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Key Elements of Your Reputation and Brand Identity


Posted: 28th January 2016 08:25

It is possible to mitigate the damage done by bad reviews, if you know what you’re doing in terms of reputation managed. If you are proactive in this, then positive content can be pushed to the foreground, so that people notice the bad a lot less. It is vital, however, to work together with a professional reputation management company that knows what they are doing.

Positive Reputation Elements
To build a positive reputation, you need three things:
  1. Public relations
  2. Marketing
  3. Customer service

Customer service is all about being responsive to any reviews you receive, establishing a personal bond with your customers. This increases trust. Once customers trust you, they won’t be as inclined to spread bad comments about you either. The things your customers say about you has the potential to make and break you, so you have to take this seriously. Because of social media, people have become more vocal, so rather than trying to fight it, you should embrace it by offering them a platform where they can do this. You also need to be realistic, however. There is simply no way to keep everybody happy. If you make sure, however, that you at least address everybody respectfully and professionally, then the damage can be significantly reduced.

Through marketing, you will create your brand image. A good image creates a good reputation. This is also something a reputation management company will focus on. They will look not just at social media, but also at blogs and overall SEO practices, thereby ensuring that you have a positive overall image.

Then, there is your public relations strategy. This is all about making sure that you keep up to date with what your customers think and want. It is the golden thread through all of your activities and includes things like talking to your customers and improving your social media marketing strategies.

The online world has made it possible for information to spread about incredibly quickly. Once upon a time, something ‘going viral’ was breaking news stuff. Today, a bunch of school kids can achieve it in just a few minutes by sharing it across their various networks. Your business’ reputation can go viral just as easily, whether it is positive or negative. The goal, naturally, is to make sure that it is the positive that goes viral, and not the negative.

How to Attract More Positive Reviews

There are a couple of things that you can do to attract more positive reviews, starting, of course, with an excellent product or service. Another good tactic is to offer your product at a discounted price to select individuals in return for their review. While this doesn’t guarantee that they will be positive about it, it does mean your product gets talked about. Furthermore, people are less likely to be really critical if they have received their product for free. Most importantly, however, you need to work together with professionals who can help you manage and protect your reputation.