Online reputation management

Monitor and respond to what people are saying about you online.

If you run a successful business, you have many satisfied customers. Chances are, you may have a few unsatisfied ones. It goes with the territory. People tend to complain louder than they praise. And with the advent of social media and local presence sites, people can complain even more loudly.

One complaint about your business can show up online and be available, instantaneously, for the whole world to see. Sometimes without advanced warning. To you it was another missed call, with caller ID blocked. To the caller, it was the SECOND TIME NO ONE PICKED UP THE DARN PHONE AT XYZ BUSINESS! HOW CAN THEY BE SO $%^&*@ UNRESPONSIVE????!!!!

People do not hesitate to post their feelings, in the heat of the moment, on websites that collect reviews about businesses. Google, Bing, Yelp, Foursquare, Manta, Yellowpages, Superpages. The list goes on. Or perhaps a negative review on Twitter citing to your own Twitter account. There are a hundred and one places that complaints can be written, saved for posterity, and many times anonymously.

How can you as a business owner counter that? First, avoid upsetting customers. That’s a given. Second, assuming you can’t please everyone all the time, you need to monitor your reputation online. It is imperative to watch popular review sites to see what is posted about you and respond immediately to critical reviews. You should respond to the person (if you can identify them). You may just be able to turn that bad review into a positive one. You have to respond publicly as well, because the bad review was made public. You may also end up establishing a protocol internally to better handle complaints and so avoid bad reviews in the future.

To ensure that your online and offline reputation is protected we can, among other things:

  • monitor mainstream sites for reviews about your business
  • help to craft and/or deliver timely, accurate and thoughtful responses to negative reviews
  • help design internal protocols to respond to complaints and to avoid future negative reviews

Do you need assistance managing your online reputation? Contact us today about our affordable online presence services.

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Photo credit: Complaining Cow by Clownhouse III, on Flickr, used with Creative Commons license. Use does not connote endorsement.

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