Online reputation is the most precious asset of every brand. It is the basis for the confidence of the customers, the impulse that encourages them to bet on a brand, or to flee from it like the plague.
With the emergence of social networks, brands must ensure more than ever to preserve the good name of their company, as well as work to improve it. According to Altimeter, 2 out of 3 companies are worried about the risks that lurk in their brand in Social Media. However, more than worry, or fear, what these companies need is to learn how to manage their online reputation. How?
Do not be the last to know. That they do not tell you, you always have to be alert, with all the active radars. Monitoring is the key to maintaining reputation online. You need to know what is said about you, both good and bad; Who requires your attention, or in what conversation they have included you. These tracking activities are not limited to Twitter, but you need to dive in to blogs, stick to the intricacies of forums and search engines in search of the references to your brand, company, product or service.
Let the complaints come to you. Always try to play at home. It is not that you provoke the situation, but that you enable all possible channels so that who needs you can find you. Enable a space on your website, where customers can leave your comments, include an application with a form on your Facebook profile; Create a hashtag on Twitter or even a specific account that serves as a customer service channel.
Stoically deal with the situation. Sure is not a dish of taste, but you need to take your share of responsibility and try to save the situation in the most beneficial to both parties. In any case, the client deserves respect and preferential treatment; So treat it as such and make you feel taken care of at all times and that the company cares about your well-being.
Time always plays against you. The longer you answer, the more you can complicate the situation. The customer goes to the brand in search of an agile and effective response, his patience is exhausted by moments.
Never lower your guard. Have a crisis strategy handy and, if the time comes, if you have sufficient resources, rely on a team. It is important that you have planned an action plan, a series of basic but essential indications that will be very useful in making decisions under pressure. At times like this, improvisation can play a trick.
Stop the censorship. Social Media is the living portrait of freedom of expression, so do not even think about deleting a negative comment. Its consequences could only hurt you: on one side the client will feel doubly offended, so your answer can only get worse; On the other, these negative comments add credibility to the rest; The experience of customers makes them wary when everything is rosy.
Finally, prevention is better than regret. A good online reputation is only achieved through effort and daily work, reaping positive results in favor of the brand, favorable comments from customers, attributions of influencers and creating a strong community and around the brand. All this will work in your favor to defend your good name.
