A common misconception is that your online reputation is out of your control. Of course, it can be influenced by great customer service, but aside from that, it’s not worth worrying about, right? Wrong. Your site and store could be the best out there, but if your reputation doesn’t live up to your branding, this imbalance can steer people away.

So, how exactly do you manage this reputation, or improve it? Thankfully, there are some simple things you can do to monitor your online reputation. In this post, you’ll find everything you need to know about online reputation management for small businesses, along with some handy tips to get you started.

What Online Reputation Management Consists Of

Your small business’s overall reputation online is made up of a few different things. Knowing what these things are, and where to find them, is a smart first step. Then it’ll be much easier to check up on them regularly, and if needed, figure out how to respond.

In the most basic terms, your online reputation is defined by what is said online about your business. Here are some of the things that can contribute to your online reputation:

Reviews - These can be found on your site if you offer that option to customers. Or, they’ll appear across the internet, on search engines like Google, and sites like Trustpilot. If you sell your products on Etsy or Amazon, you’ll be able to find your reviews easily, as they’re already built into your store.

Blog posts - A huge number of people read blogs and trust what bloggers have to say about products. A blog post that affects your online reputation will be opinion based and might include a product trial, or review. Or, your small business might appear on a listicle, such as favorite, or least favorite things this month.

Traditional Media - While this might be less common when it comes to small businesses, news sites can also write about your products or services. Usually, this is a great move for your online reputation, as it adds a touch of professionalism to your brand and increases visibility for your business. However, if a news site isn’t writing specifically about your business, it may be writing about your industry niche, and market trend analysis such as this can also influence your online reputation.

Social Media Comments - Finally, you can gain an insight into your online reputation by searching through the comments on your social media. While many comments will be from those who like your business, you can count on the fact that people tend not to hold their tongues on social media. If something is amiss with your business or service, reviews, and social media comments are likely how you’ll find out about it.

Why Is Online Reputation Important?

 Even though you can chalk it up to ‘talk’, you shouldn’t underestimate the power your online reputation has. Up to 93% of consumers say they read reviews online before deciding whether to purchase a product.

It Gets You Customers and Leads

In many cases, people view your online reputation just like they do a friend’s opinion. In fact, 91% of 18–34-year-olds trust reviews equally as much as a recommendation from a friend. If your small business has impressed before, a positive review will help bring more customers to your site, or store, who already have a positive impression of your business. However, this means expectations are high, so providing each customer with a top-notch experience is the best way to maintain a positive online reputation.

It Lets You Know what to Improve

When it comes to improving your online reputation, it often starts with improving your service, or offerings. There’s nothing better than customer feedback to guide you to areas of potential improvement you can focus on. However, negative reviews and reactions to your small business can often be raw and emotional. Deciphering actionable points for improvement from a not-so-nice review is the real skill here.

How Small Businesses Can Monitor Online Reputation…

Now that you know what makes up your online reputation, and why it’s important, how can you monitor it? Keeping on top of what people say about you online, is actually quite easy. In general, you should keep a close eye on any chatter about your small business online.

You can create accounts on online review sites, and this will also give you the option to respond to reviews about your small business. You can set up alerts for your business’s name and keywords on search engines, and this way, whenever a news site writes about your small business or your niche, you’ll be one of the first to know. Finally, if you have the resources to spare, a social media manager will not only keep your accounts active but will monitor comments to determine what potential customers want from your brand. This is invaluable information when it comes to everything from improving user accessibility on your site to launching new products or branding changes.

