Reputation Marketing: Getting Your Customers to Work for You

Reputation marketing is an extremely important part of helping your business grow and succeed. Marketing has changed greatly over the years and the evolution of social media has given companies a better way to interact with their customers while giving those customers a voice. Customers now have more control then they ever have before when it comes to influencing their peers and steering business towards companies that they favor. This has forced marketing in a new direction. Rather than blindly distributing ads to the faceless masses, companies now are focusing on reputation marketing and connecting with their customers and building lasting relationships in an effort to retain business and gain new business through their loyal customers.

These days, people want to buy from people, not faceless corporations. They want to feel like their purchases matter and influence the world around them. Reputation marketing is all about empowering your customers and respecting their influence. The best way to attract new customers is by making sure that your existing customers are satisfied and well taken care of.

How Reviews Influence Reputation Marketing

Reputation marketing is about utilizing your company’s good reputation to make your company more appealing to others. The best way that you can do this is by encouraging your customers to write reviews about your company. Statistically, people are more motivated to write negative reviews than they are to write positive reviews. This can be a big problem for companies who have few customer reviews online. Reputation marketing is about getting your customers to help improve your reputation. You’re already providing them with high quality service or products, now you want them to talk about it. By encouraging your customers to share their experience with your company in an online review, you are allowing others to get a glimpse of the excellent service that your company provides. It also helps to put any negative reviews into perspective. If a company has 2 negative reviews and three positive reviews, then that may steer customers away. However, if that company encouraged their customers to leave positive reviews with their good experiences then those 2 negative reviews quickly diminish in value as the positive reviews exponentially increase.

While it isn’t possible to please everyone, you don’t want to brush those negative reviews aside, especially if they have a valid complaint. Reputation marketing is also about managing the negative side of your company’s reputation as well. Address the negative reviews, but do so offline and out of the eye of the public. Speak with the customer who had a less than desirable experience and see if there’s a legitimate complaint and find out what you can do to make it up to them. Your customers should always be treated with kindness and respect. Without them, your business will fail. Often times customers just want to be heard and receive an apology if there was any wrong doing, even if it was unintentional. This simple act of kindness may actually even persuade the customer to return to your company for future business as they know that they’ll be treated respectfully and that their concerns are heard. Reputation marketing encompasses all sides of your reputation and how you appear to your customers.

Reputation Marketing is more than Just Reviews

While positive reviews and negative review management are vital aspects of reputation marketing, don’t get so caught up in them that you neglect other aspects of your reputation. For example, it’s a fantastic idea to utilize social media to reach your customers and show them how your company is so much more than just another brand. People look for companies that share their ideals and morals. Showcase your positive reviews on your social media outlets, but also take the time to show what your company stands for and how you do business. If your company supports a charity or hosts fund raising events, show your customers. Think about what your company stands for and how you can use reputation marketing to develop your reputation to get those ideas across to your customers. You want your customers to be excited about doing business with you. Not only are they getting your excellent products or services, but they’re helping the world become a better place by investing in a company that has similar views to their own.

Another important part of reputation marketing is getting the word out about your company’s reputation. It doesn’t do a whole lot of good to have pages of great reviews and stories about your good deeds if no one is seeing them. Portside Marketing can help you maximize the number of customers that you reach by helping you get your company into the spotlight. They can do this through various techniques including producing high quality SEO content that helps your website and social media profiles climb to the top of search results. They can also provide guidance when it comes to your ongoing reputation marketing needs.

Reputation marketing can really make or break your business. It can take your business to the next level and help you become a household name in your industry.