In today’s age of e-commerce and the global proliferation of online marketing, reputation stands as one of the most important marketing tools any business has at its disposal. Word of mouth – or keyboard, in this case – has become one of the most recognized ways that customers can affect a company’s future. So it is twice as important for business owners to learn how helpful reputation marketing can be and how it should be done.
Reputation – Then and Now
Reputation is the value built with prior customers who have been highly satisfied, so much so that they felt compelled to tell others about their experience. Online and offline reputation is basically the same and is built in the same way; however, there is one main difference between the two. With online reputation, customers can reach an endless number of readers in mere minutes with whatever needs to be stated; offline or in-person reputation marketing is a much slower process that usually involves actual, face-to-face contact.
The way the above works is actually both good and bad for a business. It is definitely good because positive opinion can spread like wildfire and quickly benefit a company. The flip side of the coin is that bad opinions spread just as fast, if not faster. What this means is that a business must provide the type of service that customers want to rave about and monitor online comments carefully to view circulating feedback.
Online Reputation Management – Positive and Negative
Companies that have built a good name for themselves online are obviously headed in the right direction; however, the reputation marketing venture does not end once a good degree of positive recognition has been received. That positive impression is worth gold in the online business world and should be guarded like gold.
Just as good Houston SEO must be continually managed to maintain good ranking of the search engine results pages, reputation requires that same continual management. Bad reviews or feedback can be very damaging, even to the Fortune 500’s; so it is essential to keep track of what is being said online and be able to intervene should some negative attention appear online.
Online Reputation Management – A Proactive Approach
Since business success depends on customers and that greatly depends on current client perceptions, taking a proactive approach with a business reputation is essential. Trust, credibility, and brand recognition only come with good business practices and effective communication between business and customers. An open-door policy with management practices and online dealings will gain trust and maintain the best image to customers.
To achieve this, understand that good initial impressions are preferable to correcting bad ones – and easier to do as well. Good business practices do not generate bad publicity but rather encourage rapid growth. By identifying and acknowledging problems quickly, less damage is done and positive benefits could be gained as well.
Reputation plays such an important role in the success of any business – good reputation equals success, bad reputation can lead to failure. Reputation marketing and management are an integral and constant part of creating and keeping customer trust, especially since the internet has totally transformed the management of a business reputation!