It is very important to make sure that you’ve got a stellar reputation when you are running a business.

You wouldn’t want to lose money just because of some negative comments or reviews from your customers.

This is a fact when it comes to your online reputation.

Check out these statistics:

• According to the World Economic Forum, 25% of a company’s market value is relevant to its reputation.
• 45% of customers revealed that they have choose not to do business with a company because of what they found online.
• 92% say that they frequently read online reviews to know more about a business.

Today, everyone can voice out their opinions and thoughts. It is easier for us to express our opinion on a company’s product or services; and if ever someone has a problem with your product or services, they can let a lot of people know just by posting on the internet.

Any dissatisfied client may write a bad review about your business. They can do that by writing blog posts that speak negatively about your products or services. They may also use social media to bash your business. 

And there’s no stopping them.

After all, you won’t be able to control what other people say about your products or services.

But there’s no need to worry about it anymore. If you take the right steps, you will be able to protect your reputation and maintain a strong brand.

1. Monitor Your Reputation

First thing you need to know to be able to protect your reputation is to know how to monitor it.

You have to know what your customers are saying about your business.This way, you’ll be able to respond to any negative comments as soon as possible.

If you fail to monitor what people say about your business, you won’t be able to address any potential issues until it’s too late.  

2. Claim your Search Engine Results Page (SERPs)

One way to prevent negative reviews in impacting your business is to make it invisible to your audiences.

Do this by optimizing the top 10 results for the name of your business.

Once you’ve finally locked down your SERPs, it will be hard for negative reviews to break in and it won’t be visible to people who search for your business online.

Your goal should be to create many strong pages built around your brand name that have the potential to rank.

Here are some ways you can do:

• Create social media profiles
• Get others to write positive reviews about your business
• Create multiple websites
• Contribute to other publications

Claiming your search results is a very effective way to make sure that negative reviews won’t be visible to the viewers of your website.

You might not be able to manage and control what other people say about your business, however you can still control whether or not other customers see it.

3. Use Social Media

Social Media is one of the most important parts of online reputation management. But having social media accounts is not just enough.

You have to use them.

You can use social media to build and maintain an engaged audience. It is an effective way to connect with your customers.

Social media helps you to build influence and trust with consumers. Because of this, it’s less likely that customers will make negative reviews about your business.

You can use social media to reach out to customers who have complaints and help them solve their problems.

Another advantage of using social media often is that it is easier to claim your SERPs position. The more interaction there is on your social media accounts, the most likely they’ll rank for your business’s name.

4. Listen to your Customers

Never ignore a customer’s negative review about your business. Once you ignore them, you might miss out on a chance to improve your reputation and repair the connection between you and your customers.

Most importantly, you’re robbing yourself the opportunity to improve your products or services. Customer complains is not a bad thing. They could help you know how you can make your business better.

When a customer gave you a negative review, don’t blow it off. Instead, engage with your customer. Try to understand their complaints and try to help them solve it. 

If your customers see that you’re willing to listen to their reviews and complains, the brand benefits can be immense.

5. Take Responsibility for your Mistakes

Another way to build a positive reputation is to admit your mistakes. Apologies can go a long way towards mending relationships with dissatisfied customers.

Nobody is perfect. People do make mistakes. However, it’s not about the mistakes you make. It’s about how you are handling these mistakes.

If a customer complains about your product or service, apologize quickly and then try to solve the problem.

Even though the customer has already complained, your action can turn their negative review into a positive one - and you want your company to be known as someone who is willing to take responsibility for its actions.

Protecting your online reputation is not that easy. It requires vigilance and constant awareness of what your customers are saying about your company. 

Are you having a hard time in managing and protecting your online reputation?

We on IFormatLogic I.T. Solutions are happy to help you be on the top!