8 Ways To Repair Your Business’s Online Reputation
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Dealing with a reputation crisis can be downright stressful. Online reputation repair is imperative for businesses dealing with these issues because your brand perception impacts your bottom line. Research shows that a company may suffer a 22% drop in revenue because of a negative search result.
Online reputation has become a key differentiating factor among brands because most consumers rely on customer reviews before buying a product or service. Consumers prefer brands with high ratings and many reviews. On the other hand, customers hesitate in using a business with no reviews or with poor ratings.
Unfair attacks on a brand are nothing new. Even major companies aren’t immune to poor reviews, slander, or bad publicity. You’ve probably seen how fast things can blow up on social media. It is, thus, essential to know online reputation management for business.
These days, companies already have access to technology, such as reputation management software, to create a positive digital presence. Some agencies offer online reputation repair services that can help them re-establish their online authority.
If your company is suffering the snowball effect of negative search results, keep calm because there is hope. Brand reputations can be rebuilt using sound online reputation management strategies.
Here are 8 Tactics to Repair a Negative Online Reputation
Acknowledge and Respond to Negative Reviews
According to a study conducted by Yotpo, customers write bad reviews because the product or service fell short of their expectations. It’s not necessarily because of inferior quality products or services.
Sometimes consumers post about their negative experiences online because they want you to acknowledge what happened and respond to their concerns.
Look at the situation from the customer’s vantage point and identify opportunities to increase your satisfaction rate. Avoid placing blame and help the customer understand what caused the issue.
Let your customer know that you value their feedback and you’re continually striving to do better. Your appropriate response and a genuine apology will go a long way. Studies have shown that 70 percent of consumers trust brands that respond to negative reviews.
Resolve the Problem
Find the root cause of the problem and resolve this. Implement preventative measures, such as revising current processes and training your employees, and share these efforts with your customer. Letting the reviewer know that you’re creating a long-term solution helps repair your online reputation because this shows them that you’re serious about providing optimal service to your customers.
Be Transparent
Apart from communicating with your reviewer, be transparent to the public about your efforts in rectifying the situation. Update people regularly by posting on all possible channels and broadcast all your restoration efforts. When people post their comments, be ready to respond. Assure them that you are doing your best to fix the issue.
Control the Conversation
Now it’s time to start boosting your brand image. Attract new customers and deliver stellar service that generates positive reviews. You can also seek the help of digital marketing companies that offer online reputation management for business. They will be able to increase your customer reviews using their tools and proven techniques.
Feature your more recent positive reviews. Highlight them on your website, social media accounts, and email marketing messages. As more of these favorable reviews come in, the poor ratings become less visible.
This online reputation management strategy is effective because one of the factors that customers look for in a review is recency. This does not automatically wipe out the negative reviews published, but it is an excellent start to your reputation recovery.
Map Out Your Online Reputation Recovery Strategy
Apart from resolving issues and responding to reviews, you’ll want to develop a step-by-step recovery roadmap. Glean helpful insights from your customers’, investors’, and the public’s feedback when you brainstorm.
Assess the situation and identify the best online reputation repair solution. Is there a need to publish a public apology or a press release? What is the media’s stand on the matter? Is the issue being sensationalized?
You can hire agencies that provide professional online reputation repair services. They’ll be able to deliver comprehensive online reputation management solutions based on your business needs and the situation at hand. You might also consider investing in reputation management software as part of your recovery plan. Tools like this help you efficiently implement your online reputation management for business strategies.
Publish Positive Content to Replace Negative Search Results
Among the best online reputation repair solutions is publishing relevant content to replace negative search results. Strive to make your positive content rank well and land on the first pages of search results. Your customers might not have the time to browse the subsequent search pages, so publishing evergreen long-form content that highlights your company’s strengths and drive to provide excellent service puts your company in a favorable light.
Optimize your website for online searches so that this positive content is always highly visible to your customers. You can also explore doing a press release. If the reputation crisis involves a member of your organization, you can create a site that features his/her biographical information with a clear focus on his/her accomplishments.
Let people know through your published content that your organization is committed to delivering stellar products or services and improving people’s lives.
Monitor Reviews and Online Mentions
Take a proactive approach in implementing your online reputation management for business. Monitor and respond to reviews and online mentions to prevent the snowball effect of mishandled negative feedback.
Companies use reputation management software to ensure they can track and respond to reviews and online mentions promptly. Check your inbox for customer feedback and complaints and respond to these, as well.
Use negative reviews as an opportunity to show people that you genuinely value their insights and that you care about the quality of the product or service they receive from your company. This helps you strengthen your brand credibility and gain customers’ trust.
Build a Brand Community
Building a loyal community around your brand helps foster good relationships with your customers and attract prospects. This also allows you to better understand your customers’ changing demands. There is so much value in letting your customers know that you care about their experience.
Hear From Industry Experts
Read the latest tips, research, best practices, and insights from our community of expert B2B service providers.
A Worthwhile Investment
In today’s digital world, where consumers worldwide can easily connect, your business’s positive online reputation can be considered one of your most important assets. Your customers and prospects use online reviews to evaluate your business.
Favorable reviews increase your products’ purchase probability. Reviews also serve as trust signals and social proof. Every time your business is mentioned on the internet it impacts your online visibility and therefore reviews affect your search rankings tremendously.
The internet, in this sense, is like a double-edged sword. It can help boost a good brand reputation, but it can also make things extremely difficult for companies whose reputations have been tarnished.
Your business stands to lose a lot if it ever lands in a reputation crisis, and learning the best online reputation repair strategies or hiring professional agencies that provide online reputation repair services is a worthwhile investment.
About the author
Megan Sell
Megan has nearly 10 years of experience creating high-quality content for a variety of different platforms and mediums. With a start in magazines, Megan enjoys the process of editing, writing, and curating content across various platforms. Hailing from Cape Town, South Africa, Megan mostly spends her downtime at the beach with her family.
