Every business needs an online presence these days to succeed in the global marketplace. Your website and social media pages are an extension of your brand and areas you need to invest some time to establish a positive online reputation. Want to boost web traffic and increase product sales? Need to ensure your brand is well received through its digital marketing campaigns? Here are our top 5 tips!
Encourage happy customers to write positive reviews
Most reviewers are inspired into action by a negative experience of a company or product. Not only is this bad for your digital marketing but also an unfair reflection of your company. Make it as easy as possible for customers to review you quickly and efficiently to help counteract the negative posts. Positive reviews increase product sales and web traffic. You could even offer a discount or special deal for those who review. Everyone likes a freebee. You don’t want to bribe people into writing something positive but it is important to encourage your customers to leave feedback. The wording of these requests is key and needs to be carefully considered in line with your digital marketing and brand identity. Make sure you set up an automatic ‘thank you’ for people who do leave you a review, regardless of the content.
Interact with reviewers
Don’t ignore complaints and comments if they are justified. In fact, negative reviews can be used to improve your products and digital marketing campaigns. By taking on constructive criticism, you should be able to resolve any problems and make the customer feel listened to and valued. In fact, 95% of people who felt their negative review had been professionally and properly responded to will use the company again. In theory, if handled correctly negative reviews can actually increase product sales because you begin to build a relationship between your company and your consumers and re-establish brand trust.
Be honest and truthful
If there is a problem, own up to it. Lying to consumers never won businesses any favours. Treat each problem you are alerted to regarding products head on. Publicly to allow customers to see you are serious about providing quality products to your customers. You can also release a statement to counteract negative press if necessary.
Keep track of everything online
We know you’re not supposed to Google yourself or your company. But knowing who is saying what when it comes to business is really important. If you notice a sharp drop in web traffic it might be because of a negative comment which has damaged your reputation. By finding this review as quickly as possible, you can deal with the complaint. This will help get your digital marketing back on track as well as seeing an increase in product sales in response to your professional approach.
Be ethical
We admit that not all web traffic is good but don’t try and silence complainants nor have their accounts blocked. Prepare yourself and staff to deal with inevitable complaints and problems. Don’t hide away and cover up issues. Make responding to reviews part of your digital marketing plan because without this capability, your online reputation will be floundering. There are ways in which to positively present your company even in the face of negative reviews. If done correctly, your online reputation should highlight your products or services. It can also demonstrate the way in which you interact with your customers, in both positive and negative circumstances.
Conclusion
Your online reputation requires investment of both time and energy. And, of course, the development of a business which deserves a positive reputation. Do not expect the positive reviews to come, your products to be showcased on popular websites and your company to be listed on directories with glowing recommendations without hard work. It takes time and dedication to build a stellar online reputation but it is worth it. Research suggests between 80 and 90% of buyers research a company and their products before making a purchase. Make sure they get the right first impression from your online reputation.
Sure, I’m a sales specialist – but we do things a little differently around here! For one thing, I’m not here to sell anything - I’m here to solve problems. By getting to know your business, you’ll get proven digital marketing solutions that bring in sales, leads, and results. It’s all about putting you ahead of the competition. Are you ready to be in first place?
