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The importance and impact of reputation management for a company.

When you are a business owner, you have to do all in your power in order to provide quality services for all your customers. But as you can expect, you won’t be able to do that all the time. There are situations when customers aren’t happy with your service/product and they decide to leave a bad review online. How should you manage these reviews and does your online reputation affect sales?

How impactful can a negative review be?

According to a study from Vendasta, 83% of all buyers refrain from trusting advertising and instead they are more focused on user recommendations. If other customers say bad things about your business, this will end up in less sales and a lower income. Not only that, but 89% of all online shoppers have stopped using an online store if they saw bad reviews or experienced a bad experience. Almost all of them shared that review with friends and family. However, 70% of these complaining customers will end up coming back to you if you solve their complaint properly and as fast as possible. Also, keep in mind that 88% of all consumers read online reviews when they plan on purchasing stuff online so your negative reviews will be seen very fast most of the time.

Why do you need reputation management?

Reputation management is designed to track as well as address all negative reviews as fast as possible. As you can expect, a company won’t be able to track hundreds of platforms with business reviews, but a dedicated reputation management service is designed to do just that.

Once you hire such a service, you will be able to keep an eye on all issues that might hamper your reputation and you will deal with them very fast. As a result, first time customers will be able to make a great first impression in regards to your products and services. On top of that, you will further improve your branding efforts and you will also get to build up trust in your business.

If your company has a good online reputation, you will be able to establish yourself as one of the leaders in your industry. This will lead to company growth, more media coverage and a great return on investment for online reputation management services.

How can you properly manage your company’s reputation in the online world?

There are multiple ways you can use to achieve this type of goal, as follows:

  • Always go out of your way in order to solve each individual issue and find a way to make the customer happy.
  • Address the problems as fast as possible, don’t reply after a week.
  • Be professional and address customers properly, this matters a lot.
  • Try to go one step beyond what’s expected and offer them a discount or anything that might be of service to them.
  • Be consistent, don’t handle the reputation from time to time. Consistency is key if you want to have a professional image for your company
  • Engage with the community and allow them to help the person who has trouble with your products or services.
  • Try to be likeable, always reply fast and cordially. Address the situation firsthand and try to find immediate solutions. Everyone wants to find a great solution fast, so that’s exactly what you need to do here.

Since words travel quickly on social media and review sites, even a few negative reviews can have a major impact on your business. This is why you should be very careful in regards to how you address each review and when you do it. If you don’t do it properly you will actually end up damaging your company’s image. Try to always find solutions to your customer’s issues and give something back all the time. If you handle your online reputation properly you will end up generating even more business, you just have to do it right!

We believe UNIFYmts is one of the top Toledo Ohio social media marketing companies and we want to prove that to you by helping grow your business! Contact us today to hear more about our services.