Reputation As An Asset

Reputation As An Asset: What Could Go Wrong?



Reputation is a valuable asset for both companies and individuals. Isn't it scary that your personal or company reputation may be just a click away from destruction? Let's face it: someone online hates you, for one reason or another, and he may not be shy in expressing his dissatisfaction with either you, your work, or your company.

When your potential customers search for you online, what do they see? If the first thing they see is a negative review on a website like Yelp, you have an online reputation problem. It doesn't matter if that negative remark is right or wrong, because it will cost you: no only in lost sales, but also lost press coverage or hiring ability.

Sometimes, you will be dealing with not only criticism, but maybe even slander and libel! Unstable Google search results are only adding to the problem: even if there are stellar reviews for you or your brand on the first page of Google today, this can all change tomorrow! Besides, the omnipresence of social media means that bad news now travels really, really fast, and can reach an enormous amount of people.

An online reputation mismanagement can quickly turn into a public relations disaster even without a major news outlet picking the story. Today, to have your reputation tarnished, a blog post or a tweet is all it takes!

However, don't try to shut the negative comment down; acknowledge the problem and apologize. Correct any misinformation as soon as possible! Give your customers a place where they can vent - on your company's servers: respond to all comments on your company's blog - especially if they are negative! Be active on Facebook (and other social media outlets if your customers hang out there), and address all the issues your customers might have. It may sound counterintuitive, but you will want to make it easy for your customers to complain.

If your online reputation management consists of trying to negate the problem, hoping that it will go away by itself, you may be in for a nasty surprise! You need to take a more proactive approach - before the online reputation disaster hits you! No matter how great your product or service is, no matter the amount of one's personal integrity - you can be badmouthed by a customer or a competitor. And if that never happened to you before, count yourself lucky, and prepare in advance, because - sooner or later - it will.