A company’s reputation can be made or broken in a matter of minutes now we have the internet. Bad interactions and experiences can be filmed and go viral quickly. Having bad customer service or people on the C-suite or board that don’t align with the company can make for a tough PR battle.
So how can you improve how the public sees you?
Customer Services
It is not enough to have a customer services section and hope for the best. Your customer service team should be highly trained, skilled in communication, and personable. When people contact customer services, there is typically an issue that they need to have solved.
If your customer services aren’t equipped to solve these issues, what was a minor issue can turn into a big one.
Give your customer services the ability to make some decisions like offering a replacement, compensation, refunds, or others. This can speed up the process and leave the customer feeling satisfied with the service.
Community & Causes
Businesses that are involved with their local community and causes typically have a better public standing. This is because, as well as making money, your company is seen to be contributing to the local area and the world at large. So what can you do here?
Look for ways that your business can contribute to the immediate local community, then look regional and, finally, globally.
Find causes that your business can have an impact on – for example, if you are a clothing manufacturer, can you donate clothing or increase the pay of the workers? Or, as transportation or delivery, could you have an eco-friendly fleet? Once you settle one of these, get a press release put together to get the word out, and leverage your social media too.
Employees
If you talk the talk, you need to walk the walk too. That means whatever you are outwardly presenting should be inwardly happening. Your employees should be the heart of your company. Ensuring they have the training, benefits, good pay, and well-taken care of is essential.
Disgruntled employees or ones that have been poorly treated can be one of the biggest reasons other people start to boycott your company.
Treat your employees well because it matters, not just for optics.
Authenticity & Transparency
Thanks to the internet, all it takes is one misquote or a bad review for internet sleuths to start digging. They will dish the dirt on your company in a matter of days – and once that happens, there is no going back.
From the outset, from the moment of launch, you should be authentic and transparent – and if you haven’t been, a big clean-up and acknowledgement are a must.
Customers and the public are quick to sniff out things that aren’t quite right – don’t let that happen to you.
Value
Aside from the service or the product that your customer has ordered – what extra do you give? What is the value that you offer? Is it stunning packaging and samples? Are there discounts for regular buyers? What is it that you do that gives your customers real value?
Here are a couple of tips for taking care of employees and customers: 3 Safety Tips Every Business Should Follow: Protecting Your Employees and Customers.
