Reputation ManagementBy Andy Smit

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Do you care about what people say about your business?

Good reputation management is not only about reacting well to what people say about you, your brand, or your products and services, but also about whether to react at all and, if so, when.

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SO, what is Online Reputation Management?

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Online reputation management (ORM) is about improving or restoring your name or your brand's good standing. This is by countering, weakeningor eliminating the negative material found on the Internet – defeating it with more positive material to improving your credibility and customers' trust in you.

Why are reviews important?

• 72% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from real people.

• 68% of people go to social networking websites to read product and service reviews.

• 90% of consumers say that a POSITIVE online reviews influences their buying decisions.

• 80% of consumers changed their purchasing decision based on negative reviews. C

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Reviews impact SEO

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How reviews are measured? Review Signals - Different aspects of a review and how it impacts your business.

• Review Quantity – 7-10 reviews before most people trust your business

• Review Velocity – How quickly they are posted.

• Review Diversity – How many trusted sites have reviews about you

• Third Party Reviews – The number of reviews you have outside of Google

• Volume of Testimonials in Reviews – How many reviews actually have more than just 5 stars – also includes testimonials

• Google Maps – Reviews posted through Google Maps/Google Plus (social network).

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Exercise – Review Response In the last week, think of a place you went to visit(restaurant, gym, yoga, bar etc.) and type in the name on your mobile device.

Example: Solterra Winery and Kitchen (Google) Ratings

1. Yelp – 4.1/5 (452 reviews)

2. OpenTable - 4.3/5 (207 reviews)

3. TripAdvisor – 4/5 (86 reviews)

Now pick a review platform and find the negative reviews. What do you see? LIMITED to NO response from the business.

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Not all complaints are created equal!

1) Most unhappy customers don’t complain, they just don’t come back ever.

Studies show that of the 94% that leave, the 6% that do complain provide you with ample opportunities to address what needs to be fixed. Why? They cared enough to complain!

2) A complaint is a buying signal

The complaint is often a call for help so that they can maintain their relationship with you. It may feel like a personal attack but its really the customer attempting to reconcile their conflicting feelings.

3) A complaint is private between you and your customer

Something has to go very, very wrong for a consumer to write a bad review (Emotional Connection). Often many of these reviews go unanswered with no solutions offered.

4) A complaint, if successfully resolved, will retain the customer 70% of the time.

5) A complaint is an opportunity to LEARN what needs to be improved.

A complaint reflects a failure of some sort either in your business processes or in setting expectations of the customers. A careful examination of the causes can really help you improve and hopefully avoid the situation in the future.

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Impact of Responding VS. NOT responding.

1) A yelp user that had an unsatisfactory experience and the business did not respond in a manner that made the customer feel appreciated.

https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=f_3XBBZpcKlohe6CtI68BA

2) A yelp user that had an unsatisfactory experience and the business did respond in a manner that made the customer feel appreciated.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/k9-loft-sherman-oaks?hrid=zRszzysqBT2b_BAzTcysDQ&utm_campaign=www_review_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

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How to deal with negative reviews

MONITOR – SUPPRESS – PROMOTE – RECOVER

1. MONITOR – What others are saying about you. Be pro-active and engaged!

2. SUPPRESS – Address false and negative reviews immediately in a positive manner.

3. PROMOTE – positive content to build trust. What is that? We will discuss.

4. RECOVER – Lost income, increase conversion and increase retention (brand loyalty).

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How to deal with negative reviews continued…

PROMOTE – RECOVER

Promoting your reputation can happen in various ways:

#1 – Blog – If you have a blog, post positive company news and customer stories. Those blog posts can often have a significant impact.

#2 – Encourage more POSITIVE reviews. Ask customers to please write a review if they were happy and thank them.

#3 – Brand Loyalty – Those customers that frequent your business can become your biggest advocates. Talk about them, reward them and in exchange they will share with friend and family and even socially.

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Social Reputation

A global survey by Deloitte ranks reputation as executives’ top strategic risk. The study found most reputation management programs don’t support their business strategy well.

It’s important to understand the way online conversations roll out.

Here are some key factors to consider:

• Anyone’s voice in social media can be heard.

• Companies can have more difficulties than individuals in avoiding bad news.

• Due to online social and web search, kindred spirits can easily become aware of others who share their criticisms.

• Bad news travels faster and farther than good news.

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How to deal with what people are saying about you on social media! Word of mouth has now gone social. More of your customers, vendors and partners are on social media. Understanding how negative social comments impact your business, just think about how many people Facebook reaches!!

How to deal with negative social sentiment?

