The COVID-19 pandemic has made brands on the internet more competitive than ever. Not only have more businesses emerged on the internet but the proliferation of social media usage and online reviews have made it easier for customers to understand which business is better.
What’s more, the reputation of a business will influence its ability to weigh in on contentious issues, such as online presence, customer satisfaction, branding, and much more.
This has made online brand reputation more essential as the number of star ratings and reviews climbs further, the more the products and services will be scrutinized online. Also, nowadays buyers are relying on making purchase decisions on cues from other customers rather than the actual information from the business itself. Therefore, if the company grabs this as an opportunity and eliminates all one-star ratings that inspire scathing critiques from disappointed buyers, then the business has a tremendous potential to improve sales.
Therefore, along with ad spending, marketing, and branding, businesses must make sure that they focus on the most important element, which is word-of-mouth. Because it can either make or break your brand and the more time you spend building trust with your followers, the more likely you are to see better engagement, traffic, and sales.
How Can Businesses Improve Online Reputation To Land More Sales
1. Positive Reviews
As mentioned earlier, customers nowadays spend more time checking out reviews on Yelp and Google than actually reading through the product descriptions. Because obviously people are smart and they know that a business won’t include the negative side of a product on their websites. So honest feedback can only be obtained from the customers who have used the product or services earlier.
Undoubtedly, there is no way to impress all your customers and a couple of bad reviews isn’t necessarily going to sway a customer who is interested in what you’re offering, but a slew of bad reviews can have a serious impact. Also, make sure that your team responds to all these comments both good and bad, this shows the upcoming customers that your business actually cares about customers and that you’re at least trying to set things right.
2. Press Releases
New service updates, partnerships, product launches, etc are great ways for your business to stay in the limelight. There are several reputed news media sites such as Business Insider and Forbes that will publish your press releases for a small fee. By publishing on such sites your business will be able to get a wider outreach and more people will get to know about your brand, thereby improving your online reputation. Even events or news about online campaigns can be posted on such press release sites which will shine a positive light on your business.
3. Employee Comments and Opinions
Most of the time businesses focus on customer testimonials and reviews. But it is imperative that equal importance must be given to employee feedback as well. Negative comments from ex-employees and even current employees on websites such as Glassdoor can significantly impact your business reputation.
Because when potential customers come across such negative reviews they feel that the employees themselves are treated badly so the customers also might face similar situations. Therefore, make sure to identify bad online remarks from employees and discuss with them the improvements that can be made.
4. Social Media Posts
Social media and online networking sites can play a pivotal role in your business’s online reputation. It is a platform where people share their experiences, feedback, and much more. Also, with the use of hashtags and sharing options, a post can go viral in a matter of seconds. Similar to reviews on other online media, you must make sure that your representatives respond to social media reviews as well.
Everyone on social media platforms is free to publish comments under posters and articles, therefore there are chances that there might be a couple of negative remarks from unsatisfied customers. Always ensure that your social media team responds to such negative comments, this will help prevent them from posting bad reviews again and also provide a sense of trust to other customers.
5. Improve Customer Experience
Business reputation is more than just positive reviews and ratings, even your website plays an important role in improving your online reputation. Have you ever visited a well-reputed company’s online website? For example, Amazon. The tech-savvy people at Amazon have ensured that their reputation is maintained by providing customers with a stellar website experience.
Everything from design, navigation to functionality and even payment processing, is created in such a way that it provides a seamless experience for customers. By providing such a wonderful website experience for your customers, you not only improve your brand reputation but also enhance SEO factors. This can help in ranking your website on top of Google search results and way above competitors.
6. Get Listed
We have all come across listicles on Google. These are articles that list multiple options for people to try out. For instance, there are top-rated listicles, such as The Manifest and Clutch that publish articles like “Best reviewed restaurants in Canada” or “Top 5 marketing agencies in Canada”. Such listicles generate millions of views every year and if your business website is listed on these sites then it can significantly improve ranking and online traffic.
Being named as “The best” or having your business listed among “The Top 10” are all excellent ways to exponentially improve your brand reputation. Also, these sites include customer reviews, ratings, and testimonials as well, and good customer feedback regarding your business can be an icing on the cake.
Conclusion
Improving your business’s online reputation is not about hiding your flaws and making your audience believe that your brand is the best — it’s about meeting your customers’ expectations and responding to their concerns. As a business owner, if you think you won’t have the time to listen to all your customer concerns, then the best option is to hire a digital marketing agency providing web design in Toronto. Such agencies understand what makes customers happy and will help you improve your business’s overall online credibility and reputation.
