Negative feedback is a part of doing business, and that’s okay. In some cases, it can be invaluable, and it is usually balanced out by customers who have had a positive experience with your products and services. The role of reputation management is to make you aware of these experiences in order to improve your products and services and their perception online. In this article, we will discuss the best practices for building an online reputation management plan for businesses in the Arlington Heights, Illinois area.
1. Monitor the Right Keywords
Before you start laying out the action plan, it’s important to figure out which avenues and keywords to monitor. There are several review websites that you’ll want to keep an eye on, as well as social media websites, where people will talk about your company. However, if you reach a wide customer base, and if your products are discussed in casual conversations, you’ll want to monitor specific keywords in order to get a full view of what your online reputation looks like.
Here are some of the keywords you should monitor:
- Your company name
- Your products and services
- High profile employees
- Industry-related keywords
- Your competitors’ company names
2. Make Full Use of Online Reputation Management Tools in Arlington Heights
Reputation management tools can make your job a lot easier, so it’s important to account for them when calculating your marketing budget. Of course, you will likely find more tools along the way as you discover the various aspects of reputation management. Some tools will help you monitor social media, while others will keep an eye on review websites and alert you whenever a customer leaves feedback. Most of these tools can also be customized so that you only receive alerts when you get a negative review, for example. All in all, these tools will make your life a lot easier and improve the efficiency of your efforts.
3. Engage Your Customers
A big part of reputation management is actually responding to your clients’ issues and concerns in a timely fashion. This is especially true when it comes to negative reviews, and multiple complaints regarding a single issue. In fact, according to Sprout Social, social media is currently preferred by 34.5% of users as a customer care option. This is followed by live chat at 24.7%, email at 19.4%, phone at 16.1%, and in-store help at 5.3%. Customer issues are also a lot more visible on social media than through other customer care avenues because they are posted publicly. As such, it’s important that your reputation management campaign has a strong social media component, where your team engages with customers directly in order to solve issues in a constructive and collaborative manner.
4. Encourage Social Media Reviews
Engaging in customer service on a public platform is a double-edged sword. Sure, bad reviews are more visible, but positive feedback is much more visible as well. Always try to encourage people to leave positive reviews on social media if they enjoy your products or services. This can be done through images, links in posts or on your website, direct calls-to-action in posts, post-purchase emails, on-site customer service, and even by asking for reviews on your online receipts. By doing this consistently, you will eventually start to see compounded benefits, and as other people will join in the conversation, you’ll create a very positive image for your brand.
These are just several of the techniques that should be taken into account when engaging in reputation management in Arlington Heights. If you would like to learn more, do not hesitate to contact us directly and speak with one of our team members.