Your business is your lifeblood. For the most part, you make every phone call, respond to every email, and hire just the right people for your other tasks, and try to keep a good rapport with other businesses and clients. But there are always those instances that can leave a poor rating on your business. Maybe you or an employee were having a busy morning and came off in a slightly negative way. Perhaps you were so short-handed that you couldn’t get to a customer in a timely fashion. Whatever the case is, someone will always find fault with your business, even if they are your greatest customer. That is why you need an agency to handle your reputation.
Reputation Management In A Nutshell
When you perform a service for a client, and they weren’t 100 % thrilled with every aspect of the service, they might leave a poor rating or online review (or both!). Unless you look on every review page, you may not see the positive or negative reviews. Perhaps you may not have any reviews at all (we’ll cover that later)! An online marketing agency will do the dirty work for you. They scope out each review and respond professionally and promptly. Did you know that just one negative review can have an effect on the next several individuals that are browsing your business? 88% of consumers will take the time to read about a local business but only 77% will actually use the service after seeing just one positive review! If you still don’t feel persuaded by reputation management, read on.
Your Brand
First off, your image is directly affected by positive or negative reviews. Your public persona and brand that you have worked long, dedicated hours on is constantly at risk, especially when you don’t hit those reviews head on. The reputation management team will check your online social media platforms and other sites that are gaining reviews. Your image is the face of your business and one negative review can alter that image completely. Someone might have over-exaggerated a situation, but do you want to take the chance that others see that negative review? Even worse, you don’t respond to the accusations. These twists in interpretation are really starting to hurt your brand but you may not be aware of it.
Building Trust
You don’t always have the time or focus to respond as swiftly, efficiently, and personally to each client. This can be a daunting task for you as an owner and potentially mislead your clients. Negative reviews can be intimidating as well. But responding to those negative reviews the day that you notice it could bring those unhappy customers back. This builds a trust and bond that show the customer that you care more about the service you provide than making a sale. Sometimes, a quick response can turn a skeptic into a believer. You may even have another service that best suit their needs but you won’t know until you build their trust. Your reputation management team will handle even the most difficult customer review and keep your business on track.
Credibility
Whether you’re a small business or a flourishing corporation, reviews matters. A bad review can interfere with future employees. When you are looking to fill a position right away, the last thing you need is a potential new hire digging up false information about your company as a whole. Past disgruntled employees may have been let go for various reason and they are more apt to leave a negative or false review. Nobody knows that it’s a false statement, but the future employee is seeing this as a representation of your business. A reputation management team helps build credibility to your business even on reviews that are one star less than five. They are skilled in seeking out past clients to find out why they didn’t have a 5-star experience.
Your Time Is Money
You spend most of your days carrying out what you want to do to expand your business. You may skim past a few reviews but you simply do not have the time or focus to address each response. A reputation specialist from our online marketing agency can put your mind at ease while you carry your day-to-day responsibilities.
What if I have don’t have any reviews?
Generally, your reviews are an accurate portrayal of your business practices. But what if they say nothing at all? If you’ve been in business for a while and you’ve accumulated enough clientele to keep your business moving, you should see a steady stream of reviews, positive or negative. But if you don’t have a review or two within the last year, this could still reflect poorly on your business. It is important that everyone leaves a review, good or bad. But no client reviews leave your potential customers questioning the professionalism of your business. No one likes to see a bad review, but not having a review from at least one client isn’t exactly helpful either. A negative review from someone doesn’t mean that it’s negative for everyone. They may have expected a different outcome from one of your services and weren’t happy with the results, no fault of your own. Maybe the unsatisfied client didn’t like your office layout and prefers a colorful setting when they come in to do business. Perhaps you didn’t have a public restroom available. As juvenile as that seems, these types of reviews happen more often than you think. A marketing agency with reputation management skills comes in handy for even the pettiest complaints and issues. They are ready to answer questions and help you achieve better rankings through positive customer reviews.
Keep Up With The Competitors
Reputation management is very insightful for keeping tabs on what your competitors are doing and what they’re saying about you and your business. Yes, it is possible for other competitors’ employees to leave negative reviews that direct the viewers to their brand and website.
Sales are on the rise…or are they?
Many consumers perform thorough research for accuracy and creditability before they choose a service or brand. When you need a specific item, you look for the most reputable place with high ratings and customer appreciation and satisfaction, right? The same goes for your service. Your potential clients are going to scope out the area online for companies that give the best customer service while staying true to their brand. Your reputation online is the difference between the next sale and the next passerby. This is more than just a positive or negative review. Our team of experts can not only turn a past experience into future sales, but also take notes and offer suggestions to management. The consumers are taking the time to let you know how your service affected them, the least you can do is follow up. Take their cares and concerns into consideration as well. Not all positive reviews are 100% positive so pay attention to the fine details.
Don’t let a poor review or rating determine your brand’s success. Get the expert assistance you need from our reputation specialists at Main Street Media 360.
