One of the main ways to measure how successful a business is, is through its customer satisfaction. To increase this, management must lead by example. At the same time, however, each employee is responsible for it as well. Indeed, looking at some reputation management consultants reviews reveals how a good online reputation management company will focus strongly on how every individual is able to make customers feel highly valued. Indeed, they should over-deliver if they are to remain successful. A key element of this is personalization.
The Importance of Online Reviews
Customers now share all their experiences, good or bad, online. They have a range of platforms available to them to do this and they enjoy the fact that they don’t have to have an unpleasant personal conversation. It is also a known fact that people are more likely to share negative experiences, because they want to let off steam, preferably anonymously.
Companies must listen to feedback. It can be quite frightening to see a lot of negative information about themselves online. However, these negative reviews are treasure troves of information. Indeed, they can gain a great deal of insight into where they can do things better. Some companies have truly taken this to heart, streaming any new reviews on screens across their company, so that every employee is aware of them instantly.
How to Manage Negative Feedback
It is very important to be transparent about complaints and to make sure the entire team, from senior manager to apprentice, knows how to address them. In so doing, teamwork is encouraged and people come together to develop solutions. This is true for negative reviews, but also for positive reviews, which should be celebrated. This makes staff feel appreciated and validated, and those are important for morale as well. Staff must be motivated to continue to be the best they can be, and they have to know that their hard work is paying off. When everybody is on the same page and knows what needs to be done, customers will have an increasingly positive experience as well. Errors will be fixed and a reputation will start to improve.
Balancing Consumer Loyalty and Good Practice
Being a good brand is about more than simply being appealing to everybody. In fact, it is more important to have a small group of people truly love a brand, than a large group of people like it. This is about building trust and loyalty. There is no point, for instance, for a butcher to try to please to an audience of vegetarians. It is about, therefore, identifying your target market and making sure they learn to love a brand, even if that means some people do not like the brand at all.
It simply isn’t possible to make everybody happy all of the time. Hence, negative reviews should not be seen as damning or horrible. They should be seen as an opportunity to learn, but without moving away from what the brand stands for. That is how true loyalty and trust is built.