How To Build A Winning Reputation For Your Small Business

A winning reputation results from small business owners using practical strategies. It not only keeps them competitive, but also helps with influencing customer perceptions.

How buyers perceive a business is significant to the well-being of its reputation.

Thus, what businesses produce is only a fraction of the story. Blogs, videos, and social posts only share how a company wants shoppers to receive them. 

The other part of the story comes from what customers produce. Online reviews, star ratings, and recommendations are how buyers share their shopping experience.

Both sides are what potential customers use when making buying decisions. Yet, most put their trust in online reviews. Many think of them as less biased than what companies share about themselves.

Businesses need a plan to neutralize negative customer views and form a reputation.

What is Reputation Management?

Reputation management involves the company performing specific activities. The aim is to help customers establish a positive perception of the company.

Several factors influence a company's reputation. What businesses offer customers affects their buying experiences and online reviews. 

Small business owners need to focus on:

• Value
• Quality
• Relation to the environment
• Social responsibility
• Customer service

How a small business acts is how customers define how well or not so well they perform. 

Reputation management activities include:

• Online engagement
• Open lines of communication
• Reply to all social media comments and online reviews (whether negative or positive).
• Request customer feedback
• Produce valuable content
• Be socially and environmentally aware
• Take part in community events.
• Become an online resource
• Provide quality customer service
• Have a strong workplace culture
• Hire knowledgeable people
• Build brand awareness with newsworthy content (press releases, newsletters, etc.)

The goal is to prove that the business, and employees, are trustworthy. 

How Business Communication Affects Reputation

Promoting a company's reputation happens by using various communication channels. (i.e., phone calls, SMS, social media platforms, online review sites, email, etc.)

Today's customers expect to communicate with real people via their preferred channels. Small businesses need to set expectations for customers to avoid tarnishing their reputations.

How to Communicate and Set Expectations for Customers 

1. Use the small business website as a hub.

A company's communication hub should be its website. The business needs to use its site to share more than product and services information. 

The website is how small businesses can help set customer expectations. Communicating what customers should expect from the company can help prevent unhappy buyers.

Setting customer expectations using the hub:

• Display business hours on the company website and on social.
• Share only the social media platforms the business uses.
• Provide a "Contact Us" section that offers various ways to connect with the business. (i.e., phone number, email address, etc.)
• Notify customers of a timeframe of when they will receive a response from the company.
• Offer a "Frequently Asked Question" (FAQ) or "Troubleshooting" section. Each can help customers resolve issues quicker and autonomously. 

2. Choose social platforms that the business will use.

It is easy to get caught up with thinking the business must be on every social media platform. Yet, this can hurt the company's reputation. 

Small businesses should only be on social networks that they will actually use. Meaning, the company will engage, post, and respond to activities on these platforms. The business will check these sites several times daily to ensure nothing gets missed.

Whether the company logs into each site or uses an online tool for social media, it needs to be manageable.

It is impossible to create valuable and engaging content on all social sites. Thus, select only the social media platforms that the company's target audience uses. Otherwise, a breakdown in customer communication will happen. Not too long after, the trust they once had for the business will go too.

3. Respond in a timely fashion to customer comments and reviews

Some customers will comment on Facebook, while others use Yelp to post online reviews. 

Customer comments can include questions about the business, products, or services. Online reviews are often a reflection of the business's performance. 

Although they differ in a couple of ways, both need a quick and professional response.

4. Share any updates with customers

If the company has to order a part or product because they are out of stock, update the customer. 

If an item is going to be late, share it with the buyer. Whether good or bad news, companies must be comfortable communicating updates. Keeping buyers in the loop proves that the business cares about their time and concerns. 

Trust not only comes from great news. For customers, a trustworthy business is a communicative one.

Communication is essential in building customer relationships and trust. Yet, some small businesses do not have a website, social presence, or response strategy.

A reputation management plan helps to figure out how to connect with customers. An outline will start to develop that includes what the business needs to do to help its reputation.

Having better communication with customers results in happy buyers and a good reputation.

How to Build a Winning Reputation Management Plan

A reputation management plan involves preparation, direction, and control. 

• Reputation Preparation: Small businesses need to prepare for what customers say about them. Devise a plan on how the company will respond to each comment or review
• Reputation Direction: The strategy needs to include how the small business will direct the customer. It happens through how they respond to positive and negative comments or reviews.
• Reputation Control: Once the small business responds, it can take control of the situation. It can also resolve any issues and keep its reputation intact.

Conclusion

A winning reputation management plan will not happen overnight. Small business owners need to be patient, observant, and flexible with the strategy. To have a good reputation requires being proactive and not reactive. 

Businesses that prepare, direct, and control have a better handle on their reputation. The company will create more long-lasting customer relationships. 

Communication must be a top priority to develop customer trust and a winning reputation.