“Waiter There’s a Fly in My Soup!”
If you are not convinced that you do need to take your online reputation management seriously, take a look at the opportunities it can open up for you in the case of best practice customer service.
Firstly it stands to reason that talking with your customers regularly means that problems are less likely to brew and brew and can be ironed out quicker than if you let contact slide and just assume everything’s OK.
We’ve all seen, or been in the situation, where a customer has been lost to a competitor without ever knowing the reason why – 9 times out of 10 it’s because we weren’t engaging with them; when we take the time to ask our customers questions and opinions then we make them feel wanted and they generally won’t leave, if we can provide what they need.
The online marketing world can make this process relatively easy because our customers are likely talking on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. They are instantly accessible and ready to talk! People share opinions openly about everything nowadays! They expect it!
But the customer service opportunities are about more than merely solving problems for existing customers. They can help us win business too.
You can turn problem situations into positives for your business – it’s like the fly in the soup scenario where you create good will by offering the customer their meal for free and a free bottle of wine next time they come to dine with you: it turns a negative situation into an opportunity to keep that customer happy. Not only that but the other people in the restaurant saw what happened and they know that if they have any problems in the future they’ll be treated well. They will tell their friends, so you have turned a potentially negative outcome into a raving positive.
Now apply the restaurant scenario to a social media chat-room or the Wall of your business Facebook page. Can you see the opportunities you have to create a culture of care and customer service in your business?
As a Redcliffe small business owner you may be thinking “well, that’s all well and good, but I don’t have the time to be hanging around social media sites all day”. That’s a valid comment and we’re not asking you to do that. You see, if you don’t have staff that can do the job, it can easily be outsourced; customer service doesn’t make money for your business directly, so that’s why many businesses have outsourced it in the past (note the call centers in India) – online customer service and reputation management is no different.
Do you have a question about how online reputation management can work for your business then drop it in the comments below.