There are white papers aplenty that show that 100% positive feedback can look suspicious. The first point I would like to make about online reputation management is that it isn’t about suppression of customers’ viewpoints, it is first and foremost about taking both a proactive and reactive approach to managing your company’s online presence.
If we delve into the mindset of our buyers we’ll realise the reason that they leave bad reviews. They are frustrated! As business owners, it is vital that we address these issues and improve in an iterative manner. Whatever you do – don’t just ignore them or brush these views under the carpet.
Here’s a few tips to help you, as a business owner, keep your online reputation in check:
1) If you make a mistake then deal with the fallout professionally and learn from your mistakes!
Don’t make the matter worse by lying or trying to cover it up. Do put out a press release or official response in all of the usual places and directly reply to any comments that may arise. Keep on top of it and if negative views are ranked highly in Google then, by all means, it’s your prerogative to continue to (or start) ranking positive information about you and your company above these comments – this isn’t suppression, it is merely concentrating on the good whilst addressing the bad.
2) Be a doorway, not a doormat This is one of the underpinning principles of good customer service but it really does apply to online reputation management. When replying to negative reviews, responding to forum posts and so on, keep it professional. Be helpful and address any concerns that unhappy clients might have but don’t humour those who are being intentionally disruptive or insincere.
3) Acknowledge both positive and negative comments One of the biggest mistakes and oversights that businesses and, alarmingly often, so-called online reputation managers make is to focus solely on finding and responding to negative comments whilst failing to thank people for their positive reviews and comments. People like to feel that their views are appreciated.
