Jul 6, 2009
8 Fool-Proof Ways to Manage Your Online Reputation
No matter how hard you strive to please your clients and run a successful business, there is bound to be a customer or two who says bad things about you online. Unfortunately, that is the price one must pay when running a business. First of all, you must try to meet your customers’ expectations and please them as much as possible but if you come across the occasional negative comment despite your efforts, here are 8 ways you can ease the damage.
1. Avoid panicking and instead stay calm and composed to craft your plan of action. The last thing you want to do is lose your cool and try to retaliate. It will end up making you look worse in the end.
2. Are there complaints or negative reviews of your business on the first page of search engine results for your business name? If so, you need to craft a plan of action in order to bump them off of the top page of search results as soon as possible. Some of the most effective ways to do this are through submitting optimized press releases about the latest happenings in your business, starting a new blog where you share positive testimonials and stats about your business, and contributing to forums in your niche to share relevant, useful information with forum participants.
3. Remember that you can’t please everyone so don’t get discouraged if you find negative publicity about your business online. You probably have a couple hundred happy customers for each unhappy customer so remember that your business hasn’t failed just because of one measly complaint. People who feel they have had a bad experience are more likely to share it than those who have had good ones.
4. Use social networking sites to build a larger network. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, Digg, and StumbleUpon can be helpful in building a positive reputation for your business. Make sure to provide plenty of useful content on your website so people can refer it to other people on social networking sites.
5. Don’t focus all of your time and energy on getting rid of the negative commentary about your business. You need to make sure that you keep the overall picture in mind. Otherwise, your business will suffer for it. Take a holistic approach to solving the issue.
6. When you find a negative comment about your business, do your best to track that unhappy customer down so you can resolve the issue. When you resolve an issue publicly in the online arena, it shows potential customers who are searching for you that you are serious about customer service.
7. Don’t admit that you did something wrong in response to negative comments. By doing so, you can cause your other customers to lose trust in your business.
8. If possible, get your business certified with the Better Business Bureau to build credibility in the eyes of potential clients.
Follow these tips to deal with the issue of negative feedback tactfully. You won’t be able to get rid of the negative comments in search results overnight but with consistent effort, they are bound to go away. In severe cases, you may have to work with a company that specializes in reputation management but otherwise, keep these tips in mind so you can slowly but surely improve your online reputation.
1. Avoid panicking and instead stay calm and composed to craft your plan of action. The last thing you want to do is lose your cool and try to retaliate. It will end up making you look worse in the end.
2. Are there complaints or negative reviews of your business on the first page of search engine results for your business name? If so, you need to craft a plan of action in order to bump them off of the top page of search results as soon as possible. Some of the most effective ways to do this are through submitting optimized press releases about the latest happenings in your business, starting a new blog where you share positive testimonials and stats about your business, and contributing to forums in your niche to share relevant, useful information with forum participants.
3. Remember that you can’t please everyone so don’t get discouraged if you find negative publicity about your business online. You probably have a couple hundred happy customers for each unhappy customer so remember that your business hasn’t failed just because of one measly complaint. People who feel they have had a bad experience are more likely to share it than those who have had good ones.
4. Use social networking sites to build a larger network. Sites like Facebook, Twitter, Digg, and StumbleUpon can be helpful in building a positive reputation for your business. Make sure to provide plenty of useful content on your website so people can refer it to other people on social networking sites.
5. Don’t focus all of your time and energy on getting rid of the negative commentary about your business. You need to make sure that you keep the overall picture in mind. Otherwise, your business will suffer for it. Take a holistic approach to solving the issue.
6. When you find a negative comment about your business, do your best to track that unhappy customer down so you can resolve the issue. When you resolve an issue publicly in the online arena, it shows potential customers who are searching for you that you are serious about customer service.
7. Don’t admit that you did something wrong in response to negative comments. By doing so, you can cause your other customers to lose trust in your business.
8. If possible, get your business certified with the Better Business Bureau to build credibility in the eyes of potential clients.
Follow these tips to deal with the issue of negative feedback tactfully. You won’t be able to get rid of the negative comments in search results overnight but with consistent effort, they are bound to go away. In severe cases, you may have to work with a company that specializes in reputation management but otherwise, keep these tips in mind so you can slowly but surely improve your online reputation.
