Navigating Reputation Management in a Digital Age
Reputation management has always been important, but in this digital world where a single social media post can change the way people see your business, it’s more crucial than ever. If you’re a business leader, understanding how to navigate your reputation in the digital age is crucial to the success and longevity of your business. But, it’s okay if you’re not sure where to get started.
Let’s cover a few crucial areas that could potentially make or break your business’ reputation, and what you can do to remain in good standing with your audience.
Be Transparent
Today’s average consumer doesn’t want to feel like they’re being marketed to 24/7. Rather, they want to form relationships with the brands they trust. Even if you solely run a digital business, you can still foster those relationships by being transparent about the “good” and the “bad”.
Show your audience who you really are during the good times, and own up to mistakes when they happen. Planning for missteps and inevitably explaining these missteps on social media should be a part of your reputation strategy. It “humanizes” your brand and allows you to form real-time connections with people while letting them know you’re willing to do whatever it takes to make things right.
Embrace Technology
One of the biggest mistakes you can make as a business in today’s world is not adapting to ever-changing technology. It’s not enough to have a website that you never touch. If something goes wrong with your business and you don’t have a strong online presence, you could get rolled over by people on social media news sites, and more.
In addition to using tech to maintain your reputation, it can also help with:
Everyday business operations;
Customer engagement;
Data collection;
Communication.
Failure to adapt to technology can make your customers frustrated. At best, they’ll choose a competitor that does focus on changing technology. At worst, they’ll develop a negative assessment of your brand.
Listen to Your Customers
Although a digital environment can certainly bring your reputation down as a business, it also has the means to bring it back up through customer engagement. However, before you build anything among your audience, you need to understand them first.
Surveys can be incredibly effective in providing detailed information about your customers and their needs. You can send out digital surveys via email, or put them on your website, or social media platforms — letting your customers know that you want their input can improve overall satisfaction. If your company has had a misstep recently, collecting customer data about how to fix it and improve matters going forward will also make a difference.
The digital world isn’t going to take a step back. If anything, we’ll continue to see major leaps in tech advancements, and your business needs to take advantage of those changes rather than fighting back against them. Not only will getting on board make reputation management either, but it will build your brand from a place of humanity, which your customers are likely to appreciate.
