The internet and social media are amazing platforms for promoting your business. It’s never been easier to reach your target market and showcase your company.
Likewise, it’s much easier for potential clients and customers to do their own research to find the best company for their needs. It’s one thing to compete against all the highest ranking companies in price and service but how do you compete against negative press or bad reviews about your company?
Online reputation management is a necessary process for any business owner but it tends to be more important for the small to medium sized business. Your reputation is everything and as a small business startup, your reputation is ALL you have to offer people until you get some more experience.
Granted, you can’t please everyone. You could serve 10 clients the exact same way and there’s a possibility that 7 will be happy and 3 might have some kind of complaint. The key is to take that negative feedback and learn from it.
Here are some tips for managing negative press online:
1. Track Your Online Presence. Do a search for your name and your company name and see what results appear. Also search for misspellings and keyword phrases and set up a Google Alert to receive emails every time your name appears online.
2. Search Specific Sites. Go to Twitter, Facebook and popular review sites and see if your name appears.
3. Learn Lessons from Negative Feedback or Reviews. Sure, a bad review might hurt but try to think objectively about the complaint and how it can be avoided in the future.
4. Don’t Ignore Negative Feedback or Reviews. Wherever there are negative reviews, very calmly post a reply to give your side of the story. Mention what you’re doing to rectify the problem but avoid name calling or coming across too defensive.
These reputation management practices can certainly be implemented into your schedule easily without taking up valuable time. There are also companies who offer this service but beware that the package prices are often very pricey, some starting as high as $3000, so please due your due diligence before hiring this type of service.
