10 Ways on How to Build a Company Reputation

Remove Your Reputation Score from MyLife 5-min

As a business owner, you want the best for your company. You want their brand to stick out amongst the competition and draw in more paying customers than anyone else in your industry. That sounds easy idea, however, how do you build a company reputation from the ground-up or after an online crisis presents itself?

Did you know that in 2020, consumers are 83% less likely to trust a company from what their advertisements say? Instead, potential customers are starting to rely heavily on online reviews and testimonials found on third-party websites. 

Suffering from a negative online reputation can be extremely detrimental to the overall success of your company accrues overtime. These repercussions can reduce your total ROI and growth potential.

Negative reputations present themselves after a disgruntled client voices their experience on Yelp or Google where that spreads like wildfire and before you know it your company’s reputation is in jeopardy.

In order to avoid this, you must counteract negativity by creating positive press about your company wherever you can on the internet (website, blog, social media, press releases, etc.).

To lead you off on the right foot, our team has created the 10 best ways on how to build a company reputation in 2020.

 

10 Ways on How to Build a Company Reputation

 

Always Be Professional

As you work to build the reputation of your company one of the most important things to keep in mind is that you are a business at the end of the day. You must act professionally at all times because you never know who you are going to meet and what opportunities are going to present themselves at any given moment.

Being professional means dressing well (or dressing the part), being polite and having a positive/optimistic attitude. First impressions, much like your reputation are imprinted in another’s mind within seconds of meeting you. Make sure you give yourself the best chance by acting as if your boss was watching you the entire time.

 

Stick To Your Word

Your word is one of the most genuine things you can offer another individual that trusts you. Following through on promises for others shows them a lot about your character and moreso, how you will act in a business relationship.

If you are going to do something then do it, stop with the excuses and commit to your promise. If you need assistance, ask around, this will improve your networking skills as you fulfill a responsibility to another at the same time.

In business, the last thing you want to be known as is someone who flakes out on responsibilities or throws in the towel when things get a little too difficult.

 

Keep the Conversation Going

As they say, the most profitable people are the ones who are already your clients/customers. This means that once a transaction or purchase is made, the is just the beginning of your relationship with that individual. Make it a mission to consistently reach out, offer new services/products you have and even request feedback.

As a business, one of your core responsibilities is the ensure everyone is kept in the loop. This can be aimed at your project management department or account managers. Even if there is not update to relay to your client, give them a call or shoot them a quick email to check in, Make sure all their questions have been answers and reassure them that you are handling their cases to the best of your ability.

In a sense, this will reduce the amount of customer support phone calls you receive each day which opens your schedule up for additional work. Proper and efficient communication is imperative and setting expectations is the key to forming a sustaining relationship with your clients. This ultimately results in positive word-of-mouth marketing amongst your audience, improving your company reputation overtime.

 

Optimize Your Website

One of the most effective things you can do to improve the reputation of your company is to invest in improving your websites. By improving your website’s appearance and SEO, you give yourself the opportunity to get yourself in front of more users without spending a dime in advertising. 

You can accomplish this by creating an informative or entertaining blog on your website where you release new content at a specific time each week. Websites are also another great way to build an email list. You can start a weekly or monthly newsletter to update your entire audience about what’s going on lately with your company.

At the end of the day, we live in a digital age where consumers research everything online. Consumers may simply decide not to trust you because your website’s appearance is obsolete or your competition’s website looks ten times better. Invest the time, money, and effort to maximize the effectiveness of your website.

 

Optimize Your Website

 

Focus on Social Media

As previously stated we are living in a digital world in 2020. Everyone relies on the internet for nearly all facets of their life, both personal and professional. But how can you connect with different generations without feeling like you are chasing your tail or wasting time? Simple, social media.

For nearly a decade now social media platforms such as Facebook have completely redesigned how marketing your company or improving your company’s reputation works. For this reason, it is important to create a business listing or profile on the top social platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube, and much more). 

Each platform is home to a different type of consumer who may consume content differently while on Facebook as compared to if they are on Instagram. Plus, research from SocialSprout has divulged that the average individual spends 2 hours a day on social media. As a business owner, it would be foolish to miss out on this opportunity.