How to Improve Your Small Business’s Online Reputation…

Monitoring your small business’s online reputation is one thing, but improving it is a whole other story. However, if someone writes a negative review or social media comment about your business, it’s not the end of the world. In fact, this is your chance to show that their experience was one of a kind and not the experience you intend to give your customers. Here are some tips for improving your online reputation:

• It All Starts with Service - Prevention is always easier than cure, and this is true when it comes to negative online reputations too. Providing each of your customers with top-notch service the first time around will prevent negative reviews from cropping up. However, great service will also help to combat any negative press you’ve received and decrease the ripple effect of negative opinions.
• Respond to All Reviews, or Comments on Social Media - A great way to improve your online reputation, is to be active in your community. Responding to comments and reviews, whether they are positive or negative, will let potential customers know how accessible you are. This way, if someone has a bad experience with your small business, they’ll be more likely to come to you for a resolution, than post about it online. Responding to negative reviews correctly does take some practice, though. An apology, an assurance that this is not the standard your business holds itself to, along with an offer of compensation for their bad experience, is usually a good way to go.
• Provide Customers with Lots of Contact Points - Following on from the above, a good way to mitigate negative talk about your business online is to get customers to come to you first. Providing a support page on your site, or a dedicated complaints email, allows you to get a handle on negative situations, and work to mitigate them. This can also alert other customers that you are more than willing to discuss and work through potentially difficult situations and prevent negative reviews.
• Provide Testimonials - When you receive a positive review of your products or services, highlighting this on your site is a great way to go. If potential customers have a neutral perception of your brand when they visit your site, testimonials will assure them that you provide a top-notch customer experience. This also saves the customer from scouring review sites themselves and provides all the benefits of positive reviews and recommendations, without a lead ever leaving your site. However, not everyone is going to like your business, so never hide or delete negative reviews. Instead, face them head-on and change that customer’s mind.
• Consider an Influencer Marketing Strategy - We’ve covered how you can improve your online reputation after a bad review, but what about when it comes to blogs and social media? Reaching out to influencers in your industry niche for an honest review of your small business can help build your online reputation. Offer a free product, or trial of your services, in return for honest opinions. This exposure for your business is useful and is more wide-reaching than basic reviews. But be warned, just because you’ve given your product to an influencer or blogger for free, doesn’t guarantee a great review. Building up a sound partnership with influencers first and providing them with the great service you should be known for, will help create a positive final post. If they do create a positive review, share their work on your site, or on your own business blog - that way everybody benefits from the exposure.

Online reputation management can determine your business’s success and growth rate, but it’s not the only facet that contributes to opinions about your business. Providing every customer with great service from the start and tackling negative reviews with kindness and dedication to rectify the situation, are two surefire ways to ensure a great online reputation. However, everything from the ease of use of your web design, to the packaging you use for your products can have an impact on a customer’s experience. No detail is too big, or too small, so focus on customer experience first, and handling any negative contributions to your online reputation when it comes to it. This will ensure a balance between the way your small business operates, and the perception of it your customers choose to create online.

Sources

• https://www.qualtrics.com/blog/online-review-stats/
• https://www.xero.com/uk/guides/online-reputation-management/
• https://articles.bplans.com/manage-business-online-reputation/

The post The Importance of Online Reputation Management for Small Businesses appeared first on MoneyThumb.

Even a few negative reviews may have an impact on a large number of potential customers, altering their opinion of your business and pushing them away from trying it for themselves. Alternately, positive reviews can drive customers to choose your business over its competition without ever having visited your site or store. This influence makes positive reviews crucial to the success of a growing business.

By understanding how and why customers leave positive and negative reviews, you can increase customer satisfaction and position your business for success in the digital age. In this article, we’ll explore why positive reviews are paramount to business success, and how you can deal with negative reviews and manage your reputation to take your business to the top.

Understanding the Power of Online Reviews

You may think reading and responding to your business’s reviews is just another thing on your to-do list. To customers, however, reviews are one of, if not the deciding factor in choosing your business over another. In fact, according to Invesp, 78% of consumers will not purchase a product or service until they have read a positive review of it. On the other hand, 86% of customers will hold off on their purchase if they see your business has any number of negative reviews.

It’s stats like these which put into perspective for business owners just how important reviews are. Reviews are a social currency, and by providing each customer with a great experience, you can earn enough to get ahead of your competition. Positive reviews give your brand credibility, signal to other customers that your business is trustworthy and reliable, and reassure others as to your expertise. Even a single negative review can do the opposite, guiding potential customers away from your business.

