Whether you’re a small business owner or own a large business, the reputation of your brand plays a significant role in the overall success of your business. To simply put it, your reputation is what you want your business to be known for.
Do you want your busi-ness to be known for selling cheap products or would you rather your business be known to provide excellent customer service? You, of course, would prefer the latter… most busi-ness owners would. Unfortunately, things don’t always work out that way.
In running a business, you may be doing great and busi-ness is “booming”… Then, the next thing you know, sales are down, there’s not much traffic coming to your site, and you’re on the seventh page on Google.
In your mind, you’re trying to figure out what went wrong or what happened to cause such a decrease in business… This is something that happens to busi-nesses quite often and it happens for many reasons but one of the worst reasons is because your business has established a bad reputation.
The crazy thing about strong busi-ness reputations is that it can take years to build up but can be destroyed in an instant. According to business2community.com, it can take months to years to repair damages a company endures from a single negative review!
So, as a business owner, how can you maintain a strong reputation for your business? Well, you can implement the five essentials of an effective PR plan, but one of the best ways to do this is to take preventive measures in maintaining a strong business reputation. You, of course, can’t avoid reputational damages completely simply because you’re not going to be able to please everyone, but there are measures you can take to prevent getting a bad business reputation,
One of the best ways to maintain a strong and positive brand reputation is to do what you can to prevent a bad one from happening in the first place. Here’s what you need to do.
Preventive Measures to Take in Maintaining a Strong and Positive Business Reputation
Respond to Both Positive and Negative Feedback From Customers
In addition to great products and services, all customers really want is to be heard when they have something to say. You’re, of course, not going to be able to please every single customer you have but when your busi-ness doesn’t do something right, and a customer rightfully complains about it, you need to do your due diligence to make things right with that customer.
For the most part, customers aren’t just going to leave negative reviews and feedback about a busi-ness unless they have good reason to. Everything from poor customer service to receiving broken products upon delivery, customers will complain about it because they want to be heard.
The thing to take note of is that when you don’t try to be accommodating to your customers, not only will they find another company who will be accommodating, they’ll let the world know why they shouldn’t trust your business, which can destroy your busi-ness immediately.
To prevent this from happening, make sure you take good care of your customers, especially when they have a complaint.
Invest In Business Insurance
Busi-ness insurance is a very important part of running your busi-ness; it protects you, your business, and your customers in the event something bad happens.
What if one of your products is defective but you didn’t realize it until you received several customer complaints about it? What if your defective product put several people in the hospital? Situations like that scream lawsuit and busi-ness insurance is what protects you in the event someone takes legal action against you.
Ideally, you don’t want that to happen but business insurance is one of the best preventive measures you can take to protect your business, whether you’re being sued or experience business interruptions due to damages from establishing a bad business reputation.
Keep the Promises You Make to Customers
There is nothing more frustrating to a customer than being told by a busi-ness that something is going to happen and then it doesn’t. This particular preventive measure is the poster child for saying what you mean and meaning what you say.
If you promise a customer 40% off on their next purchase because of a mistake made by your company, you have to keep that promise, no matter how much you may not want to. In busi-ness, you have to remember that customers are more likely to remember the mistakes busi-nesses make rather than the good things.
Don’t let a mistake as simple as not delivering on your promise, remain at the forefront of your customers’ minds. You want to always do everything in your power to always deliver on the promises you make to your customers.
Give Your Customers a Great Customer Experience
Giving your customers a great experience is more than just providing great products and services to them. Providing a great experience for your customers begins the moment they come in contact with your busi-ness, whether it’s online, on the phone, or in person.
Things like how well your website functions, its speed, and the content you provide all play a pivotal role in how customers experience your brand. If you can provide a positive customer experience from start to finish, you’ll build and maintain a strong reputation that can stand the tests of time.
