Users online are more likely to trust the word of your customers rather than information provided directly from your brand. This should tell you everything you need to know about the importance of reviews and digital word of mouth when thinking about the success of your business.
Ultimately, you need to make sure that the general buzz around your business and the brand is positive. This should be true across all the different review resources users access including Google, Yelp, Facebook and more. To do this, you need to make sure that you are managing your business reputation effectively.
What Is Reputation Management?
Typically, when a customer buys a product from you or uses one of your services, then they will be granted the option of providing a review.
Through this review, they can offer information on any positive or negatives about your business and the service that you offer.
They can mention specific details about your business from the time it takes you to fulfill an order to the general state of a product provided or the quality.
Some review sources will allow customers to provide pictures and videos which can be even more damaging if they do not match the official advertisements you have offered.
It may not even be an official review. It’s possible that users online are simply referencing your brand or services and products on social networks.
Hopefully, they will be promoting your brand or recommending it, but in some cases, there could be negative concepts and opinions present.
There might even be entirely negative threads directly linked to your brand.
Poor Reviews
You might think that the issue of poor Google reviews for your business is significant enough but that’s not the case.
The reality is that you might be completely oblivious to this negative buzz.
Some business owners choose to believe that ignorance is bliss and simply avoid engaging with negative chatter or bad reviews. However, if you do this, you are playing a very dangerous game.
Bad buzz can spread like wildfire online and a tweet that has been shared a couple of hundred times potentially could have been seen by thousands of people.
That’s where reputation management comes in.
Reputation management is about tracking reviews and mentions of your business and responding to bad reviews the correct way.
Through reputation, you will know if there is an issue or problem related to your brand image and you will be able to handle it effectively and efficiently.
With some reputation management solutions, it’s possible to immediately be notified of a negative review and respond instantly to the user or customer.
How Does Reputation Management Help Your Customers?
Customers can learn a lot from the way you manage your reputation.
The first factor to be aware of is that customers want to be able to engage with brands online. They want to know that their thoughts, their opinions, and their concerns are being heard and more importantly addressed.
If there is a negative thread for your brand on social media, responding shows the user and other potential customers that their concerns matter and will be addressed.
The faster you can respond, the more people will see it and understand that they are not just shouting into an echo chamber. You and your brand are listening.
The customer learns that there may be a path for resolving their issue. Other users learn that you care about people who buy your products and services.
You don’t need to respond to every negative review or comment. Simply picking issues that are gaining traction will be enough to protect your brand.
Is It Just About Dealing With Negative Buzz?
A common misconception about reputation management is just monitoring negative reviews. You can use reputation management to make sure that positive buzz and positive ideas are elevated and seen by a greater audience.
A basic example of this would be retweeting a positive comment from a follower or even an influencer.
An influencer is a respected individual who will have an impact on levels of demand for your brand. So, a positive comment should be recognized, championed and used effectively.
Impact Of Reputation Management On Your Brand
Negative reviews and opinions surrounding your business can quickly grow out of control. They could even attract media attention and potentially may have the power to go viral.
Quickly, these ideas could be the main concepts attached to your brand image and you don’t want that. With reputation management, you can prevent it.
The effects of this can be astounding.
By managing your reputation effectively and showing customers that they do matter, you can increase the chances of more users following your brand online or even visiting your website.
By demonstrating that you are willing to address issues you can build trust around your business too.
This is a great way to expand your audience reach and eventually you could see a greater level of sales.
As well as gaining new customers, existing customers are also more likely to remain loyal to a brand if they see you interacting and engaging online.
They want to feel like they have a connection with your business and managing your reputation will help build this idea.
Managing your reputation goes beyond attracting customers
You might be surprised to learn that managing your reputation won’t just have an impact on consumer decisions. It could impact potential employees as well.
Employees will often research a company before they decide whether they want to work for that brand.
A positive brand reputation will help you attract the best workers and create a solid team that can take your company to new heights.
We hope you see now that with reputation management you can put out fires online before they grow out of control.
You can shape the ideas and concepts that you want to be attached to your brand and ensure that negative reviews are snuffed out or handled effectively.
You will be able to make sure that you have control over what people are saying about your company.