Tier 1 | Your Online Reputation as a Local Service Provider
Consumer's Online Perception of Your brand
Know it or not, your business has an online reputation that significantly impacts the success of your business.
It's like word of mouth, but on wheels, with a sticky accelerator and no brakes - on an endless road. No longer is getting customers mostly about Local Services, SEO, and Ranking, it's also about your digital reach overall and includes everything on every platform and it's constantly growing since it's creation by people online even if you didn't intend to ever create one, it exists and it affects your business.
Customer's Online Reviews
Your Online Reputation is usually formed in the potential customer's mind after looking at a few onlne reviews by customers on Google, Yelp, and other review platforms along with your responses to those reviews, especially any negative reviews.
Your Online Reputation also includes any engagement from your website and your social media accounts from interactions with users.
It's a must these days, to stay aware and proactive when it comes to your brand's presence online and how it is being perceived.
Monitoring and Managing Your Online Presence
It takes a substantial amount of time and work to establish a positive Online Reputation and it continually requires intentional actions of being proactive and responsive to ensure that your audience has a positive perception of your business and it remains in alignment with your mission and values.
If you're feeling worried about trying to manage your online reputation, I'm here to help, no worries. With a strategic plan in place and an understanding of what your online reputation consists of, you will be able to make sure that your brand is positively perceived. If not, again, I'm here to help.
If you haven't experienced any problems yet with your Online Reputation, it may seem like there isn't much reason to have a strategy in place, but, there are several benefits to making your brand's online presence one of your marketing priorities.
Benefits of Monitoring and Managing Your Online Reputation
Easily Attainable Benefits
- Increase in overall number of customer reviews for your business
- Decrease in negative feedback viewable by the public
- More current and past customers leaving positive reviews
- Local SEO improvements thanks to an increase in the number of quality reviews
- A strong onlne reputation helps to rank your company higher in search engine results pages (SERPs)
- Having higher SERP ranking increases your exposure to potential customers, thus increasing your revenue
Some of the benefits (above) are easily attainable on your own but some may require the expertise and knowledge of a professional (like myself) when it comes to managing your Online Reputation in order to be sure you experience all the benefits.
Additional Benefits
- Peace of mind in knowing your online image is being consistently watched
- Steady flow of positive reviews, along with a decrease in negative public reviews
- Implementation of customer service best practices in professional response to all incoming reviews.
- Effective escalation of issues if needed
- Sustainable growth and ongoing success
Building an excellant online reputation that stands out isn't something that can be done over night; yet, there are some actionable steps you can take now to get started:
- Respond to both positive and negative reviews as soon as possible. It shows that you appreciate your customers and are dedicated to serving them. Negative feedback responding is even more important because it demonstrates an intentional desire to satisfy your customers and make things right for your customer. Responding quickly and professionally allows you to prevent additional damage being done.
- Track online reviews and encourage customers to leave new reviews. Customers like to know what they think matters to you and they will be pleased that you care enough to ask their opinion.
- Be consistent across all Social Media platforms. Everything posted, shared, mentioned and interacted with on Social Media plays a central role in your Online Reputation. Even the look and feel of your profile plays a role.
- Your brand attributes should be consistent across all platforms. This includes: Color schemes, logos, images, videos, layouts, messaging and brand voice.
- Invest effort into nurturing a strong, positive reputation that can weather challenges- be well prepared to address issues as soon as they occur. Less damage = more reward.
Managing your Online Reputation is a way to attract new customers and sustain existing relationships. It increases customer loyalty, ultimately increasing revenue and business growth.
Research shows that 99% of consumers have gone online to research a local business within the last year and 80% always or normally, checks online reviews when looking at a business. This is how your Online Reputation impacts the success of your business.
See my Blog for more information on creating a Management Plan for your Online Reputation that will help you stay on track or Book a free call with me and let's talk about your needs and how I can help!