Your business’s reputation is important when customers are deciding between your service or a competitor. The effect that a single one star review on your company’s Google listing can, and will, affect the amount of success your company seeks. These issues can be avoided and extinguished from the start by interacting with your customers and providing solutions to their feedback that may contain constructive criticism.
What Is Online Reputation?
The basics of online reputation are represented through the way your customer views your company. This is primarily through your customer reviews, comments, and feedback left by clients and customers. Your reviews affect your CTR, (Clickthrough Rate) and the amount of times your website gets visited, which largely affects the amount of business you attract through search engines. Studies show that your CTR increases around 30 percent more with every spot that you move up in Google’s search engine results. This is a direct correlation between your reputation and the amount of business your company receives.
Reviews, Comments, and Ratings
If you’re on the fence about needing to improve your online reputation, the truth is you can always improve it! No company is perfect, and although your company can be left with great reviews and comments, all it takes is one negative review to cancel those out. A large way to improve your company’s reputation is to make leaving reviews as accessible as possible to your customers. This allows potential clients to not only see your strengths, but it will also show that you are consistently doing things well with multiple clients or customers that you have provided for previously.
Responding to Negative Feedback Proactively
No business is immune to negative feedback, but how you respond to it can define your reputation. When addressing negative reviews or comments, ensure you respond promptly, empathetically, and professionally. Acknowledge the customer’s concerns, offer a solution if possible, and thank them for their feedback. Even if you cannot resolve the issue to the customer’s satisfaction, showing that you care about their experience helps build trust and credibility with others who read the interaction.
Leveraging Customer Testimonials and Case Studies
While reviews provide valuable social proof, customer testimonials and case studies take it a step further by offering detailed insights into your business’s strengths. Encourage satisfied customers to share their experiences in a more structured format, and showcase these testimonials on your website and social media channels. Case studies, in particular, are useful for B2B businesses, as they highlight specific challenges and how your company helped solve them, enhancing your credibility and appeal.
Managing Constructive Criticism
Be aware that with reviews being accessible, your company might not always receive that 5-star service you felt your company provided. If a customer feels that your service was not held to the standard it should’ve been, the best way to address it is to be very honest with the review. Avoiding a customer’s review could add more kindle to the fire, and can allow for more backlash than you had originally received.
Using SEO to Build a Positive Reputation
Beyond reviews and social media presence, search engine optimization (SEO) plays a significant role in shaping your online reputation. By creating high-quality, keyword-optimized content, you can push down negative search results and promote positive, branded content. When potential customers search for your business, it’s crucial that the first few search results they encounter reflect your professionalism and quality service. Effective SEO strategies can help maintain a healthy online reputation and attract new clients.
Engaging in Online Communities
Being active in relevant online communities can strengthen your company’s reputation. Participate in forums, industry-specific groups, and Q&A platforms like Quora or Reddit to establish yourself as an authority in your field. Sharing helpful insights and advice not only boosts your brand’s image but also builds trust among potential customers. The more visible you are in trusted online spaces, the more positively your brand will be perceived.
Social Media Platforms
Social media is another major way that people look for products or services, and they might not even realize it! In 2020, there was an estimated 3.5 billion+ amount of people in the world across all social media platforms. These users are promptly swiping or clicking through different posts that are not only related to their personal life, but are also posts that contain external information. Around half of these social media users learn about new brands from social media, and if your company is not involved, that’s a large amount of customers you could be losing, just by not having a social media presence.
Building a Consistent Brand Voice
A consistent brand voice across all platforms helps in creating a strong and reliable image. Whether it’s a formal tone on LinkedIn or a casual, humorous style on Instagram, maintaining consistency in how you communicate builds recognition and trust. Customers appreciate companies that know who they are and reflect
that identity in every post or interaction.
Social Media Communication, What to Post
When it comes to businesses and social media, it is also seen as a very convenient way for customers to communicate with your business and give feedback as well. What you post on these platforms is very prevalent to the success of your social media reputation. You want to keep them relative to their respective platform. For example, if you’re posting on Linkedin, you want your post to be kept very professional. Yet, if you were posting on a platform like Tik-Tok, your post could range from professional to humorous content that will catch that specific user’s expectation of what’s on the platform.
Need Help Maintaining Your Online Reputation?
Managing your reputation may seem like a very difficult and uncomfortable process depending on your situation. Blue Ridge Media Company is a digital marketing agency that wants to see your company! We offer many services to improve your online reputation, and more. Contact us online, or call us (888)-715 -1517!
