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DQ News: Reputation Management for Small Businesses

At one point, the company website was the stopping point for consumers interested in a specific business. They would type in a business’ name or a specific product carried into a search engine, and it was the only platform that your company could be viewed.

Today that has all changed; according to the 2010 Pew Internet & American Life study, a vast majority of consumers with access to the Internet, 78 percent, researched a business online prior to purchasing their products or services. The equation is currently in the process of evolving once more into customers viewing business’ social media accounts prior to giving them their patronage.

What does this mean for business owners? It means that online reputation management is more important than ever, and the same basic SEO techniques will no longer suffice. Businesses are now shown on a wide variety of channels and must create a detailed plan to manage their online reputation. They need to assess how they want potential clients to view their company and any brands they carry and how that perception could affect their business. In addition to creating a plan and implementing basic SEO techniques, business owners should also use the following tools to protect and manage their online reputation:

Social Media Sites

Social media sites are a great way to promote your company with free advertising; however, by using these sites, a business must also take careful consideration in to what will be posted. A sloppy Facebook Page or neglected Twitter Account reflects poorly on a business, and leads potential customers to believe that the business is not very well managed. Every social networking site account should be treated as a business would treat its primary website, and all sites should convey the same image regarding the business. Businesses should also obtain accounts in all social media platforms – even if they do not set up a profile. This prevents any competitors from acquiring the page and potentially causing harm in the future.

Product and Service Reviews

Potential customers will look for product and service reviews online, and a business needs to make sure that potential customers will only find the ones it wants them to. Sure, a business will not be able to block all negative comments from being pulled up, but through SEO techniques, a business can make sure they stay low on the search engine results pages. Negative press can really hurt a business, but so can not having any reviews at all. Reputation Managers should coordinate with Brand Managers to ask customers write reviews or provide an incentive to write a review, such as an online coupon after completing the review form.

Customer Complaints

Customer complaints are beneficial as they let a business know where it needs to make improvements; however, those complaints do not need to be made public. Customers with an issue should be directed to a secure portion of the site to allow the business to address the negative feedback and do what it can to resolve the problem. However, don’t kid yourself, negative reviews will happen sooner or later. When these reviews show up on third-party sites you will need to comment on the review as the representative of your company and show you are making a good faith effort to reach out and resolve the problem.

A business should not wait until they are established to begin worrying about their online reputation. Instead, they need to be proactive not reactive, and manage the image they wish to convey to their target audience from day one to ensure that their reputable brand stays as such after success is achieved.

About the Author: Matt Polsky is the Senior Content and Reputation Manager for VA Mortgage Center, providing insights learned from the nation’s leading provider of VA home loans.

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