Your reputation is your most important asset of all. If it is tarnished or otherwise damaged, there is a good chance that you will never recover from it. The saying “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” simply isn’t true. Rather, the more negative things people see about you, the more likely it is that they start to believe that and go somewhere else. This is a real problem, particularly if you are a relatively new or small company. The biggest damage a negative online reputation can do is to a business that operates mainly online, which is a huge proportion of today’s businesses. A single customer can quite literally destroy all the work that has been done before. If you are facing this situation, then it is very important that you find an online reputation management company to help you.
The Need for an Online Reputation Management Company
One of the greatest things about the internet is that it offers the ultimate in freedom of speech. Unfortunately, this can also be its greatest problem. We, as humans, want things to go right and if something isn’t quite right, we become vocal about, particularly thanks to the relative anonymity of the internet. Unfortunately, this also means that a single, tiny complaint can cause a huge problem, particularly if it is funnily or strongly worded and people start to share it.
Naturally, it is vital that you are proactive in order to prevent this in the first place. You need to make sure that you offer a fantastic product or service, and even better customer service. However, some people just love to complain, and there is little you can do about this. What an online reputation management company will do for you, however, is make sure that there is a constant flow of positive information about you online, so that a complaint is shown for what it really is: a simple mistake that you will fix.
Furthermore, these companies will help you to properly address the negative issues that are sent out. There are a number of possible tactics to take in this:
- Delete the comment all together. This is only possible if it is placed on a network that you own, however. It is also not recommended that you do this unless the review is really slanderous.
- Professionally and politely address the complaint, apologizing for the fact that your customer feels like that and offering to contact them privately for a resolution.
Essentially, you need to mitigate the damage that is done by a negative review. This starts by understanding that only 4% of customers who have a complaint will tell you about it. This means that they are a voice for many other people. If you address their complaint properly, you resolve the issue many others have at the same time. In a way, you are turning a negative into a positive. At the same time, you need to make sure that it is easier to find the positive than the negative. This is what the online reputation management companies will be able to help you with more than anything.