Contributed post.

If your brand reputation isn’t quite as strong as it could be, or if your business is starting to feel an impact from negative online reviews, the good news is that doing something about it is easier than ever. Here are seven steps you can take today to turn the situation around and build a stronger brand.

Focus on Being Authoritative

The first action is to focus on being authoritative. Show that your brand is a leader and your company spokespeople are thought leaders and industry experts. Post high-quality content and encourage sharing by your employees and brand fans.

Sponsor, exhibit, and (if possible) speak at trade shows and industry events, particularly any that are local to your main office. If your budget is tight or an event isn’t quite a direct hit, at least send a couple of sales people to walk the floor and strike up conversations.

Write guest posts and bylined articles for industry publications to share your thought leadership more widely. Demonstrating expertise and understanding of your clients and prospects will quickly improve your online brand reputation.

Deliver Excellent Customer Service

Bad customer service can have a huge negative impact on your company’s reputation. Always put your customers first and take the time to ask them about their experiences with you. Track and escalate any recurring issues to take corrective action.

Be there for your customers, wherever they are online. If you discover that you’re missing customer questions or concerns because you are not as active as you should be on certain platforms, change that. Use brand monitoring to make sure you don’t miss questions or complaints (or positive comments!) then make sure it’s someone’s responsibility to either respond directly or route appropriately.

You may also want to offer gifts or even discounts to the people you’ve let down. And make sure that you’re rewarding you’re rewarding your brand advocates and repeat buyers.

If you’re late delivering a product, take the time to apologize. Even if the issue is not your fault, take responsibility and do all you can to avoid letting your customers down. It may be that you look into supplier compliance monitoring and reporting, so you can keep track of all your deliveries. This will help you to pinpoint inefficiencies and also ensure that you are always on track for delivering the service you are promising.

Be Competitive

Obviously, your prices are in line with what similar companies are charging—unless there is a very solid reason to charge more. Pricing decisions are set by the three C’s—costs, competition, and customers.

If you are positioning as a luxury brand, then being expensive may work in your favor. That said, price is a big concern for both B2C and B2B customers in the current inflationary environment. Make sure you are still allowing your buyers to get the services or products they need without pricing them out of the market.

Be Visible

Online visibility is crucial. Optimizing your online findability through web presence optimization will put your brand in front of buyers whenever and wherever they are looking.

Beyond your website and blog, prospects need to see your social media pages so they can find updates and information on new product releases. Engage with social media accounts even if you do not have a big market, as this is the best way to make sure you’re not missing out on opportunities. Don’t treat social media as a broadcast channel; interact with customers and prospects to show that you value their thoughts and input.

Be Easy to Reach

Make sure you are responsive and do what you can to answer as soon as possible whenever someone messages or emails you. You’ll soon get a boost to your reputation as people see you as being both consistent and reliable.

Whatever you do, do not follow the example of reMarkable. The brand has developed a reputation for advertising heavily on social media, but ignoring brand monitoring and prospect comments and questions on social media. Not the kind of online brand reputation you want.

Provide a Solid Product

Your reputation will take a hit if you don’t provide a consistently valuable product, or if you do not provide your customers with the level of service you are promising them. Use feedback forms or surveys to capture input from your customers about potential product improvements.

Listen to your customers and ask them questions if you are unsure about anything. Most customers are happy to provide you with their feedback, particularly if they get a discount or reward in return. Showcasing your expertise and staying engaged will help grow your sales and enhance your online brand reputation.

Focus on your Team

If your mission statement says you are dedicated to your customers but your team isn’t, your brand image and sales will suffer. Build and nurture a culture that puts your customers first and ensures your team is responding to their needs.

Make sure your team is set up for success, and that they have the right software and tools needed to get their job done. It takes a combination of the right people, processes, and technology to deliver a delightful customer experience and build a strong brand reputation.

The post Seven Steps to Improve Your Company’s Online Brand Reputation appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog | Webbiquity.