The customer is always right. Nowhere is this truer than in the United States, home of the tech startup designed to empower the anonymous angry customer like never before. Companies like Yelp and all its minions have reshaped the very fabric of the common business interaction, in that they have caused word-of-mouth to take a back seat to online reviews. The innovative platform has single handedly bankrupted entire companies, in some cases, without them ever even knowing they’d been doing anything wrong. But this doesn’t have to be you. If you’re a contractor and you want to keep your reputation spic and span, here’s what you’ve got to do.
Be proactive: If possible, it behooves you to prevent a crisis before it starts. One of the most common complaints by customers is that they feel undervalued. Online review platforms give them the outlet they desire after they feel they’d been mistreated, ripped off, or neglected in any way. But if you look ahead and send out an automated email requesting feedback from every customer, no matter how you think they feel about your business, you could be giving them just enough attention to prevent them from attacking you indirectly and sabotaging your reputation.
Stay calm and remember that everyone is watching: In the event that someone just cannot hold it in and they write a scathing review of your business, don’t panic, and don’t lose your temper. You’re a professional and you have a responsibility to act the part. The best course of action is to first respond publicly by apologizing for the fact that the customer is dissatisfied with your service. Reassure him or her that you’re doing everything in your power to correct the issue. Then contact the customer privately to further discuss the specifics, offer some sort of discount or deal and assure him or her that you value the service.
Look on the bright side:
In some twisted sense, this could actually benefit your business, provided that you can demonstrate to the public how responsive and committed you are to customer service. Plus, if you only have wildly positive reviews, it may look a bit suspicious. While Yelp has pretty tight security for false reviews, there’s always a way around that. And if nobody dislikes a business, it’s probably doing something shady behind closed doors. So with that said, embrace, and see the criticism as a learning opportunity.
Make sure you keep up with the reviews: The whole point of these review sites is to empower the customer in cases where they felt underappreciated. If you don’t check your reviews constantly, you will be reinforcing that sentiment.
If you have a contracting business and are a bit concerned about the state of your reputation, Jubilant Web could be the solution to your problem. We provide SEO for contractors. We specialize in reputation recovery, along with all other forms of digital marketing. For more information, give us a call at (845) 790-0420.
