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Got a Bad Rep? You Can Fix It

By Kelly K. Spors and Kevin Salwen

Bad ReputationYour reputation precedes you, as the expression goes. But what if you're in an industry where nearly every business's reputation stinks?

Think auto repair or dog breeding, moving companies or insurance sales - industries so filled with Madoff-quality bait-and-switch stories that customers' first reaction is to grip their wallets in panic. Buyers just pray for an honest deal - any honest deal.

What's a business owner to do? Well, first, recognize this is a primo opportunity for a good company to stand out from the pack. Just think about the car business, where Carmax was created with the model that it's the used-car dealer that won't leave you feeling slimy. An honest player in a business that's routinely the brunt of jokes can quickly become the White Knight, sometimes even just by being mediocre because the comparisons are so ugly.

Also, you have a powerful tool at your fingertips: The Internet. Consumers are turning to the Web in droves to read up and leave opinions on companies. A 2007 study by Deloitte found that about two-thirds of consumers read online reviews regularly, and of those, about 80 percent rely on those comments in making purchasing decisions. "If nothing else, make yourself aware that there is conversation going on" about your business, says Matt McGee, a small business search marketing consultant in the Tri-Cities area of Washington.

Regardless of your industry, it's more important than ever for you to manage your business's reputation carefully. Here's a three-step plan to do that.


PREVENTION FIRST
The backbone of a company's reputation, of course, is quality service. Fewer customers with bad experiences will result in fewer bad reviews. Your happiest clients will become your best marketers with their word-of-mouth reviews.

So don't overlook basic good practices: hire the right people to deal with customers and then train and empower those people to solve customer problems.

Companies with the best reputations tend to closely monitor their customer experiences using follow-up surveys and other feedback tools so they can address service problems early, says Ben McConnell, an Austin, Texas-based marketing expert.

This can be especially useful to companies in industries where bad reputations are the norm. Star Auto Authority, a Vernon Hills, Ill., auto mechanic with 22 employees and $2.5 million in annual revenues, is constantly trying to improve the experience at its shop.

A few days after a job, customers receive email surveys asking them to rate their experience. The survey results help the shop identify service shortfalls, as well as let Star Auto resolve problems before customers vent their frustrations online, says Angi Semler, director of operations. The company president personally calls customers who leave negative feedback. "There are people, when they are at our service counter, may not be satisfied but may not say anything," Ms. Semler says. The survey offers "them a chance to speak somewhat anonymously about their experience."


LISTEN CLOSELY
Even businesses with great service occasionally get bad online reviews. Sites like Yelp, Twitter, Citysearch and Yahoo! Local give consumers a louder voice than ever before - and these reviews often show up near the top in search results for a small company's name. (Terrifying translation: A bad review might be the first thing somebody reads when they search for your business.) Quickly spotting bad reviews and dealing with them can soften the blow.

Online tools such as Google Alerts let you easily track blog posts, news stories or Web comments where your company name or key employees' names pops up. It's a good idea, experts say, to have one person at a small business designated to reading the reviews and handling a company's online reputation.

What should a business do when it discovers a disparaging remark?

Andy Beal, chief executive of Trackur.com, an online reputation monitoring service for small businesses, says businesses can't ignore angry comments. When a business encounters a negative review online, it should leave a short response starting with a straightforward and genuine apology. Then it should note that bad experiences aren't common for the business and offer a phone number where the upset customer can call to talk about the problem and have it resolved.

Being apologetic in the public response -not defensive - will suggest the business cares about its customers. But Mr. Beal suggests trying to take the conversation with the disgruntled reviewer offline, to avoid fueling an angry back-and-forth conversation for everyone to read. "You want to just nip it in the bud," he says. "Offer a clear-cut apology and then take it offline."


CARVE THE CONVERSATION
Managing a reputation isn't just about thwarting and dealing with negative reviews. It's equally about creating positive ones.

Creating an online fan base helps ensure positive coverage of your business appears prominently in online searches or when people read up about you online. You can start a "fan page" or "group" on Facebook, or simply connect with customers and prospects using Twitter and other social-networking sites.

Review sites can also be used to your advantage to create more good publicity. Many businesses now direct their happiest, most loyal customers to the most influential review sites in their industry and ask them to leave feedback. Ramon De Leon, operating partner of a six-store Domino's Pizza franchise in Chicago, uses Twitter to find customers talking about Domino's Pizza in the Chicago area and then communicates with them and offers them discounts on pizzas. He uses Twitter apps such as Monitter to keep track of what Chicago-based Twitter users are saying about Domino's.

Mr. De Leon says being active on Twitter has helped draw in more customers. "When the need arises to buy a pizza, hopefully that friendship will make me top of their order list."

Contest Rules

Yahoo! Small Business Answers Center Contest Official Rules
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE THIRD EVENT HAS MOVED TO OCTOBER 5-7, 2009.

THE FOLLOWING CONTEST IS INTENDED FOR PLAY IN THE FIFTY UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ONLY (COLLECTIVELY, THE "ELIGIBILITY AREA") AND SHALL ONLY BE CONSTRUED AND EVALUATED ACCORDING TO UNITED STATES LAW. DO NOT ENTER THIS CONTEST IF YOU ARE NOT LOCATED IN, AND A LEGAL RESIDENT OF, THE ELIGIBILITY AREA.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE DOES NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING. REDEMPTION OF YAHOO! SEARCH MARKETING PRIZE MUST COMPLY WITH YAHOO!'S ADVERTISING TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND ADVERTISING GUIDELINES OR PRIZE WILL BE FORFEITTED.

  1. Eligibility: You must be a legal resident of the Eligibility Area and 18 years or older or the age of majority in your state of residence at the time of entry. Void in overseas U.S. territories, possessions, commonwealths and military installations, and where prohibited by law. Employees and agents of Yahoo! Inc. ("Sponsor"), Bank of America Corporation, and each of their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotional agencies, any other prize sponsor, and any entity involved in the development, production, implementation, administration or fulfillment of the Contest (all of the foregoing, together with Yahoo!, collectively referred to as "Promotion Entities"), and the immediate family members and persons living in the same household as such individuals, whether related or not, are not eligible to participate or win. To redeem Yahoo! Search Marketing Prize, entrants and, as applicable, their businesses, must be based in the fifty United Stated or District of Columbia and during the entire period of this Promotion, must remain in business and be in full compliance with all applicable federal, state and/or local business licensing requirements applicable to the business's category of business activity. An entrant is not eligible if her/their business is an adult- or gambling-related business, violates any laws, rules or regulations, or which Yahoo! determines, in its sole discretion, is inappropriate for sale through the services provided by Yahoo! The final determination as to whether any business complies with the above requirements is at the sole discretion of the Sponsor.
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How it works

  1. To enter, log in to the Small Business Answers Center with your Yahoo! ID. If you don't have one, it's easy to create one
  2. Read the official contest rules
  3. Submit a question on the topic of the contest within the 72-hour entry period.
  4. After each contest closes, check back to see the winning question and answer from the Small Business expert. If you win, you'll be notified by email.
  5. Check the Upcoming Events schedule on the site and prepare your questions for the next contest.

Kevin Salwen

As a reporter, columnist and editor at the Wall Street Journal for nearly two decades, Kevin wrote two columns, helped cover two presidential administrations and launched two publications (including a small-business quarterly).

An expert on the issues that matter to small businesses, Kevin Salwen advises and invests in small, growing companies. He has written about and mentored entrepreneurs, and he has built and run successful businesses. A former reporter, columnist and editor at the Wall Street Journal for nearly two decades, Kevin was CNBC's weekly commentator on small business.

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