Why You Should Care About Your Business’s Online Reputation and What You Can Do About It
While it’s a fantastic understatement to point out that the internet has
changed the world of commerce, sometimes the differences between
ecommerce and good old brick-and-mortar trade are overstated. For
instance, the reputation of a business, online or on the street, is
incredibly important in determining a company’s success or failure. The
difference is, before the internet, the reputation of any business but
one famous or infamous enough to be discussed in the local or national
media was virtually 100% attributable to word of mouth.
That’s not the case with the internet. It’s an understandable dynamic and perhaps a fair trade-off: a merchant, from the comfort of their living room, now has access to literally hundreds of millions of customers all over the planet. For better or worse, however, those hundreds of millions of customers have access to that merchant—and that merchant’s online reputation. As hard as it can be to remove personal information from Google, including information influencing businesses and potential customers, reputation management online is entirely possible. And incredibly important.
Why Online Reputation Management Is Important
The online reputation of a business isn’t just an abstract consideration. Online reputation management is extremely important for a number of reasons, and having a negative online reputation can be costly in more ways than one.
It Can Sway Customers
Negative comments about your products, services, customer service, or an overall negative review can cost you customers. Many people read reviews before purchasing products or booking services. Make sure your online reputation encourages potential customers to follow through on their actions.
It Can Scare Away Potential Employees
If the internet has nothing good to say about your business, products, or services, it doesn’t bode well for prospective employees researching your company before applying. Just like you’re looking at their social media activity and searching for them in Google, they’re doing the same for you and your business. Make sure accurate information is being shared about your organization online and that your online presence excites, rather than scares away potential hires.
It Can Impact Business Relationships
Just as consumers might not want to support a company they’ve read nothing but bad things about; the same goes for potential business relationships. Make sure your organization’s strong mission and well-reviewed services or products are what those you’d like to work with see.
How to Improve Your Online Reputation
So it’s clear that online reputation matters. And unfortunately, even the most honest, reliable, trustworthy, and generally well-regarded company can suffer from attacks on their reputations. Misconstrued and quote-mined misquoting, vengeful competitors or even ex-employees posting dishonest libel, as well as photos of employees or management acting inappropriately can besmirch an otherwise spotless reputation. So it’s something anyone who does business, no matter how ethically and morally, online (or hopes to attract decent employees, clients, etc. online; so all companies, pretty much) should be concerned with.
Offer a Thoughtful Response
Cleaning up an online reputation doesn’t have any quick fixes. It requires scanning social media, review aggregators like Yelp, search engines, and more for negative comments and dealing with them. If they are opinions and the site allows for a response, it helps to respond with an explanation, apology, offer for help or a refund, or whatever else might be appropriate to remedy the situation.
Work to Remove Lies and Libel
If it’s something that’s actually a lie, particularly a malicious one, contact the site directly to have it removed. That often requires quite a bit of endurance. If it’s actually libel (someone lying about fraud, accusing employees or management of criminality, etc.), consider employing legal help to have it removed. It can also be valuable to engage a company that specializes in the removal of personal information online and helps with reputation management.
Keep Employee Information Private
Things seemingly out of your control can also garner a poor online reputation, be it an account hack sending spam emails, or the identity theft of an employee. But by contracting with a company that specializes in keeping employee information private, businesses large and small can help keep personal information safe and learn how to remove personal information from Google if need-be. Be sure to contract with a company that specializes in online privacy protection and will customize plans so you get what your business needs. Prevention should always be a part of your online reputation management strategy.
About DeleteMe
With more than 10 million consumer opt-outs, DeleteMe is a leader in data privacy and security. Based in Boston, they have built that reputation by leveraging their team’s expertise regarding consumer protection, identity theft, and privacy. That expertise is represented by their effective, user-friendly suite of comprehensive privacy solutions. Whether you’re concerned about password protection and removal from Whitepages, or payment security and anything else that protects personal and financial security, DeleteMe is the online service you need to keep your personal information private year-round.
Guarantee that your information remains yours alone, at Joindeleteme.com
That’s not the case with the internet. It’s an understandable dynamic and perhaps a fair trade-off: a merchant, from the comfort of their living room, now has access to literally hundreds of millions of customers all over the planet. For better or worse, however, those hundreds of millions of customers have access to that merchant—and that merchant’s online reputation. As hard as it can be to remove personal information from Google, including information influencing businesses and potential customers, reputation management online is entirely possible. And incredibly important.
Why Online Reputation Management Is Important
The online reputation of a business isn’t just an abstract consideration. Online reputation management is extremely important for a number of reasons, and having a negative online reputation can be costly in more ways than one.
It Can Sway Customers
Negative comments about your products, services, customer service, or an overall negative review can cost you customers. Many people read reviews before purchasing products or booking services. Make sure your online reputation encourages potential customers to follow through on their actions.
It Can Scare Away Potential Employees
If the internet has nothing good to say about your business, products, or services, it doesn’t bode well for prospective employees researching your company before applying. Just like you’re looking at their social media activity and searching for them in Google, they’re doing the same for you and your business. Make sure accurate information is being shared about your organization online and that your online presence excites, rather than scares away potential hires.
It Can Impact Business Relationships
Just as consumers might not want to support a company they’ve read nothing but bad things about; the same goes for potential business relationships. Make sure your organization’s strong mission and well-reviewed services or products are what those you’d like to work with see.
How to Improve Your Online Reputation
So it’s clear that online reputation matters. And unfortunately, even the most honest, reliable, trustworthy, and generally well-regarded company can suffer from attacks on their reputations. Misconstrued and quote-mined misquoting, vengeful competitors or even ex-employees posting dishonest libel, as well as photos of employees or management acting inappropriately can besmirch an otherwise spotless reputation. So it’s something anyone who does business, no matter how ethically and morally, online (or hopes to attract decent employees, clients, etc. online; so all companies, pretty much) should be concerned with.
Offer a Thoughtful Response
Cleaning up an online reputation doesn’t have any quick fixes. It requires scanning social media, review aggregators like Yelp, search engines, and more for negative comments and dealing with them. If they are opinions and the site allows for a response, it helps to respond with an explanation, apology, offer for help or a refund, or whatever else might be appropriate to remedy the situation.
Work to Remove Lies and Libel
If it’s something that’s actually a lie, particularly a malicious one, contact the site directly to have it removed. That often requires quite a bit of endurance. If it’s actually libel (someone lying about fraud, accusing employees or management of criminality, etc.), consider employing legal help to have it removed. It can also be valuable to engage a company that specializes in the removal of personal information online and helps with reputation management.
Keep Employee Information Private
Things seemingly out of your control can also garner a poor online reputation, be it an account hack sending spam emails, or the identity theft of an employee. But by contracting with a company that specializes in keeping employee information private, businesses large and small can help keep personal information safe and learn how to remove personal information from Google if need-be. Be sure to contract with a company that specializes in online privacy protection and will customize plans so you get what your business needs. Prevention should always be a part of your online reputation management strategy.
About DeleteMe
With more than 10 million consumer opt-outs, DeleteMe is a leader in data privacy and security. Based in Boston, they have built that reputation by leveraging their team’s expertise regarding consumer protection, identity theft, and privacy. That expertise is represented by their effective, user-friendly suite of comprehensive privacy solutions. Whether you’re concerned about password protection and removal from Whitepages, or payment security and anything else that protects personal and financial security, DeleteMe is the online service you need to keep your personal information private year-round.
Guarantee that your information remains yours alone, at Joindeleteme.com
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