Whether your business operates on the internet or not, I want to talk to you a little bit today about the power of your online reputation, and why it is so important to the future success of your company. I spend a great deal of time with a variety of business owners about how to both manage and repair their online reputation. Usually when I approach this subject many owners like at me strangely, under the impression that there are more important things to deal with.
The fact of the matter however is that your reputation is everything, and making sure that it is positive is well worth the investment in reputation management professionals. If you were under the illusion that your online reputation or repairing your online reputation wasn’t important, here are just a few reasons why in fact, it should be everything to you business.
Volume of Clients
Whether you are aware of it or not, the large majority of your clients will come from people who have hit the search engine and typed in searches for businesses like yours. Each year there are more people hitting the internet to discover local businesses, whether they operate online or not. If you happen to have a negative reputation online then you can guarantee that this will be seen by thousands of people. Once people have seen a negative reputation, it takes an awful lot to change their minds.
Competition
The level of competition in pretty much every sector of business is higher than it ever has been before, this means that for companies to grab market share, they must be whiter than white. In the past a customer perhaps would have had to use a business in spite of its reputation, given the fact that there were few alternatives. These days however the customer has 10 other options just like you, so you cannot afford to have any blemishes on the character of your business. Using a reputation management company can not only repair a negative reputation, but also ensure that it stays on top of what your reputation is like online.
Word of Mouth
Word of mouth has been one of the most common marketing methods since businesses first ever began to operate, and it is still the same now. The only difference which we see in today’s world is that word of mouth has now become online review sites, and comments on social media. With this in mind, it is easier than ever before to destroy someone’s online reputation, and it does happen. Perhaps an ex employee wants to take a swipe at you, or perhaps a rival wants to try and bring you down a peg or two. In either roof these situations, a lot of damage can be done to your business. Using an online reputation management company will ensure that the lies are buried in positivity, so that they don’t cause too much harm.