1. Always respond to negative post with positive comments (example to come)

2. Know what you and your staff are posting on social media. Develop a social media calendar to avoid any chance of negative responses from customers.

3. Take conversation offline and encourage the customers to contact your business.

4. Monitor your social sphere by using tools such as HootSuite. This way you can manage all channels in one place and be pro-active in your social conversations.

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Offline Reputation

While customers may or may not write a review about their experience, they will tell at least 1 person if it was a bad experience.

How do you manage offline reputation?

1. Have a stable online reputation

2. Emphasize “word of mouth”. While most of word of mouth has gone online/social, it is still a powerful way to build your brand reputation.

3. Satisfy your customers. Your most important asset is those customer who are loyal and continue to buy or buy more.

4. Measure results through asking for customer feedback or handing out comment cards

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Final tips for Managing Reputation

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• Remain Calm – Reviews are based on emotion. How you respond is critical part of the recovery process.

• Eliminate BAD with GOOD – Content is king. Educate the consumer through blogging and testimonials.

• Share on Social Media – Share good feedback or reviews onsocial media. There is no better reward than thanking a customer for sharing their great experience.

• Reviews BUILD loyalty – 94% of people that frequent your business won’t write a review. So the 6% that took the time to write a positive or negative review should be rewarded for their feedback.

• Be Proactive not Reactive – Treat every review as a learning opportunity.

Example Exercise

This example is from a DogWatch customer. It’s a great example of how

to effectively manage a review and the customers expectations. At no single instance was there a point that the

DogWatch staff reacted emotionally.

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Pressure Sores Incident

• Sunday 7:25AM - Customer leaves following review on the Corporate Facebook page:

“Let me start by saying that I thought dogwatch was a great company. I did my research, they came in at a price half that of PetSafe or Invisible fence and they use really great technology!!! They also installed it the following day after I called!!!! I wanted to write a great story about how this product really kept my dogs safe and it did until yesterday. No, the product didn't fail, my dogs did not run through the fence, and they didn't break the collars. However, the product dug into the necks of both of my dogs in one 12 hour period! I checked everyday for irritation as your guide tells (I brush them everyday as I have two Great Pyrenees). This is disgusting and hurts me to see my dogs in pain. I have started placing antibiotic ointment on them and have to leave the collars off for the next 7-10 days until the punctures and brush burns heal. I am going to contact costumer service on Monday when they open, but I wanted to warn other people looking for a good underground fence company not to go with dogwatch unless you check your dog's collar every five minutes. I have attached a photo of my dogs injuries in the comments section!”

• Customer also sends a Facebook message to Corporate with photos attached. C

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Pressure Sores Incident (cont.)

• Sunday 1:45PM – DogWatch Marketing team publically responds to customer’s review with the following comment:

“Oh dear! That is not good! It is also very unusual. Pressure sores are rare and for them to happen so quickly is extremely rare. That would be very upsetting. We are so sorry this happened to your sweet pups. Please contact Madge in Customer Service on Monday morning: (800) 793-3436x614.”

• Sunday 1:45PM – DogWatch Marketing team privately responds to customer’s review with the following message:

“Thanks for letting us know. We are so sorry this happened to your dogs. Sores like that are rare - especially since it sounds like you have been removing the collars as recommended. To have it happen to both your pups at the same time is very unusual. We want to keep pets safe, not hurt them, so we'd really like to hear more about how this happened. We understand how upsetting this must be. Please contact Madge in Customer Service on Monday morning: (800) 793-3436x614.”

• Sunday 2:00PM – Customer responds privately to message from DogWatch Marketing:

“I will contact tomorrow at 9 am sharp”

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Pressure Sores Incident (cont.)

• Sunday 2:15PM – Conversation continues via private Facebook messages. See excerpt below:

Customer: Is there any way I might be able to speak with someone today?

DogWatch: Have you contacted your local Dealer?

Customer: Yes. He simply said to leave the collars off for a week and put something called Bag Balm on them for the week. I am taking them to the vet tomorrow. However, I feel that some type of compensation is due. Not from my local dealer either because this is not his fault. It's a problem with the design of the equipment. That's how I feel.

DW: I understand that this is upsetting. If it were my dog, I would be upset/angry. I can tell you that this is rare ... but since it happened to your dog, that doesn't help. Madge is the best person to talk to. She is the Customer Service Supervisor - but she is not available until tomorrow morning. I am really sorry your pups are going through this. Those sores look really uncomfortable. Who is your local Dealer?

Customer: Ok. I will contact her tomorrow. The worst part is that I even recommended your product to multiple people. I hope it doesn't happen to them too.

