In business, it is fair to say that reputation is everything. After all, no one is going to want to buy products and services from a company that is known to use inferior components, or that treats its customers like dirt.
No, if you want to get anywhere in business, you need to have a squeaky-clean reputation. Unfortunately, that is not always possible; mistakes happen and you may find yourself having to answer to the tough David Laborde premises liability lawyer after a customer is injured in your store or you may find yourself having to defend your business in the press after a customer complaint goes viral.
The good news is, that no matter what goes wrong, it is possible to repair your damaged business reputation, and below are a few tips to help you do just that:
- Own it
If your company has made a mistake, do not try to wriggle out of it or deny it because the truth will always come out, and your brand will look 100 percent better if you have owned and apologized for your mistakes instead of trying to minimize and hide them. This is the most important tip of all.
- Monitor social media
It is a good idea to have a team in place to monitor social media chat about your business before anything bad happens, so they can pinpoint negative trends in the discussion of your company, and get in there to fight fires and put out any necessary statements before the whole thing gets blown out of proportion.
- Address any issues fairly
It can be tempting to go on the defensive and accuse customers of lying or exaggerating or whatever, but if they have a complaint, take the time to look into it fairly and without any preconceptions or prejudgements. Then, you can draft a response that is fair, measured, and which hopefully offers a satisfactory resolution for all concerned.
If people can see that you are fair and kind and that you do your best to put things right when they go wrong, they will be more inclined to give you a second chance than if you go all in guns blazing and start an all-out war with complainants.
Publish positive testimonials
Once you have dealt with the situation, it can be good to start assembling positive testimonials from people who have had a good experience with your business, and posting them on social media to show the other side. You should not do this until the problems have been thoroughly addressed though, as it will simply look like you are trying to whitewash the issue out of existence, and that could backfire spectacularly for your business.
As you can see, repairing a bad business reputation is likely to take considerable time and effort but it is possible, and it is important because it is the one thing that will stop your business from going under after a bad PR crisis.
