Whether you know it or not, people are talking about you online. From blog posts and social media comments to user generated reviews, your business\u2019 online reputation can directly influence customer satisfaction and loyalty. And having a not-so-great reputation can mean the difference between a customer choosing you or your competitor.\u00a0 Master these six reputation management basics to build a stellar online reputation.<\/span><\/p>\n 1. Know What\u2019s Being Said about You<\/span><\/strong> 2. Respond to (Some) Reviews<\/span><\/strong> 3. Ask for Positive Reviews<\/span><\/strong> 4. Join the Social Conversation<\/span><\/strong> 5. Claim your Local Listings<\/span><\/strong> 6. Turn the Tables on Customer Complaints<\/span><\/strong> Whether you know it or not, people are talking about you online. From blog posts and social media comments to user generated reviews, your business\u2019 online reputation can directly influence customer satisfaction and loyalty. And having a not-so-great reputation can mean the difference between a customer choosing you or your competitor.\u00a0 Master these six reputation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[30,21,28,27,20],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/967"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=967"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":968,"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/967\/revisions\/968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.webigg.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
First, you need to know where consumers are talking \u2013and what they are saying about your business. Search for \u201cyour business name] reviews\u201d, or \u201c[your business name] complaints\u201d on top search engines and review sites. You can also use tools like\u00a0Google Alerts,\u00a0Twitter, and\u00a0Social Search\u00a0to monitor your business name, and don\u2019t forget check them regularly \u2013 at least once a day.<\/span><\/p>\n
Some reviews\u2014even negative ones\u2014can work in your favor if you respond the right way. Negative reviews can\u2019t be deleted, but you can apologize for the customer\u2019s poor experience and ask them to contact you offline to resolve their complaint. Don\u2019t just respond to the negative reviews, though. Genuinely thanking customers publicly for a positive review can also encourage repeat business and elicit positive reviews from other happy customers. Yelp offers these\u00a0tips for responding to reviews.<\/span><\/p>\n
Want more positive reviews?\u00a0Ask for them. You can send loyal customers a postcard or email, or simply ask them after a store visit or service call to go online and leave a review of their experience on a site such as Yelp or\u00a0Google Places. Give it a try \u2013 chances are pretty good your customers will respond with a positive review.<\/span><\/p>\n
Once you know where consumers are talking about your business, you can join the conversation. Add new consumers to your network by following them on social media. Then reply to, comment on, or share their content \u2013 in addition to creating your own. Don\u2019t just use this as an opportunity to push your products or services; also share helpful tips, interesting stories, photos, videos, and more to engage your consumers. Sometimes people are more interested in what you have to say than what you have to sell.<\/span><\/p>\n
What do local online listings have to do with your reputation? A lot!\u00a0Claiming your listings\u00a0on local directories and review sites ensures consumers find accurate and consistent information about your business. You can even use your listings to highlight customer reviews, special offers, or photos and videos of your products and services. Doing so will increase the amount of positive content people see about your business when they search for you online.<\/span><\/p>\n
Customers aren\u2019t just complaining \u2013 they\u2019re giving you valuable information. So take action! Use the feedback you get from online comments and reviews to improve your product offerings, customer service, and other business operations. For instance, if you see a lot of negative comments about the long lines at your store on Saturday mornings, you might increase the number of employees working that shift. Let your customers know you\u2019re listening, and you care about what they have to say!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"