Your Reputation

As business owners, we all know the customer is not always right and have a fifty-fifty shot at being wrong. Some customers and clients are just flat out impossible. You could give them the moon and they wouldn’t be happy. We’ve all been there. Your reaction is important. Do you smile and refer them to someone else who might be able to better help them, or do you lose your cool?

As the old saying goes, you get a lot more flies with honey than you will with vinegar. As much as it may be painful at times, you might just have to suck it up, buttercup. Go the extra mile. Be as friendly and as accommodating as possible, even if you’re losing a little bit of money in the end. You never know who that person might know.

As a business owner, your reputation is everything. If you’re perceived as kind and friendly, people will often forgive the occasional screw-up. I’m sure you’ve been in a situation like this. It’s kind of like when you go out to dinner and the service is awful but the server is very apologetic and really friendly. You’re less likely to be upset about it than you would if they were rude. (Also, don’t be a jerk to your server. That job is a lot harder than it looks.)

Even if you’ve always been accommodating and friendly, there might be a case where someone is unhappy with your services and leaves you a negative review or rating somewhere. Would you even know? Do you keep up with that sort of thing? If not, you absolutely should. Thanks primarily to the ever-increasing presence of social media; many people are reviewing products and services before they buy. Consistent bad ratings can make or break your business.

If you rolled your eyes at the thought of one more administrative task to keep track of, it’s time to bring on a virtual assistant! (You had to see that one coming, right?) Online reputation management is an important part of running a business. A virtual assistant can solicit reviews and testimonials from past customers and submit correct business profiles to sites like Angie’s List, Home Advisor, and Yellow Pages. They can find any negative reviews on social media and other sites like Yelp and help you to get them removed or remedy them. Don’t make the mistake of not being aware. You may pay a price in the end. We can help; that’s what we’re here for!

Until next time,

Angie