As a business owner, it’s important to make sure that your company gets the right level of buzz. A negative buzz around your brand or business will quickly spread and this is always going to make it more difficult to gain new customers. Here are some of the key reasons why your business could experience a negative buzz and the steps that you should take.
Bad Reviews
One of the easiest ways to earn a negative buzz around your buzz is to ignore bad reviews. Bad reviews will quickly pick up steam online and be referenced across social media networks. Don’t forget that recent polls have suggested more than 80% of customers will check reviews online before they commit to the purchase of a product or service. If you do have significant numbers of negative reviews, you need to assess them carefully. Find the issues that customers are referencing and tackle them head-on. Address the complaints publicly to show that you do hold yourself accountable and want to change. You can also address negative reviews with the support of an in-home sampling agency. Use a service like this to get highly publicised reviews from the right target audience.
Slow Response
Customers don’t want to wait for products and services. If you leave them waiting around for long periods, then you’ll never get the referrals and recommendations that you need to grow your company base. It’s important to engage with your clients early in the marketing funnel and keep them motivated to commit to a purchase. They need to feel as though their business and individual transaction matters to you. Essentially, you need to ensure that individual clients feel valued. One of the easiest ways to guarantee that this is the case is by delivering a fast turnaround in your business model.
Poor Customer Service
It is vital that you deliver the right level of customer support to your clients. The age-old phrase that ‘the customer is always right’ rings true here. You need to make sure that you are delivering a high standard of support. Make sure that you give your customers different options and ways that they will be able to contact your company. Be aware that research shows a lot of customers now prefer live chat compared to talking to employees on the phone. This gives them a more direct way to interact and engage with your business.
Low Quality
Finally, you need to think about the quality of your product or service. If you don’t deliver the right level of quality, then you are always going to struggle with a negative reception. Word of mouth is quickly going to spread that you are delivering an inferior product or service. So, you need to make sure that the right quality checks are in place from day one. You could be outsourcing in your business model. Remember, your outsourcing service still needs to match your own high standards otherwise you will damage your brand integrity.
We hope this helps you understand some of the key reasons why there could be a negative buzz around your company. If you take the right steps, you can correct the issue before it has a long-term impact.