Don’t you love to look up information on a company online that you are thinking of using or buying from? I always search the company’s name and “Reviews”. I might also choose some other specific keywords to get deeper information on the company. This usually depends on the amount I am going to spend on the transaction and how important quality is.
The Internet has created a small community on our globe. We can get the scoop on the company we are thinking of buying from by looking at their website and looking for other information on the Internet. I don’t trust everything I read, but I feel like I can get a general feel about a company by reading reviews about them.
If you are a business owner, I hope you just realized how very important it is to manage your Online Reputation. This is a part of establishing and keeping your basic internet presence. A couple unhappy customers who are willing to leave reviews about their experience could really limit your new business. If you received a negative review online, anywhere, as a business owner, I highly recommend you take action on it right away.
Online Reputation / Bad Review Actions Steps
- Look into the situation. Is there anything you can do to make the situation better for the customer?
- If the review is not accurate, see about getting it removed.
- Respond in an open environment online directly to the reviewer with compassion and real concern to rectify the situation, where possible (never get into a petty online war, though!).
- Also, when your customers leave positive reviews, I recommend you take the opportunity to help potential customers and clients get to know you. You can do this by responding to the review with a short and sweet, “Thank you for the review!” “Glad we could help you” or “Glad you liked it”. This is a FREE opportunity to add personality to your business. In responding to good reviews – keep your responses brief and don’t go into a sales pitch and ask for further referrals or repeat business. They will do that without you asking.
In addition to cultivating your online reputation and managing reviews, you can look at these types of comments as customer research, for FREE! Often, there will be specific situation or details comment about and then you, as the business owner, can address those issues as you learn customers are having problems with them.
Your online reputation is so important, if you are not planning on attending to it, you may consider hiring a social media manager. If your community is trying to interact with you online, these days, you should respond. You could be hurting the image of your business online if you are not chiming in. Give me a call if you would like to discuss online reputation management, dealing with negative online reviews or any other part of your Basic Internet Presence Plan #BIPPlan.