Every business works hard, or at least we hope they do, to make sure they reach their goals. One of these goals must be to ensure that they keep their customers happy. “Why,” you ask? Because for a business, an online reputation can make or break it as it affects how customers perceive it.   

A reputation is important to manage and monitor as it can change from various factors at various times. That is why a brand’s online reputation should be taken seriously as it is an important part of achieving long-term success. 

What is an Online Reputation?

Online reputation is the perception that other people have of your business based on what they read about your business online and through digital media. Things like online reviews and testimonials are different ways that help people build an idea in their heads of what they should think about your business. That is why you must strive to develop a good online reputation as it can encourage others to deal with your business. Without a good online reputation, you might miss out on new opportunities. 

Your online reputation doesn’t just depend on reviews and testimonials though. It also includes factors such as search rankings, images, social media mentions, and videos. The value and type of content you write also affect your online reputation. 

An Online Reputation Can Change in Minute

Maybe you messed up and forgot something for a customer. Maybe it was just an honest mistake. Nonetheless, that one bad experience to a customer can lead to them leaving a negative review on your website or other places. This can lead to sort of a trickling effect from other customers. Next thing you know, your business’s 5-star rating drops down to 3 stars. This can happen pretty quickly too, which can give potential customers a negative impression of your brand.

We all like to go with trusted and reliable businesses when it comes to who we want to do business with. This is because those reviews, usually, are honest reviews for that company. 

In an ideal world, we all would like for our customers to perform some good in-depth research about our business before they trust online reviews. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Once they see those one or two negative reviews, they might be a bit turned off from your business and decide to use another company. That is why it is important to constantly monitor your brand’s online reputation. 

Ways To Achieve or Maintain a Positive Online Reputation

To prevent having a negative dip in your online reputation, you have to use some practices to develop that positive online reputation. Here are some possible methods you can use to improve or maintain your current online reputation

Monitoring Any Online Mentions

You should be on the lookout for any mentions by people about you and your business. The reason for this is because it presents you with an opportunity to reply to the person who mentioned you with a thoughtful response. With the right response, you can build a positive online reputation showing that you care about each of your customers. Whenever people mention you, they can expect to receive some sort of response to it, which helps develop and nurture that business-consumer relationship.

Write and Publish Trustworthy and Valuable Content

During their buyer’s journey, the buyer will want to make sure they come to the best decision possible. To aid in their decision-making, they will want to educate themselves about their problem and find solutions that can help them with said problem. That is where it would benefit your business to write informative and educational content and post it on your website. One example of educational content is a blog. Your blog must be trustworthy, reliable, and provide great value to potential buyers. This can help build that trust between your business and customers, which can lead to a more positive online reputation. 

Conducting SEO for Your Website and Content

Think about the times you’ve typed some keywords into a search engine to help you find what you are looking for. The first results that pop up are usually the ones that search engines deem relevant and of value to you. In your brand’s case, if it doesn’t pop up on that first page or two, then people will likely think your website and content aren’t trustworthy. This can lead to your brand developing a negative online reputation, which you want to avoid. Take some time to optimize your website as well as your content for SEO. This can help them rank higher, get more eyes on them, and be perceived as more trustworthy and reliable. 

Contacting The Source of Negative Reviews

One thing you can address to improve your online reputation is people who’ve said anything negative about your business. This doesn’t mean to reach out to those people and sort of force them into changing their reviews. What you should do is contact them and ask them why they left that review. From there, you can address their concerns and issues with your business and, hopefully, they can edit their review to a more positive one. You’ve probably seen negative reviews under a Google business page, and then see it turn into a positive one. Chances are, that the business contacted and responded to that person and resolved any issues they had with them. 

Promote Customer Reviews

Promoting customer online reviews can be a great way to encourage more reviews for your business. Don’t just ask for positive reviews and not offer something in return. Instead, give them some sort of incentive for leaving you with a positive review instead of nothing at all. Ask for a review after you process an order and perhaps give them a small coupon code they can redeem on their next purchase. Small things like this can encourage more people to leave reviews. 

Develop Business Profiles

A simple thing you can do to promote a more positive view of your business is editing your business’s profiles. This encompasses your business listings, social media accounts, and biographies. For example, let’s say there is a business whose social media bios don’t contain any sort of links to their website. This can affect your online reputation as you are missing out on potentially many opportunities for people to get to know your business. 

Be Consistent

Whenever you are handling anything that can impact your brand’s online reputation, be sure to be consistent with your promises. If you are addressing a negative review with someone, and say that you will give them a discount on their next purchase, you better make sure you deliver on that promise. You can only say so much before people realize you aren’t delivering on your promises. When they find out that you aren’t doing what you said you were going to do, then expect to have a negative dip in your online reputation. 

Hold Contests and Giveaways

A good way to develop a positive online reputation is by engaging with your customers, and what better way to engage with them than with contests and giveaways. These contests and giveaways can tell your customers that you are giving back to them as sort of a thank you for being a loyal customer. This engagement with your customers can give your brand a more personable face than one that doesn’t engage with customers. It tells them you aren’t just a faceless business trying to get their money and call it a day. 

Online Reputation Monitoring

Online reputation monitoring is beneficial so you can be on the lookout for any reviews that can impact your brand’s online reputation. For the negative reviews, you can determine if it is from a disgruntled customer, or if it is a genuine one. From there, do anything you can to resolve their issues and hope that they change their reviews. You can also engage with people who left more positive reviews and thank them for their reviews. Your brand can come off more personal and positive as a result. 

Monitor Your Brand’s Online Reputation

Your brand’s online reputation is important to the success of your business. Nobody wants to go with a brand that has a ton of 1 or 2-star reviews. They want to go with brands that have a loyal customer base, positive reviews, and where they don’t feel like just a customer. To achieve that positive online reputation, you must constantly monitor your brand’s online reputation. 

Monitoring your brand’s online reputation shouldn’t be something you neglect and push aside. It can change pretty quickly so best to keep an eye on it. Remember, your brand’s online reputation matters.

Here at WunderTRE, we believe in providing better experiences for clients and their customers. You can check out the different ways we can help you here and if you are interested in using our services, feel free to contact us here!