Bad Rep, Bad Rep, What you gonna do when they come for you

Before you read this reputation management post – hit play!

They lurk within the darkest recesses of the internet. They are plotting to get your business. They are the feared disgruntled customer! What will you do when they come for you?

Ok enough with the dramatics. Now onto the facts. It is impossible to please everyone. Doing business with the public means you open yourself up to the possibility of attracting customers who just can’t be satisfied. This is why reputation management is important.

Prepare, response, perception & concealment of negative material.

A big part of reputation management is to prepare for this, by seeking to control listings in the search result page for as many brand-related keywords as possible. This is to control the real estate and make sure no one is slandering your company.

When a reputation management campaign is set up for the long run, it changes the PR game. Everything is now proactive rather than reactive – so you aren’t on the back foot.

Ultimately the biggest factor you can control is your response, and failing to do this correctly will damage your business more than a negative review will. So before you engage in reputation management, seek to remedy the situation. It can not only save you money by not having to engage in reputation management, but it also puts the microscope on the other person by at least having tried all available courses of action.

Having said that, perception of your response is also critical. The more custom, straightforward and heartfelt the message – the more people will look at your company in a good light. This is essential to take in as a business since dry corporate-think is a thing of the past.

Adaption is key to any evolved organisms survival, so failure to adapt to this bare standard can be disastrous.

Now onto the nitty gritty of reputation management. When a negative review is posted, it only gains power by attracting visitors to read it. The easiest way for them to do so is via Google’s Search Result Page. This is where the threat takes place!

A listing isn’t dangerous by itself. The only people you need to worry about reading RipOffReport are new potential customers who have no understanding of your business or are deciding where to utilise your business. Getting the post taken down is meaningless with this regard and furthermore, the chances of you being able to take down that post are squat. Those websites make their money that way.

To truly take away the power that a bad, negative review has – one must minimise its visibility on Google for your brand related keywords.

With the preparation, response and perception signals set up, the real task of concealing the negative review by decreasing its search engine visibility & conversely mitigating damage come into play.

At this stage, seek the advice and counsel of reputation management consultant like myself.