Your reputation is what is keeping you in business. Neglect your reputation, and your business is set to fail. Managing your reputation is an essential part of running your business and should be attended to. Use the following tips to take care of your reputation and keep yourself in business.
If you use social media sites, you need to be able to track the success of each post. There are several programs available online to help you track mentions of your business. These programs will also informs you of when a user shares your post with his friends and family members.
Monitoring your personal reputation or business brand is very critical to online reputation management. Set up automatic alerts to happen when your name comes up. Use Trackur, Monitor This and Google Alerts to send you notices when new content comes up. That way, you can know the very next day, if not sooner, when someone is talking about you.
Go on the offense to protect your reputation online. Build up positive feedback to counter negative feedback. Continue posting positive content until the negative ones slip into obscurity.
Be transparent. Some companies have been accused of removing complaints from their website. Don't be like them. Instead, quickly answer the complaints and state on your website how you will remedy the complaint. Once the complaint is resolved, ask your customer to post on your site that the complaint was resolved and how long it took to resolve the complaint.
If you make a mistake, apologize quickly. Most people realize that everyone is human and mistakes do happen. If you are able to rectify the mistake do so quickly and address it on your website or social media site. If you are unable to rectify the mistake, apologize and go on with your business.
Take the time to know what is happening in the business world. This will help ensure that the information you are supplying your customers with is the latest information. Take some time daily to read up on the latest news and information about your industry.
When you are publicly responding to any feedback that is left by a customer, make sure to address them by name. People want to know that business owners see them as individuals and not as one part of a very large group. Using their names will give them what they want.
If you search online for your company and find erroneous information, you can try to get the owner of the site to remove it. Usually, sites owners will get rid of it if you can prove that the information is false.
Follow up with customers several times after they make a purchase from you. Sometimes issues aren't immediately detected. Checking in will give you the opportunity to address any issues they may have.
Product recalls are a serious matter because people's lives and safety may be on the line. If there is any doubt about the safety of the products that you sell, recall them right away, even if it means losing profits. Your customers will appreciate your proactive protection for their well-being, and your reputation can improve by this action.
Be diligent and patient when answering criticism about the business, product, website or even yourself. Understand what caused these negative comments first. Use facts in order to support your claim. When you are professional and truly fix an issue, people will respect you.
There is one thing that keeps the customers coming, and that is a good reputation. If you neglect it, it will soon take a life of it's own. Remember the tips listed above to keep your reputation high. It is the best way to keep your business running well.