Even when you were 12, you probably would have been able to explain how someone’s reputation can affect virtually every aspect of their daily life. Believe it or not, things don’t change all that much now that you’re all grown up, especially when it comes to how your business is perceived online. When you follow some easy steps to create, cultivate, and even repair how your customers — and the world in general — perceive your business, you will quickly begin to reap the rewards.
How your business’s reputation makes an impact.
Although you control the quality of your products and services, how well-trained your employees are, and the trajectory of the decisions that affect your company, customers are often responsible for your reputation. What they think of your business is often founded upon their own experiences as well as those of the people they relate to. In the end, the overall perception of your company will affect present and potential customers, your employees, investors, and the community at large. So, what can you do to optimize your reputation?
Create a website that is your ambassador.
Your online presence is usually the first exposure that people have to your brand. Therefore, make it excellent by outfitting it with a simple and compelling design, rich content, and links to social media pages that carry forward your identity in a unified way. No matter what channel people use to access your store, they should be treated to the same quality, clarity, transparency, and unique content that sets you apart from the rest.
Keep updating.
A website is not a static thing; it must be tweaked, changed, and modified to meet with current conditions and changes and for the sake of variety. Begin by always making sure that your company’s basic information is current on your site. Then, move on to other commonly accessed places where people find out about you when they conduct an online search. Doing so will mean that the customers who want to contact you will be able to do so — the first time and with no fear of you being fly-by-night or sketchy.
Pay attention to your online reviews.
These may be on your own website or at other locations like your social media pages, Foursquare, Yelp or Google. For the most part, people take the time to give feedback either when they are very happy or very dissatisfied with your store. Either way, you need to pay attention to what they have to say.
In the case of positive words, feel free to ask the author if you can post them on your website or social media pages. If the review is less than stellar, examine it carefully. If it does not meet the guidelines of the site where it was placed, you can ask to have it removed. But if the complaint is legitimate, you now have an opportunity to show the world that you are in the business of serving customers, correcting your mistakes and achieving a satisfactory resolution.
To that end, write a public reply that addresses the customer by name, apologizes for the situation and asks what can be done to correct it. Be sure to include your contact details, encouraging the person to get in touch privately at their earliest convenience.
Create and cultivate a community.
Whether you are responding to feedback or posting a video where you introduce the world to your latest product, your goal should be to draw people in and engage them in your brand-centered world. There are numerous ways to do so: contests, polls, questions of the day, and staff spotlights are just a few of the techniques you can use to create a buzz and keep inspiring people to come back to your website or social media pages. When they begin to see you as an interesting or fun part of their lives, your reputation is boosted.
Match your business against your rivals.
At least in part, your reputation is also based on how you compare to your competition. Therefore, you need to know what you are up against by researching areas such as the prices they charge for products similar to yours, the quality of their offerings, and their level of customer service. Once you have a handle on what they are doing right as well as the challenges they face, you can take steps to avoid their mistakes and surpass their accomplishments.
Doing what it takes to successfully institute all of these steps may seem overwhelming to you as a busy entrepreneur. After all, keeping your finances straight and managing your customers are difficult enough in and of themselves. The good news is that you don’t necessarily need to do it alone. Take a little more research time to look into reputable third-party companies that you can hire to optimize your brand. You just might find that this investment pays for itself many times over.
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