The Benefits of Positive Reviews

Now that you know why it’s important to avoid bad reviews, let’s take a closer look at what positive reviews can do for your business’s success. A few positive reviews can:

Increase Visibility

Visibility is everything to a growing business that is attempting to attract customers and keep them coming back. Many review sites will offer rankings like ‘best businesses in the area’ or ‘best for tech’, based on the quantity and quality of reviews that those businesses have received in a certain period. Making it onto these lists can be a game changer for a small business. Not to mention, any potential partners like influencers, journalists, or other business officials can be directed to your reviews and shown just how advantageous a partnership with you could be.

Build Trust

If a customer has never patronized your business before, they have no idea what to expect. Any fraudster can create a beautiful, professional site these days, so an online presence is no guarantee of veracity. This is why genuine businesses work hard to build up a reputation of reliability so that first-time customers know they can trust them. Positive reviews take on this time-consuming task for you, playing a huge part in customer conversion.

Strengthen Branding

Similarly to the above benefit, positive reviews can strengthen your brand by reinforcing certain aspects. If your branding is all about being there for your customers when they need help, and a positive review states how kind and timely your customer assistance was, it strengthens that perception of your business. This alignment between positive reviews and your brand messaging not only verifies the authenticity of your brand but creates a cohesive and compelling narrative that can resonate with your target audience.

Where to Look For Your Reviews

You may find that, even if you haven’t set up a profile for your business on certain review sites, your customers have already started to leave reviews. Sites to check for your reviews include:

• Yelp - One of the most popular review platforms, Yelp covers various industries and allows customers to rate businesses as well as leave reviews.
• Tripadvisor - For those in the hospitality industry, a TripAdvisor profile for your business is a must.
• Yellow Pages - The place to go for small business reviews. If you have physical premises and are looking to impress local clientele, check out your reviews on Yellow Pages.
• TrustPilot - For those more traditional businesses and e-commerce stores, TrustPilot is all about establishing trust between businesses and potential customers.
• Google Reviews - Perhaps the most visible reviews you’ll have online, Google Reviews are often automatically shown to anyone who searches your business’s name.
• Facebook - With one of the largest user bases of any social media site, reviews on Facebook can greatly increase your visibility and bolster your brand.
• Better Business Bureau - A widely trusted organization, the BBB assigns your business a rating based on the customer feedback it receives.

Make a note of all the sites where customers are leaving reviews of your business. Although checking all of these sites regularly seems like a large commitment, it’s best practice to get around them all and “claim” your business on each of them. This consistent activity and commitment to your customers will aid in reputation management if you do happen to receive a negative review. If you have a social media manager, talk to them about the possibility of adding review responsibilities to their contract to make sure every review is responded to across all sites.

How to Increase Positive Reviews For Your Business

Positive reviews are a great benefit to businesses of all sizes. But in many ways, it’s easier to get negative reviews than positive ones, even if your business is as good as it can be. This is because customers expect to have a positive experience of your business, so your providing that is nothing to write home about. However, when they have a negative experience, customers are much more likely to warn others about it. Here are some ways you can encourage positive reviews:

Great Customer Service - Of course, the best way to get positive reviews is to provide positive experiences. Ensuring your customer-facing staff are knowledgable, well-trained, and prepared to answer any questions will go a long way to meeting customer expectations. Should any issues arise, it’s best to apologize, before promptly addressing any concerns or issues. Active involvement in customer experiences can turn a potentially negative review into a positive one.

Flexibility - Contrary to popular belief, one size doesn’t fit all, and not every customer can adhere to your 2-week return policy or follow the same processes as your other clients. A little bit of flexibility regarding your policies will go a long way to providing unique and positive customer experiences. When customers see that you’ve gone out of your way to accommodate them, they’ll be much more likely to leave a positive review.

