While you would like to control everything in your business, it's a two way street. Your customers have the last say collectively, and that is why business reputation management is such a huge thing when it comes to handling your business affairs. It's time to get real about some business reputation management.
To help increase your online presence consider using social media. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn will help you build business presence both online and offline. To use social media effectively you must post statuses regularly. When posting information through a social media website, use keywords, and give your readers information that they actually need.
One of the primary ways you can manage your reputation is to claim your business brand online and take charge of the content about you. Use either KnowEm.com, UserNameCheck.com or NameChk.com to locate every online instance of your business name popping up. You only need to use one, but any of them can let you know if anyone out there is misrepresenting your business or speaking ill of you.
Set realistic expectations with your customers. If you own a small business, let your customers know when you will respond to their questions. If you cannot answer every question immediately, place a banner saying that all questions will be answered within a certain amount of time, such as within 72 hours.
Write articles on other sites for a better online business reputation. This can help many people see you as a professional. End your articles with your name, company, and a link back to your website. Where you write will depend on the purpose of your business, your niche, and your target audience. Try to keep the content as relevant to these items as possible.
Make sure that you stay abreast of what is being said on social media sites. Many people discuss companies on these sites. By monitoring these platforms, you can catch any negative comments and do damage control in a timely manner. This will help prevent your company's reputation from getting any worse.
There are trusted companies that offer reputation management. You will surely need to stay hands-on with this, but it does not hurt to have some extra help. So having assistance with monitoring these channels is helpful.
If you have a company that made a mistake and it hurt the customers, don't try covering it up. Customers will realize. Freely admit your mistake, and humbly apologize for it. Many times, the customer will forgive you. Quite often, this involves providing something extra for the mistake.
Have a plan available to deal with individuals who post numerous poor reviews with the intent of harming your business. It is better to have a plan and never need it than to find yourself the victim of such an attack and be unaware of your rights with no idea on how to manage the situation.
Customer comments on something like Twitter can make or break a company's reputation. Word travels so quickly across the web that if a major company makes a blunder, people around the world will know about it within minutes. Monitor what is being discussed in Twitter in regards to your company and respond when appropriate to protect your company's reputation.
Get familiar with the review sites that are on the web. More and more people are writing reviews about their experiences with a product or service. You never know if a review was written about your company. Do not ignore reviews, but learn from them. This is good way to improve your business.
Often when you purchase a .com domain name, you are offered the option to purchase the name with .org, .net and .info suffixes as well. It's smart to do this, and it's even smarter to develop these into related sites rather than simply having them all end up on your main website. If you have several different sites with high quality, pertinent content about your niche, it will help establish your authority and build your reputation online.
Look for the potential good in any online conflict. It is far easier to learn from your own experiences than to simply listen and read about resolving online conflicts. After a conflict is over, seek out the learning opportunities it presented. If the conflict caught the attention of people you would like to know, use it as a springboard to improve your own online social and business circles.
Putting into a plan the tips that have been provided, you can now see how properly managing the reputation of your business gives you an edge. It's not about being sneaky; instead, it's about being truthful and knowing what avenues to take. If you don't handle things the right way, the customers will make you completely transparent, leaving your flaws in the open.