Maybe one of your social media posts stirred some controversy.
Maybe your product or service failed to map to customers’ expectations.
Irrespective of the reason, your brand now stands with dented reputation.
In order to ensure business growth and sustainability, it’s almost essential to have a good brand presence. This is especially truer today than ever when brand reputation influences almost every important metric, right from engagement rate to sales.
Here are 12 key tips on how you can repair your brand’s bad reputation and bounce back strongly after the crisis:
1. Find Out Where The Bad Reputation Comes From
The first step is to find out where the bad reputation comes from. It may be a complaint from an unhappy customer, or it may be a tweet or status update on social media. There may also be negative comments about your business on forums and websites. Whatever the source of the bad reputation, it is important to find out where it is coming from so that you can deal with it.
2. Own The Reality And Apologize
The first thing you should do when your company gets negative publicity is to take responsibility for the situation. If a customer expresses dissatisfaction with your company, immediately apologize and offer a solution that will make that customer happy. You should also take the initiative by reaching out to influential bloggers who have expressed negative opinions about your business in order to address their concerns.
3. Act Fast - But Don’t Overreact
Time is everything in a crisis, so act swiftly and decisively. Respond quickly to comments, questions, and complaints - remember that one angry customer can easily sway others if they're not addressed quickly. You need to be as proactive as possible in order to minimize damage and regain control of the conversation.
4. Get Rid of Bad Products
If your customers are complaining about product quality or other issues, fix the problem and get rid of any remaining inventory. In an age where information spreads at lightning speed, you must act fast. The longer it takes for you to identify and solve the problem, the more damage will be done.
5. Engage With Customers on Social Media
Social media is one place where you can monitor your company's reputation daily. Get involved in discussions about your brand by replying to comments and messages as quickly as possible. Make sure that every customer complaint is addressed immediately and that you take steps to make things right as soon as possible.
6. Respond to Negative Comments
When you receive a negative review or comment, respond to it as quickly as possible. A simple response that acknowledges the customer's frustration and invites them to contact you directly shows potential customers that you care about your customers' experiences and are willing to do what it takes to make things right. Monitoring the sites where customers share reviews is critical for this step because those sites don't always send notifications when someone posts a negative review.
7. Monitor What's Being Said About Your Brand
It's important to monitor various review sites for any negative comments about your business. If a complaint is legitimate, it may be worth reaching out to the customer and attempting to resolve the issue. By taking this extra step, you may be able to turn a negative experience into a positive one - or at least prevent them from posting an even more scathing review online.
8. Ask Happy Customers For Reviews
If people are leaving bad reviews of your company on Yelp or other review sites, ask satisfied customers who believe in your brand's mission to leave positive reviews as well. If you don't have any satisfied customers, ask friends, family members or employees (who must disclose their relationship with the company) to post positive reviews as well.
9. Address Rumors and Speak The Truth
If someone is spreading rumors about your business, address them directly on social media by responding to negative comments with a direct reference to the rumor. Once you've done that, take steps to ensure that rumors don't spread by posting links to relevant blog posts or articles that set the record straight.
10. Offer Compensation to Make Amends
Depending on the severity of your situation, offering compensation can go a long way toward winning back customers' trust. You may consider offering free products or services for those who were affected by the issue or even for people who weren't directly impacted but want to support your company through this time. This can help show that you're willing to make things right and reward people for their patience during this difficult time.
11. Create Content to Push Down The Bad Results
If the negative comments about your business are online and are affecting search results for your brand name, then one method of dealing with them is to create more content around the positives. For this, you can seek help from a good SEO company in USA. They can help you create content around the positives that take over the negatives on SERP. Working with a good digital marketing services provider can also help you beat the negative exposure on social media platforms with the right pieces of content that casts a positive light on your brand.
12. Provide Consistent Messaging Across All Platforms
Your message should be the same regardless of whether it's delivered via the company website, press release, or blog post. It should also be consistent across social media channels like Facebook and Twitter. Be careful about what you say, as well - you never know when someone is recording or filming what you're saying, so don't make off-the-cuff comments that could come back to haunt you later on.
Final Words
These are just some of the steps and tips on how your business can recover from a bad brand reputation.
Of course, why your brand enjoys a bad reputation is the biggest determining factor in how effective these tips and steps will be.
In general, when it comes to online reputation management, being proactive is the key. Don't wait for a negative review to take action on social media or review sites. So, if you do receive a negative review, make sure you respond in a timely fashion and try to resolve the issue directly with the customer as soon as possible.
If you need help, consult an experienced digital marketing services provider who has experience in brand reputation management.
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