Brand reputation management: 3 ways to monitor what people are saying about your business

Whether you’ve been in business for a while or a new brand getting ready to launch your product or service, it’s essential to listen to what people say about you. Every business should have a Brand Reputation Management strategy to monitor how others perceive your brand. A strong brand doesn’t develop overnight. It takes time to build trustworthiness and connect with your ideal audience.

Bad news travel fast

Even if you provide the best service time and time again, one negative review can impact what people think about your brand. Negative comments or reviews can spread like wildfire, and it’s important to create a plan to react so you can quickly address the customer’s issues.

 When someone is getting to know your brand and considering doing business with you, they’re likely going to do a quick google search to find out what you are all about. Let’s say you’re looking for a restaurant in a new town you’re visiting, and you do a quick search to find something to eat. Are you going to dine at the restaurant with positive feedback, or would you take a chance on a place with bad reviews? The answer is obvious. Reviews can have an impact on our purchasing power. Don’t let a negative review ruin your reputation.

In this post, we’ll explore how to monitor your brand’s reputation, so you know what people are saying about your brand, including the good, the bad, and the ugly. We’ll also dive into how to set up a brand management crisis plan for your business so you can react quickly to address any issues.  

How to monitor your brand’s reputation

There are many things to consider when building a brand: your logo, fonts, colors, brand voice, and images. You’ve crafted a mission statement and defined the values that best represent your business. A good brand reputation means customers trust you and the services or products you offer. They feel comfortable buying from you, even though they have other options.

Here’s how to monitor your brand’s reputation in 2020:

Social Media - Are you actively checking to see what people are saying about your brand on social media platforms? If someone tags your business in a photo or comment, it’s easy to see what they’re saying about your brand. 

Follow hashtags related to your brand, so you can stay in the know when it comes to customer feedback.  

Google Search Results - People love reading reviews when they’re researching what to buy. That’s why it’s important to set up Google alerts about your business to stay on top of negative feedback about your business. When someone leaves a nasty comment, use it as an opportunity for your business to grow so you can better serve your clients. Respond gracefully and make an effort to build rapport with your customers.

Brand reputation crisis management

If you want to be quick to react to bad press or comments, it’s smart to build a plan, so your team understands the best way to handle these situations. Ignoring comments or reviews can cost you money. When you’re building your brand, focus on your brand reputation crisis management response to solve problems as quickly as possible, and try to move forward.

Don’t wait to react. If you wait too long to respond or take action, you risk creating more damage to your brand’s reputation. When you’re launching your business, consider a few possible scenarios that could negatively impact your business and give yourself options to handle each one.

Create guidelines for responding to an unhappy customer or negative press. The last thing you want is to feel blindsided when things hit the fan. Knowing how and when to react will give you the chance to rebuild trust with your audience.

Be Transparent. Nobody is perfect. Don’t blame your mistakes on someone or something else. Show up, admit your mistake, and apologize. Prove that you’re willing to make changes to improve the customer experience.

Connect with Your Audience. Look for ways to engage with your customers before you’re in crisis mode. If you suddenly start responding to dm’s and comments after a bad review, people will begin to notice. Build an engaged community from the start.

Ask questions to see how you can better solve your customer’s problems and provide value in your email newsletter. Remember why you got in business in the first place, and check-in with your team to make sure you’re sticking to your core values in everything you do.  

Connect with key players. Build relationships with social media influencers, editors, and reporters. Look for ways to provide value to your sources so they know they can turn to you when they need something. Build those connections before you’re dealing with a crisis.

Conclusion

Mistakes happen, but it’s how you react to them that can make or break your brand. Take a moment to review your brand reputation management strategy to make sure you and your team have a plan in place to handle negative press or comments. Build audits into your strategy and check-in to make sure what you think about your brand aligns with what people are saying about you.