There are countless small things that can harm your business’s reputation, but some of those things aren’t that obvious. For example, if a customer service representative is rude to a customer and that customer writes a scathing review, that’s obviously going to have a negative impact on your reputation.
However, the same can be said when a customer has to deal with poor-quality audio when they call your company for support. They might write an equally bad review, which will negatively influence how others perceive your business.
To stay on top of all the small things that can potentially harm your reputation, review the following list to ensure you implement solutions where needed.
1. Poor phone call quality
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If your team relies on cell phones to connect with customers or clients, chances are, the call quality isn’t that great. In fact, it’s probably not even consistent. The problem with poor call quality is that it makes it hard for customers to get support. When there’s a barrier to problem resolution, you are guaranteed to lose customers.
The situation worsens when customers or clients make multiple calls to your company. Each time a customer experiences static, fading in and out, or dropped calls, they’re going to get even more frustrated with your business, which will inevitably lead to a slew of bad online reviews.
The ideal solution is to switch to a VoIP business phone service provider. All you need is a broadband internet connection to make it work. You can route calls to desk phones or cell phones, and since the call will be taking place over your internet connection, it will be crystal clear.
The other form of call quality you should be concerned about is measured by the efficiency and effectiveness of your conversations. With VoIP phone service, you can record and monitor calls to make sure your customer service team is helping customers resolve their issues effectively.
2. Inconvenient customer service
For many customers, no inconvenience is too small to gripe about, and that’s understandable since many businesses don’t have any problems providing customers with amazing support. The bar is set high for what customers expect from businesses, and if you’re doing anything that makes the process inconvenient, it’s going to hurt your reputation.
Here are some examples of small things that annoy customers:
· Having to be transferred multiple times
· Waiting on hold for long periods of time
· Never reaching anyone when calling and not being able to leave a message
· Being run in circles by an automated system
· Having to speak to bots
· Service reps who read from a script
· Service reps who don’t listen
· Having to repeat their issue to multiple agents
· Not having their issue resolved
· Support tickets that take a week or more to resolve
According to the data, a whopping 73% of people will go out of their way to do business with a company that provides outstanding customer service. A whole 52% would pay higher prices if they knew they’d be receiving better customer service. Even more people are willing to pay higher prices if a company provides a convenient experience.
The bottom line is that your customer service experience needs to be easy, smooth, and convenient if you want to retain customers and get positive reviews. Anything less than amazing is considered substandard by consumers and will result in bad reviews and a tarnished reputation.
3. Bad reviews posted by your competitors
One thing you may not have considered is that your competitors might be posting bad reviews about your business. If you’re reading negative reviews that don’t make sense, this could be the reason. For example, if a customer complains about something that doesn’t apply to your business or the complaint contains details that aren’t legitimate, it could be one of your competitors making up a story.
Unfortunately, this happens often to many businesses and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. However, you can mitigate the damage by crafting strategic replies to the fake bad reviews, noting that the person either has the wrong business or isn’t being truthful. You can do this tactfully by pointing out details that aren’t correct and asking them to please call your company directly. Your response isn’t really for the poster, but rather, for all of the people who will read your response and realize the review may not be legitimate.
Maintain your reputation through positive interactions
At the end of the day, your customers and clients will make or break your reputation. To maintain a positive image in your industry, go the extra mile to ensure every customer interaction is helpful and easy.