Protect Your Reputation to Protect Your Brand
In today’s world, the reputation of your business isn’t just the work you do, it’s how you’re represented online. From the moment a potential customer begins the search for a contractor, your reputation begins to make an impact. If all a homeowner can find are negative reviews and an out-of-date website, what are the chances that you’re going to land the job?
Studies have shown that online reviews are more influential in a consumer’s buying decision than traditional marketing. This means understanding and controlling your online reputation is vital to your success. Here are some things to keep in mind to manage your reputation so you can protect your brand.
Search For Yourself
If you’ve never looked your business up online, now is the time to do so. Knowing what’s already out there can help you set the baseline as you prepare your plan. It’s helpful to do this using an incognito window. Using an incognito window helps prevent your search results from being skewed by your previous browsing history. To open an incognito window, use Ctrl-Shift-N for Windows or Command-Shift-N for Mac.
Search the name of your business and look at what appears on the first page. This can include ratings, reviews, images, etc. Then you need to identify what content you can control, such as social media, and what you can’t, such as a third-party site.
If there’s a major issue, such as bad reviews, handle those as quickly as possible as that can be a quick win for your reputation. Check out our blog post Improve Your Company Image and Increase Sales for a more detailed look at this process.
Once you have a reputation management plan in place, you should continue to regularly search your business and set up alerts to let you know if anything new has been posted.
Respond to Everything
Whether it’s a private message on Facebook or a review on Google, it’s important that you respond to every customer. It’s natural to want to disregard the bad, but hiding negative comments or even worse ignoring them, can hurt your reputation in a big way. By responding to the bad, it shows you care and can help that customer leave with a positive impression even if they had a bad experience.
Thanking customers for their positive reviews can also help with customer retention. No matter the length of the review, your customer cares enough to take the time out of their day to post it. Responding shows you care they took the time and can help you extend your relationship with that customer, whether it be more work or referrals to friend and family.
Ask for Reviews
Since reviews can play a role in your search results, you should always be asking customers to leave them for you and make it as easy as possible. For example, you could leave behind a card with a QR code that takes them straight to your Google review page or a link in an email. It also doesn’t hurt to provide an incentive for those willing to leave a review, such as a gift or a discount on a future service. The more positive reviews you’re able to get from happy customers, the better your online presence will be.
Utilize Social Media & Your Website
Your website and social media accounts allow you to present the story you want your business to tell. While other online mediums, such as review sites, are largely shaped by consumers, your website is your own. If someone googles you and finds your profiles, they should know right off the bat who you are and what you do.
Social media can also help you build brand advocates. For example, let’s say you specialize in kitchen remodeling, and a recent customer posts on their Instagram stories how happy they are with their new space. Not only are they advocating your work to their friends and family, but you can then share the post with your followers/people who are considering hiring you for their own kitchen. Social proof is an invaluable asset for your online reputation.
Protect Your Reputation to Protect Your Brand
Another thing that can help improve your reputation – offering your own financing program from a reputable lender like Regions | EnerBank USA. For over 20 years, we’ve worked with contractors around the country to provide their customers with a flexible and convenient way to pay for their home improvement projects. Want to learn more? Fill out the form on this page or visit our website and a member of our team will be in touch soon.
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