As an online presence manager Florida business owners can count on I spend most of my working hours fixing mistakes that well-intentioned business owners have made. So, today, I wanted to share 4 tips with you that you can take advantage of to stop the damage before it begins!
4 Tips From an Online Presence Manager Florida Business Owners Count On
1. Doing Nothing Isn’t a Choice
If you’re not presenting a negative online presence then all is well…right?
WRONG!
When you sit back and do nothing, you not only allow your competition to stride ahead of you in the world of SEO, but you also allow others to assume your identity, steal your keywords, steal your online profile names, and misrepresent you. What happens then? Well, you end up looking like something you’re not and your potential customers and existing customers will shy away from everything you represent.
2. Don’t Let it Sit…
While it’s important to grab your online property – your domain name, your Twitter handle, your Facebook handle, etc. just grabbing them isn’t enough. In an age where the vast majority of exposure people will get to your business is online, it’s important for you to actually represent yourself with this online real estate. No one wants to do business with a company that can’t even represent themselves in the largest advertising arena there is.
3. Act the Part
As a small business owner, anything and everything you do online is going to be connected to your business. That means that you need to act the part of the business professional at all times on all pertinent online forums.
Don’t get sucked into petty arguments, keep in mind that the customer is always right (except when they aren’t…more on this later), and keep a level head. Professionalism will ALWAYS win you more business than acting like a child.
4. The Customer is Always Right…Except When They Aren’t…
In 99% of cases, your customer is always going to be right and it would behoove you to keep this in mind. For example, a customer may have had an unpleasant encounter with one of your employees. You may feel that the encounter was not all that unpleasant, but the thing is… YOU don’t get to tell your customer how they feel. Instead of defending your employee, jumping to claim that your business is “better than that”, or copping an attitude, gracefully accept that this person has had what they believe to be an unpleasant experience and it’s up to you to remedy that.
…what about when a customer isn’t right
In the rare instance that a customer is at fault, it would still be to your benefit to act like an adult. Does that mean that you have to accept what has happened and support that person’s point of view? For example, if a customer publicly badmouths your company for hiring interracial staff, you do not (and should not) support their claim under the umbrella of “the customer is always right”. What should you do? Do what’s right. Represent yourself and your business professionally, but don’t be afraid to speak out when you truly see something wrong. Don’t make personal attacks, don’t take it to a schoolyard level, but do set the record straight. For example: “We understand that your personal beliefs do not mesh with our own, however, we have (and always will) support diversity and equality in all it’s forms.”
Want To Do More Than a Little Damage Control?
If you want to do more than damage control and want to see your business take off with a successful online reputation, give me a call at 727-475-6460. I’ll be happy to work with you to push your business far ahead of the competition and back on the road to success!
