search engines can validate your business through online listings, which you can find on directory websites. If you don’t claim and verify these listings, you’re missing out on possible traffic both to your website and your brick-and-mortar store.
Customers will usually look up businesses before they visit them. Your listings on Google and directory sites can contain important information that could help them decide whether or not a visit is worth it. No address, contact number, or operating hours? Chances are the potential customer will look for other businesses that actually have the information in their listings.
Your customers aren’t the only ones that benefit from directory listings, by the way. Search engines tend to show businesses that have information on review sites and directories first. If you’re info is incomplete or inaccurate, you’re less likely to show up on search engine results.
Don’t forget to go social
Social media affects the reputation of businesses positively and negatively, that is why you must monitor yours. Change is constant in the digital world, so you have to be always ready to take charge of any social media crises so your business doesn’t have to suffer. That rant by a customer on one of your public Facebook posts that you forgot to respond to could ruin your entire reputation!
It isn’t always about the negative, though. You can use Twitter, YouTube, Facebook or LinkedIn to post content about your company. Make sure your customers know about what’s going on with your business so you stay relevant and active.
Conclusion:
The sad fact is that most businesses only consider ORM when the damage has already been done. Remember, online reputation management isn’t just about damage control. It is our catalyst to a successful brand image, so take care of it before things are too late.
