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Why is your business reputation important?
Building a positive reputation may be the single most important factor differentiating your small business from everyone else in your field.
An excellent reputation can be what propels an organization to grow. A negative reputation may be what causes it to crumble. For competitive industries, especially, what’s being said about your small business is the key to having customers choose your services over another company.
While customers continue to find new ways to be informed, trust in search results and online reviews is more important than ever. At the end of the day, buyers are placing a higher priority on small businesses they can trust.
The better your business reputation is, the easier it is for customers to know they can count on you. So, how do you build, maintain, and then leverage a strong reputation? Here are some solid first steps.
Manage your reviews and comments
Your credibility is directly linked to online comments made about your business, which means you need to keep a close eye on what’s being shared.
Review sites that list your business – Google, Yelp, and BBB.org, for starters – should be your primary focus for managing that feedback. By responding to positive and negative reviews and comments made on those platforms, you have an opportunity to directly address complaints. While you’re at it, you might also spot some customer praise to pass along.
How you approach responding to reviews and comments should be well thought out, too. Make sure any reply you share is friendly, professional, and sets a realistic expectation for whatever steps come next. Try not to restate company policies or provide vague solutions.
Most importantly, your responses should be honest. Customers want to trust you, but if you’re not genuine, that’s a deal-breaker. On the other hand, your company reputation is made even stronger by your authenticity; it’s what pulls new customers in and keeps loyal ones coming back.
How easily and effectively you can do that, though, may depend on the site you’re using. Unlike other directories, BBB fully vets reviews and complaints it receives to ensure an actual interaction occurred between the business and the consumer. Those safeguards help ensure that what customers see reflects reality.
Take care of your team
Managing your reputation isn’t only about keeping customers on your side. Employees who have a positive impression of their workplace can often be a business’s biggest advocate.
In fact, for some companies, their employees may double as their customers. There’s also a chance you have employees who have close relationships with those using your products or services.
If you’re taking steps to support your workforce, those actions tend to impact how customers view your business. Employees who believe their employer has their best interests in mind likely share those feelings publicly. When that type of word gets out, it can travel quickly.
Your employees holding a positive impression of your business goes hand-in-hand with developing an strong workplace culture. Offering benefits that make your team feel appreciated can go a long way toward solidifying your reputation with those stakeholders, too.
Collaborate with your customers
Get proactive with you online reputation management by engaging with customers. Calling on your audience to endorse your products and services can net your business significant reputational rewards.
One of the easiest ways to recruit that support is to ask for reviews. Anywhere you do business online, include a link for customers to share their experience. BBB Accredited Businesses are invited to include a link to the BBB Leave a Review page on their website.
Similarly, engaging with followers on your social media channels can produce authentic, customer-penned recommendations, too. On Facebook, Instagram, Twitter – make sure you’re monitoring your presence and connecting with your audience when the opportunity presents itself. This focus on the customer experience could pay off, especially if they choose to vouch for you in their own social posts because of your efforts.
Final thoughts
A good reputation is critical to any business hoping to stand out among its competition; but developing a great reputation doesn’t happen without work. Responding to reviews, supporting your workforce, and engaging online with customers are three steps you can take to shape your operation’s perceptions. Consistent attention to these three steps will show customers you’re the real deal when it comes to businesses they can trust.
For more tips on running your business, check out the BBB business news feed and the BizHQ.
BBB Great West + Pacific contributed this article.