How do you develop a reputation management strategy?
One of the first steps to managing your business’s reputation is to have a solid plan, including who is responsible for managing and following up on all online mentions. Here are some steps you can take.
1. Monitor Your Reputation
As a business owner, it is important to know what people are saying about your brand. Are people talking about you on social media, on forums, or on review sites like TripAdvisor or Amazon? If you’re a restaurant, bar, or tourist attraction, you need to monitor review sites. If you have a physical location, you can bet that people give their opinions about you on Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google. This is a fairly sizable, and more importantly, ongoing task. In order to be able to effectively monitor all of these platforms, you may need to enlist the help of a social media monitoring tool as well. These tools can help you track mentions of your brand across the web, so you can quickly and easily see what people are saying. This way, you can address any negative comments and ensure that your brand stays in good standing.
2. Develop a Response Plan
No matter the size of your organization, it’s important to have a plan for responding to customer feedback. Comments and reviews can come in at any time, and you need to be prepared to address them in a timely and professional manner. Who will be responsible for monitoring feedback? Who will decide whether or not a response is warranted? And who will deliver the response? These are all important questions to consider when crafting your plan. By having a clear process in place, you can ensure that your customers always feel heard and valued.
3. Manage Negative Comments
It can be tempting to ignore a one-star review, pretend it never happened, and hope that it gets buried in a sea of happy customers. However, bad comments can’t just be ignored because they’re public and will probably be online forever. Responding gives you a chance to clear the air and show that you’re listening. According to Reputology, 80% of unhappy customers are won over with the right response. Make sure to respond as an actual human being, not a robot. Be patient and try to actually help the customer; these interactions can become an opportunity to build rapport with your customers.
4. Build on Your Companies Positives
In the world of online customer reviews, it can be easy to get caught up in responding to negative comments. After all, a bad review can damage your reputation and discourage potential customers from doing business with you. But responding to positive reviews can be just as valuable as addressing any negative ones. A positive review is not only a vote of confidence in your business, but it’s also a valuable marketing tool. By responding to positive reviews, you can show potential customers that you value their feedback and that you’re committed to providing a great experience.
In addition, responding to positive reviews can encourage others to leave their own positive feedback as well, further enhancing your online reputation. So next time you see a positive review of your business, take the time to say thanks – it could make all the difference in your online success.
Make it personal: A simple “thank you” is always appreciated, but a personalized response is even better. Mention the reviewer by name and let them know you’re happy they enjoyed their experience.
Encourage social sharing: Include links to your social media profiles in your response so reviewers can easily share their positive experience with their followers. You can also include hashtags or other calls to action that encourage further sharing.
Offer discounts or coupons: Show your appreciation by offering a discount or coupon code that can be used on future purchases. This is a great way to turn a one-time customer into a loyal follower.
By taking the time to respond to positive reviews, you can create loyal advocates for your brand who will help to improve your online reputation.