Incentives - Another way to encourage customers to leave reviews is to offer them incentives. For example, if you run an e-commerce store, remind customers at checkout that they can leave a review on the relevant sites, and offer them 10% off their next purchase if they do so. This can increase the number of reviews your business has, while giving customers enough freedom and agency, to be honest about their experience.

Focus on Repeat Buyers - We know we already mentioned great customer service, but it bears repeating. If a customer has had a fabulous experience with your business before, but has never left a review, a negative experience will push them to do just this. Incredible customer service is the key to good reviews, but consistency in your customer service is arguably even more important. Don’t let your repeat customers down or take them for granted.

How to Deal With Negative Reviews

Even a single negative review can have a knock-on effect on your conversion and subsequent reviews. This is why dealing with negative reviews is important to ensure that a particular unhappy customer is mollified, but also to protect your reputation when it comes to potential customers. Here are some tips that will help you navigate the negativity:

Create Conversations - Negative reviews should always receive a reply, even if it seems there is no constructive criticism included. Many times, customers simply want to feel that their voices are being heard and something is being done to rectify the issue. Try and ignore any angry or annoyed sentiment in a review and focus on the issue at hand. By replying to reviews with an apology and a request for the customer to contact you, you can ask them further questions, get to the bottom of their problem, and fix the issue.

Monitor and Analyze Feedback - It’s a good idea to make a note of any constructive criticism you do receive, as well as the areas of your business that most often receive negative attention. For example, once you’ve sorted your negative reviews into relevant categories, you may find a large number of customers have issues with late deliveries. Now you know exactly what areas of your business you need to focus on improving.

Genuine Improvement - Negative reviews, though they can be damaging and slow your success, are incredibly valuable. The key to making negative reviews work for you is in picking out workable criticisms and disregarding mean-spirited critiques. Once you’ve analyzed any negative reviews and found the areas which need work, it’s time to find out what’s going wrong and how you can fix it. When customers see that you have a genuine desire to improve and provide exceptional experiences to everyone, they may alter their review or remove it entirely.

Second Chances - A small gratuity, such as a refund of delivery fees, can go a long way to solving an unhappy customer’s problems. However, you’ll find many successful businesses find a way to make this work for both the customer and their company. A tried and tested method is to resolve the customer’s complaint, then politely ask them to give your business a second chance with a free item or significant discount. This protects your reputation, and even bolsters it, by showing just how customer-focused you are.

Conclusion

Understanding the power that reviews, both positive and negative, have on your business will ensure you dedicate adequate time to dealing with them. Positive reviews can strengthen your brand, help you attract customers, convert customers who aren’t even in the sales funnel, and significantly impact your business’s growth. On the other hand, negative reviews can leave a permanent stain on your reputation.

Knowing how to handle negative reviews takes practice, but an active approach coupled with a genuine desire to make every customer experience the best it can be is a great place to start. Use negative reviews to find out how you can improve your business and avoid such criticism in the future. By making genuine changes and requesting that these unhappy customers give you a second chance, you can showcase your commitment to your clients.

Embracing the significance of online reviews and offering unbeatable customer service can increase positive feedback. Coupled with this, by effectively reacting to negative reviews, you can push your business forward in the competitive digital age. By prioritizing customer satisfaction and continuously improving your offerings, you’ll create a positive online reputation that attracts and retains customers.

Sources

• https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/reputation-management/
• https://www.invespcro.com/blog/the-importance-of-online-customer-reviews-infographic/
• https://www.21digital.agency/blog/key-advantages-of-customer-reviews-for-your-business/
• https://www.e-satisfaction.com/7-reasons-why-customer-reviews-are-important/
• https://mention.com/en/blog/online-reviews/
• https://blog.hubspot.com/service/get-customer-reviews
• https://www.business.com/articles/tips-for-getting-positive-reviews/
• https://trustmary.com/reviews/sites-where-you-can-find-online-reviews-for-businesses/
• https://www.sba.gov/blog/essential-steps-handle-negative-reviews
• https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6503-negative-customer-reviews.html

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