Do you know how you are perceived or what is being said about you, your brand or your company? A report published by Eagle Eye in 2020 showed that 33% of Canadian consumers visit a ratings and review website, and 31% a social network, before making a purchase1.
At a time when online reviews and influencer marketing are prominent, your reputation may be the reason why a customer or employee decides to choose you… or not. Managing your reputation should therefore be a priority, whether you are part of a company or operating on your own. Here are 3 steps to cover the basics.
1 – Research
In today’s virtual world, your reputation will be impacted by online content so you first need to understand how you are perceived. Start with researching your name or brand to see what is out there and what this content conveys about you or your company/products:
- On social media platforms, in websites and review pages: Where do your name and brand appear? What are people saying about you, your company, your products and services? How are they reacting to your posts? What reviews do you receive from employees and customers and why?
- In the news: Are you in the media? How are you portrayed and by whom?
- On search engines: What information comes up when you search your name or brand? Is it accurate and up to date (e.g. coordinates, type of offering…)?
Word of mouth remains important too as people tend to seek others’ feedback on an experience or product to validate their intention. Ask your customers, employees, friends and family members how they perceive you or your service or product (positive and negative sentiments). If you operate or work with a call centre, get their feedback too. Also, review your customer experience process from your customer’s point of view to identify any points of friction.
2 – Address
Based on your findings, ensure you quickly and permanently address any weakness you uncover. Hire external support to help you with the issues that are outside of your expertise. Make sure your actions and responses are consistent so your customers feel they are treated fairly and equally.
- Proactively address any negative perception and make sure you fix the root causes. For example, if people complain about the rapidity of your service, update your process to improve your response time consistently going forward.
- Follow through any commitment you make and ensure the solution is effective. The last thing you want is a customer who keeps posting that the solutions you offered failed repeatedly. Request reviews from satisfied customers to showcase your ability and willingness to address issues.
- Correct errors and omissions in key listings or sites, such as changed operating hours if you provide in-person services, expired offers, or new coordinates.
- Capture positive feedback to share them via testimonials or stories on your website, on social media, or in your advertising and promotional content.
3 – Maintain
Maintaining your reputation is not complicated if you remain proactive. Once you have addressed your findings, create and implement an ongoing monitoring and promotional process. It should include:
- Ongoing monitoring of social media, news platforms, customer feedback and review pages. One way of doing it is to create automated alerts from your search engine which will inform you each time your name or your brand is mentioned in the news or social media. Most search engines allow you to do so at no charge or you can invest in monitoring services.
- Promoting your successes and accomplishments on all your platforms and to the media. You can do so in your posts, with press releases, during speaking engagements, via testimonials or on your website to name a few.
- It is normal that issues arise from time to time. Address them right away before they become a problem that tarnishes your reputation.
- Conducting regular audits of your key processes and addressing any weaknesses quickly.
You cannot please everyone so be mindful of the tone and content of anything your post on social media. Avoid topics that have a potential to generate highly emotional responses or controversy if you can. Keep your messages on brand, relevant, simple, and factual.
Last, when communicating your findings, response and successes, practice what I call “sustainable communications.” Anything you publish today will follow you pretty much for ever, particularly on the Web. Make sure what you communicate today takes your long-term vision and goals into consideration.
- Source: Eagle Eye, The Connected Customer – Maximising the Benefits of Performance Marketing to Reach Canadian Consumers
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