Over the years, the reputation of a company plays an important role in the growth of the business. Many businesses have grown through positive word of mouth. Nowadays the online reputation of companies is being evaluated through customer reviews directly. The summarised experience of a customer's feelings and doubts in the comment box gives an overall view of the website to many others who view it.

Also read: Customer satisfaction is the key to unlocking your business potential

Bad reputation counts

An unimpressive reputation or a bad reputation can always lead to the downfall of an online business. Many people read online reviews regularly. Write a negative review and leave it on a website, and it is like to stay there for months to come. It would affect the company as search engines would be able to view it each time they ranking the website. The notion that reviews are not read is incorrect. The views and reviews of customers are always being read. The bad ones are in fact read more than the good ones. New customers especially review feedback. If any of the reviews are not up to the mark, they will not place an order on that particular website. As a customer, they would avoid buying from that website.

Online review for online reputation

Online reviews can be regarded as online reputation management for a site. So many companies tend to hide negative feedback to build up a good online reputation. The trend of the market is based on the survival of the best. To survive, the online site must not ignore bad feedback; instead, work on its faults. A bad review can be changed into a positive review by improving services and rectifying faults. The management should satisfy customers and through service change of view in the comment should be presented. Though the process looks long and tedious but honestly, it is a way to show the online customer that its views are considered.  

Also read: Use the power of testimonials to boost your ecommerce sales

Steps for better online reputation

• The website should show it’s best reviews first and then move to bad ones.
• No reviews should be deleted from the website comment box. The customer usually rechecks whether their reviews have been deleted or not.
• The management should contact unhappy customers and address their grievances.
• A new useful review from the customer who had earlier given a bad review can make a website far more successful than a good PR article. It shows that the company is concerned with each of its customers.
• If customers keep falling out, the company would no longer profit in the long run.

Also read: 5 ways customer feedback can help your business grow

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