Want to improve your social media efforts for your business, as well as learn how to respond to negative feedback online. Read this how-to blog: 

 

Stay Away From Spamming

We cannot stress this enough, DO NOT ABUSE YOUR EMAIL LIST.

Sure, at some point in the recent past an individual was happy to exchange their contact information for a “free” solution or report you were handing out. But it is imperative that you approach your email list with caution and avoid sending too many emails during a short time frame.

The best way to avoid this issue is by segmenting your email list into various groups. You can view this as a “funnel”. First, you have your entire list, but branching off of this you can create a group of “engaged users”, “users who opened your email within 24-hours”, “users that opened but didn’t respond”, “users that responded”, and the list goes on and on.

Avoiding spam and segmenting your list will not only guarantee your list will continuously grow but is also means you can create specialized offerings (emails) for each segmentation in order to squeeze each lead for what they are worth.

Keep close tabs on your email insights to ensure you are not sending too many emails, you’re sending your campaigns at the optimal time of day as well as conversion and other analytical insights to help improve your email campaigning efforts.

 

Request Honest Feedback From Customers

One of the best and easiest ways to modify one of your goods/services is by generating consumer feedback. Asking clients how their experience was with your company is a great way to showcase your trustworthiness. These reviews can be shared in your newsletters, on social media and even on the homepage of your website for new users to see easily.

Positive online reviews are the fastest way to build a positive reputation for your company nowadays. If you operate as a B2B company (or business to business) adding a “Testimonials” page onto your website’s menu may generate additional trust organically.

 

 

Respond to Online Reviews and Comments

Choose your words wisely before you address any feedback in regards to your company online.

Make sure to kindly thank those customers who left a positive review, this can be done in a quick personal email from the account manager or sales representative in charge of that particular account.

When it comes to responding to negative reviews online it is important that you address the facts. Take responsibility. And lastly, work to amend any issues. Try to take this conversation offline. As potential customers may find this and tag you as “uncooperative or argumentative”. 

Nothing will kill your business faster than future customers not trusting you’ll follow through. However,  if you work to convert that negative review into a positive this can go a long way. They will start to view you as a company that cares about what their customers think. And most importantly, a company that would do anything to provide a pleasant experience.

 

Deploy Crisis Plans Immediately 

Every company is going to experience a brand crisis or negative information online at some point. Whether it comes in the form of a negative review or bad press. Your company must have a plan of attack. One that is ready to deploy at any given notice.

If a customer is spreading false rumors about your company online don’t assume they will go away on their own. Actively work to discredit the rumors by publishing content in the form of Press Releases that include nothing but facts.

If you can, find a way to spin this into a positive. So when you can, take the high road your reputation will thank you later.

 

 

Routinely Monitor Your Company Reputation

Here at InternetReputation.co one of the most effective ways to improve a company’s reputation is by simply monitoring their results online

One main reason most businesses fail to combat negativity online is that they don’t want to “make it worse”. So they decide to stay out of it and assume overtime the information will get suppressed.

Ever since the emergence of internet reputation management, the times have changed. You can now hire companies such as InternetReputation.co to work on building and improve your company’s reputation online. This way, you can focus on what really matters, growing your business.

 

Final Thoughts on Improving Your Company Reputation

As you work to improve the reputation of your company it is important to note that these results take time. 

Altering the internet is no easy feat. Especially if you are working to remove negative content and promote yourself in a positive light. However, if you can master the tips above you will be off to a great start. Overtime you are guaranteed to improve the internet reputation of your company.

At the end of the day, nobody wants to buy from a company with a tarnishes or disorganized reputation. You must make sure that efficient practice the 10 tips on how to build a company reputation.

Nobody is perfect 100% of the time. However, if you consistently monitor, manage, and publish positive news about your company your reputation growth will follow. If you do not have enough time or your work schedule is too hectic to manage your company reputation on your own InternetReputation.co has worked to restore and improve upon the reputation of hundreds of businesses. 

Get in touch with us today to learn more about what is holding your company back.