The feeling once your business takes off and gains more popularity is astonishing. It feels like sitting on cloud 9. And sometimes, due to the excitements brand take a step that may lend them in big trouble. A small mistake can cost you years’ worth of hard work and lose your beloved clients.
There are many examples of brands that lost their reputation with a minor slip-up.
- Victoria’s secret got ridiculed for their ad slogan: “The Perfect Body” by showing the pictures of ultrathin models.
- Chipotle was questioned about their product quality due to the E. coli outbreak in Washington and Oregon.
- IHOP’s body-shaming tweet caused a lot of outrage in 2015.
- Galaxy Note 7 explosions landed Samsung in big trouble. (Source)
However, these brands wisely did damage control, claimed the trust and loyalty back from their customers, and changed the game.
Here are a few tactics that will help you repair your reputational damage.
Implement Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization is the ultimate way to improve your SERP rankings. If you have received a bad review, it is crucial to create informative content with targeted keywords to push the negative reviews further down on SERPs.
A study shows that 75% of customers do not look past the first page on search results, thus, the bad reviews need to push past the second page to go unnoticed.
Ask Google to remove the negative page from your website
There is a saying that nothing gets permanently deleted from the internet. However, you can contact Google and ask them to remove any content spreading negative information regarding your business. Take a look at Google’s removal policies to understand what kind of content they will remove.
Additionally, you need to contact the website owner to remove the content, as the negative information will still be there even if Google deletes it from their search results.
Create Google alerts
Google alerts keep you up-to-date with all of the latest information regarding your business that pops up on the internet. Such as the latest news, mentions of your business, news about your products and services. It will allow you to take an active role in your reputation management by providing you with enough time to take appropriate actions.
Encourage positive reviews
Encouraging positive reviews is one of the best ways to enhance your digital reputation. After each purchase, encourage your customers to leave positive feedback on your website. You can implement CTAs that will direct your customers to review your services.
You can also add a review tab on your product page and make it easier for your customers. However, do not bribe people to leave good reviews as it will drown your reputation more if other customer finds out.
Handle Angry Customers with Care
Your customers won’t always leave positive reviews on your website. Some may leave angry rants if they are not satisfied with your service or products. The wise thing you can do in this situation is to apologize to them publically.
This shows that you care about your customer’s feelings and are willing to take responsibility. While dealing with angry upset, focus on the solution. Do not focus on the problem or customer’s reaction. Get in the details of what made them upset and try to resolve it ASAP. Additionally, approach your customers privately as well. This way, you can handle the situation efficiently and maintain your public reputation.
It is okay to make mistakes. However, once you realize it, take responsibility, and with appropriate actions, you can repair your reputational damage. Take control of your digital reputation and enhance your business.