DW: Honestly, it is very rare. That is why it is important for us to learn more about how this happened.

Customer: DogWatch of Piedmont (Virginia). Lawrence was extremely helpful, put in our system and even showed me everything I needed to know…he did everything he was supposed to. He was great and I have nothing against him at all…Thank you for hearing me out. I will definitely contact Madge in the morning at 9 am.

DW: It sounds like you were doing the right things. We all use DogWatch collars on our own dogs, so we want to make sure they are safe and effective. I'll let Madge know to expect your call in the morning. Again, I am really sorry this happened to your dogs.

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Pressure Sores Incident (cont.)

• Monday 9AM – Customer calls DogWatch Customer Service.

Conversation moves offline. Madge, Customer Service Supervisor, listens to customer’s concerns, explains why this rare complication occurs, and discusses things he can do to prevent the sores from reappearing. This includes checking the collar regularly, especially in the case of two fast-growing pups, and making sure it is not too tight. Madge also sends the client new collars and conductive plastic GentleFit™ contact posts, free of charge. (The plastic contact posts are a good option for dogs who may have a sensitivity to the traditional metal posts.)

Customer also speaks on the phone with his local Dealer, who agrees to provide him with some compensation to cover a portion of the veterinary bills.

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What did we learn so far?

1. Address the concerns head on. Don’t hide from the issue as this will make things worse.

2. Every interaction is a LEARNING opportunity

3. Empathize with the customer whether they are right or wrong

4. Always focus attention on the solution, NOT the problem.

5. More importantly, THE CUSTOMER JUST WANTS TO KNOW THAT THERE IS SOMEONE ON THE OTHER SIDE THAT CARES!!

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Pressure Sores Incident – Follow Up

• Thursday 4:30PM – DogWatch reaches out to customer for update and with a request to amend his review:

“Hi Ryan - How are you dogs? I really hope the pressure sores are starting to get a bit better. I know you have been in touch with Madge and with your local Dealer, Lawrence, and I hope they have been responsive to your situation. In addition to keeping dogs safe, we also want to provide good customer service.

We understand that reading online reviews is an important part of today's customer experience, so we have a general policy to not remove honest negative reviews. After working with Madge and Lawrence, I am wondering if there is anything you might be willing to do to amend your review or change the star rating?

I am also wondering if you would be willing to consider removing the photos? I ask this not because we want to hide what happened, but out of a concern that these could come to the attention of those who are opposed to electronic pet containment. There is a small but passionate group of individuals who seize on any evidence they can find to try to make the case that electronic devices are dangerous. After 25+ years of safely containing pets, we know this is not true, but the evidence is irrelevant to those who chose to believe otherwise.

As you know from your own experience, the containment system works without harming the dogs. It keeps pets safe. Pressure sores are pressure sores - they do not have anything to do with the way electronic containment works. Pressure sores are caused by circumstances such as collar fit, dirt, moisture, etc. - and they are rare. But that is not how it will be portrayed by those who are opposed to hidden fences (ours and all other brands.)

I apologize for the length of this message, but I wanted to explain my request. I don't want you to think we just trying to avoid your negative review. I hope you understand our concern.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for your consideration.

Demie LyonsMarketing ManagerDogWatch Inc.”

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Pressure Sores Incident (cont.)

• Saturday 12:30PM – Customer changes his review from 1 to 4 stars, removes the photos and adds the following comment:

“I have just recently changed my review from 1 to 4 stars. This company is wonderful in their customer service! They explained that the sores were not puncture wounds (which the vet confirmed), explained how it happened and even gave me some pointers on how to keep this from occurring again (again which the vet confirmed). They also sent me new collars and gentle point prongs to help keep this from occurring again. I would recommend this fence company any day!

• Customer also leaves a positive review on his DogWatch Dealer’s Facebook page:

“Lawrence and his nephew were wonderful and put my fence in in no time at all. He explained everything and has helped me with any questions I have had about the system! I would recommend Lawrence and his company any day!”

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10 Online Reputation Management Commandments

1. Become well respected

2. Be transparent

3. Monitor what they are saying about you

4. React quickly and politely

5. Address criticism

6. Treat your Google page 1 as your business card

7. Understand your detractors

8. Combat negative reviews with positive reviews

9. Learn from your mistakes

10. Ask for help when necessary

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Whitepaper Guide

I developed a handy whitepaper guide to help you when it comes to Soliciting for reviews. Do’s and Don'ts.

To download the guide, go to:

www.andysmit.com/whitepaper

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