Maintaining a Positive Brand Image in the Digital World
It is no secret to anyone, especially business owners, that
the introduction of the Internet has changed a lot of things from our social
interactions to how we make purchases. Before the World Wide Web came into
existence, a reputation was something a business worked to build and did not
necessarily worry about managing. Now, a lot of how a company is perceived has
to do with how they are presented on the Internet, whether the company is Web
based or not. In a world where anyone can write anything about anyone or any
business in any forum, it is important to make sure your business’s brand
reputation is being monitored to protect it from defamation and other damaging
instances online.
Know the Importance of Protecting Your Reputation
While online review sites can be great for businesses, they
can also be very damaging. All it takes is one disgruntled customer, a computer,
and an audience of other current or potential clients and the business’s entire
reputation can be ruined with a single keystroke. This is why it is vital for
business owners to know the importance of brand reputation and how they can
effectively protect it. One way is by hiring a reputation management company –
these organizations will use different tools to help monitor what is being said
about your business online and report back findings so you can take action.
Another, more cost effective way to handle protection is to
utilize some free or inexpensive tools to do the same thing. Some of these
tools include TweetBeep, Social Mention and Google Alerts among others – all of
these tools will help you to locate and monitor when your business is being
mentioned and help you to counteract any negative posts or comments. If you
choose to hire an outside company to monitor this for you, make sure they do
not employ tactics like creating social media simply to flood the Web with
positive comments about the business. These tactics are generally frowned upon
and can sometimes be more damaging to the company than negative comments from
actual customers.
Be Realistic About What You Can Control
The truth is, no matter how much you monitor or counteract
negative feedback online, there is no full proof way to prevent unhappy clients
from posting potentially damaging things. This is why it is important for you
to know what exactly you have control over and what you do not, which will help
to not send the business over the deep end when it comes to preventive measures.
Although there is no way to stop negative comments, there are ways to stop
potential new clients from seeing them. While it may be easy to send someone
looking for more information about the business to a review site to research
the information themselves, this is probably the worst thing a business can do.
Never point customers directly to a source that could potentially have a
damaging effect on your reputation.
Do Not Ignore the Internet
The Internet is everywhere – on our computers, our smartphone,
and our tablets or iPads, and everyone is using it to do
pretty much everything. While it may seem like a good idea to just ignore its
existence and pretend nothing bad is being said about the business online, this
can actually do more bad than good. Unanswered negative comments or lack of
improvement in areas being complained about online can lead to speculation from
clients and customers – this laid back attitude about online review sites can
lead consumers to believe that you simply do not care about what is being said,
and worse, you do not care about your customers. Being proactive in knowing and
counteracting any negative feedback is the key to making sure the business’s
reputation is not smeared across the Internet.
If you found this small business tip useful, you should read
Stacy O'Quinn's blog! Stacy has helped many small business and home business
owners create a more successful and profitable business. For more information
about Stacy, click here.
*Photo Courtesy of Gayla-Baer Taylor via Creative Commons License
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