Dissed Online? How to Fix Your Brand's Rep

Today's consumers don't hesitate to post their comments, good and bad, on the Internet. Here are some tips for damage control The internet provides a massively extensive market for businesses to grow and expand, however it is also the host for websites where angry customers or disgruntled employees may unleash virulent, anonymous criticism about the company online. However unjustifiable or full of nonsense it may be, these comments or complaints will stay on the internet for a painfully long time available for people to read through customer feedback sites or search engines – these will seriously damage the reputation of the business. Quote “The Internet is like the wild Wild West and its contributors, some with questionable motives, can post what they want about a company, product, or service, allowing damaging postings to live on in search engines for long periods of time,” and these internet based comments are very hard to erase. Due to this newfound power that consumers have gained, it is very important for businesses to maintain their reputations. The article informs businesses of two ways to manage your company’s reputation: implementing a system where customer complaints can be dealt with and feedback can be used to improve services and products; launching a strong offensive side so that there will be more good comments about your company than the negative ones.
First of all, it is a widely known fact that the majority of customers will vent about a problem to the world but not bring the problem directly to the company. But just because they argue with the company, it doesn’t mean that the company should be waiting on their behinds waiting for their sales to drop. They should have methods of following up on the customer’s reaction or experience of the product or service they have provided. It should be noted that the most common complaints are due to the difference between customer expectations and product usability, and poor product quality. The feedback should be used to tweak your products and business processes to meet your customers' needs.
Secondly, once there have been negative comments on the web damaging your business’s reputation, you have two choices. Either ignore these comments and try to improve on future customer satisfaction or actually get in contact with the disgruntled consumer/employee to sort things out. Or, it might be better to create positive content on the web to suppress the effects of the negative effects. As mentioned above, make more positives than there are negatives about the company. But personally, this seems to be a sly move. On the other hand, sly moves may be unavoidable in the competitive market of the world today.

Dissed Online? How to Fix Your Brand's Rep

Business Week

by Karen E. Klein

May 19, 2008

#20600392

Entry #11