Protect Your Business Name & Your Reputation
If you’re a savvy business owner, you know the value of content marketing. Fresh, original content on your website — delivered consistently — can:
- Catch the attention of search engines
- Engage your customers
- Bring traffic to your website
- Deliver potential customers to your door
But while it’s true that content can help you grow your business, consider for a moment how it actually can save your business. The answer lies in the power of the written word. And the written word can protect your business name by sharing the best that your business can offer.
Online and Offline Marketing
Marketing on the Internet is inherently different than marketing in the “real” world. Out there, the saying that “any publicity, even bad publicity, is good for your business.” Any publicity in the real world is like free advertising, and even bad publicity can bring in new customers — people who want to see for themselves if the story was true or those who always side with the underdog.
But online, bad publicity is bad publicity. If someone leaves a bad review on any number of social media sites or review sites — like Google My Business, Yahoo or Yelp — it’s there for everyone to see. Fortunately, you still can protect your business name from that kind of publicity.
Content Saves the Day
Customer reviews definitely make a difference to your online reputation. A bad review can actually drive potential customers away. So you have to take steps to protect your company name online. There are two strategies for dealing with negative reviews. Both involve content.
The first strategy to protect your business name is through engagement. If someone writes a negative review, the worst thing you can do is ignore it. Engage the writer. Even if they’re wrong, offer to make it right. For the price of a free meal or a replacement widget, you can get an amazing public relations win. You don’t always have to offer something for free, but you should always respond to a bad review with genuine concern.
The second strategy is to bury the bad review with positive reviews. If your company is in the habit of encouraging reviews from your customers, you’ll get many more positive reviews than negative ones, assuming your business provides goods or services people want. You know you have satisfied customers; get them to write how they feel. The new positive reviews will push the bad review so far down the list that hardly anyone will see it.
Protect Your Business Name
Content isn’t just a one-way street in terms of communication. While it’s important to get your message out there and provide the kind of information your potential customers are looking for, don’t overlook the fact that your customers want to talk to you as well. Engage your customers — and potential customers — with quality content.
Having an online presence means being vigilant. The Internet is forcing businesses to expand their ideas of what customer relations mean. In today’s world, “your call is very important to us” rings hollow and false. Instead, use online content through blogs, blurbs and posts to engage your customer base, educate the public, seek feedback on how you’re doing, and yes, protect your business name.
If you can’t do it yourself, you can find reputable businesses to help you. Ray Access can provide the online content to protect your business name, but it’s not specifically a reputation management firm.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.