Did you know that consumers, on average, read around 10 reviews of a local business before feeling like they can trust that business or not? They’re looking up that business’s reputation. They want to know what other people think about the business, whether it has quality products, the type of customer service they have, and whether the prices are fair… But it’s not until a potential customer has researched a company before they make their purchase decision.
Reputation management is a business’s way of shaping consumers’ perception of their brand… sounds simple enough, right? Well, the process is much easier said than done.
The thing about reputation management is that it isn’t something that’s solely done to build your brand’s image… it’s a continual act you must do to maintain your brand’s image as well. Everything from one bad customer review to a bad online experience, something that minor can ruin the entire reputation of a business, in the blink of an eye.
There are things like general liability insurance to run damage control for any personal or advertising injuries you may incur but you’re ultimately going to need some form of reputation management, in addition to your business insurance, to help you against malicious allegations or misleading information about your business.
Ideally, the goal is for you to never need reputation management, but the truth of the matter is that you’re not going to be able to please everyone and there will always be someone with something bad to say about your products and services, and that’s okay.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t implement some preventive measures to reduce your likelihood of earning a bad business reputation. Business Wire reported a study that revealed that the biggest drivers impacting a business’s reputation are how a company handles its corporate social responsibility practices.
From interacting with your customers on social media to simply doing what you said you would do, there are basic things you can do to prevent your business from getting a bad reputation. If your business can deliver on these simple tips, you’ll always have loyal customers, despite a few bad comments or reviews.
Simple Tips in Maintaining Your Strong Business Reputation
Getting Social With Your Customers
As a business, if you want your business to maintain a good reputation and grow, you’re going to have to get social with your customers. Sure, your customers only see the brand but to build brand loyalty, interacting with them on social media is going to help “humanize” your brand.
Social media is a great way to interact with your customers. In fact, Instagram is the leading social platform for engaging with your customers. Everything from going live to simply responding to comments under your posts, these are both great and simple ways to interact and engage with your customers.
You’d think that this would come as a natural response for businesses to maintain a strong business reputation but it doesn’t come as quickly for some businesses as it does for others. Businesses with a true customer-centered focus are the ones that will use social media effectively to leverage customer engagement.
Deliver on Every Customer Promise or Guarantee
If there’s one way to quickly lose customers, it would be to make promises or guarantees you can’t keep. A customer may call your business with a question or concern and one of your customer service reps may state that they’re going to call them back with a resolution but never does… That one action from an employee made that one customer lose all trust in your business.
Something as simple as not returning a phone call can chip away at your credibility. Unfortunately, this is something that’s totally preventable but happens all the time. When customers trust a brand or business, they’re more likely to refer and recommend that business to their friends as a trustworthy source for the products and services they need.
That too could be your business but maintaining a good reputation starts with delivering on the basics. If your business can’t deliver on the basic fundamentals of customer service, your reputation will come crashing down in an instant.
Maintain Consistency Within Your Brand
In a market that’s always changing with new trends, giving your customers a little consistency is going to bring them comfort through familiarity. Businesses come a dime a dozen, and it can get a little overwhelming for a customer to have too many options to choose from when all the businesses sell the same product they’re looking for.
Whether it’s your company slogan, logo, or packaging, always give your customers something to remember your brand by. Making your brand stand out (for good reasons) will definitely play in your favor when maintaining your business reputation.