An online reputation management company is part of your wider public relations team. It is their role to make sure that any negative information about you, be they accusations, comments, or reviews, doesn’t have a chance of damaging what you look like to the general public. Your image is vital in terms of getting and keeping your customers. If there are negative reviews and bad publicity, then you may struggle to stay in business.
What a Reputation Management Firm Can Do for You
If you work together with a reputation management firm, they will start by monitoring the information that is out there about you. They have to have a starting point, after all. They will also be alerted whenever new information about you is posted. If that is in any way negative, they will try to uncover what the truth actually is. Sometimes, the information is libelous, which means legal action can be taken.
Mainly, however, this type of firm’s role will be to make sure that you have a positive online image, not to take legal action. It is important that they do so in an above-board manner, however, as some have been known to engage in so-called “black hat” tactics. The worst thing about them doing this is that they have actually damaged the reputation of the entire reputation management industry!
A good firm will identify all the good things about you and promote them. They will talk about your charitable work and contributions, highlight positive reviews, write news items about new products and services, and so on. They will ensure the public sees you as a good, wholesome company that is committed to helping the community and making people’s lives better.
Sometimes, they will also manage your customer complaints. This is because, in order to maintain a positive reputation, it is important to be able to respond quickly and succinctly to an unhappy customer. If they are asking for a refund or replacement, they will send them to your customer service department, but if they simply want to vent and complain, it is something that the reputation management company can manage directly.
Everybody knows that it isn’t possible to keep everybody happy all the time. However, what is telling is how you deal with those people who aren’t happy with their service, product, or anything else. The customer is always right, as they say, even if they are completely wrong. A reputation management firm will make sure that, even in cases where the customer is completely wrong, and perhaps even downright rude with it, is treated professionally and respectfully, which in turn shows others that you listen and care.
Of course, the reputation management company will also focus hard on building new positive content, for instance by replying to positive testimonials. Doing so properly means the impact of a single negative review will be much less serious. It is a continuous process that must be monitored around the clock.
2018 ·