Every business, at some point in its journey, is bound to face negative customer sentiment.
Whether from a bad review, a social media rant or a dissatisfied customer, negative sentiment can harm your brand’s reputation and erode the trust that took years to build.
In such situations, businesses must take reactive steps to rebuild that lost trust and then work on taking proactive steps to safeguard their reputation for the future.
Learn these steps and bounce back from a crisis as we discuss:
• What Is Reputation Recovery?
• 2 Types of Reputation Crises
• How to Repair Your Online Reputation: 7 Reputation Repair Strategies You Need to Know
• 9 Tips to Prevent Future Reputation Crisis and Build Resilience
• Protect Your Brand in the Face of Any Crisis
What Is Reputation Recovery?
Reputation recovery is the process of restoring trust and rebuilding brand equity following a crisis caused by negative reviews, scandals, misinformation or poor customer experiences.
Trust, which is the essence of a good reputation, is important for brands and individuals as it can:
• Attract and retain customers
• Increase credibility and authority in the industry
• Encourage positive word-of-mouth marketing
• Be a factor in customer loyalty and the bottom line
However, no matter how well a business manages its reputation, crises still happen. From social media blunders to product recalls, a damaged reputation can significantly impact a company’s success.
Don’t despair if your reputation has taken a hit — repairing online reputation and rebuilding trust is possible.
In the next sections, we’ll discuss the crises you can encounter and the steps to fix online reputation.
2 Types of Reputation Crises
A crisis can either be self-inflicted or caused by external factors.
1. Self-Inflicted Crisis
Self-inflicted crises occur when a brand’s actions or decisions lead to negative consequences. This could be due to poor management, unethical practices or a faulty product.
2. External Crisis
Factors outside the company’s control cause external crises. These can include natural disasters, economic downturns or a data breach.
Regardless of the cause, businesses should have a crisis communication and online reputation repair plan to manage and recover from these situations.
How to Repair Your Online Reputation: 7 Reputation Restoration Strategies You Need to Know
Your next steps after the crisis can impact the trajectory of your company’s recovery.
Here’s what to do to repair online reputation and help you get back on track:
1. Assess the Extent of the Damage
The first step of internet reputation repair is to understand the extent of the damage and identify any underlying issues that contributed to the crisis. This will help you develop a plan that addresses the root causes rather than just treating the symptoms.
Document the events as they unfolded and identify the factors that led to the reputation crisis, the triggers that set it in motion, the public’s response and its overall impact on your business. Assess the effects using measurable metrics such as sales declines, loss of followers or increased customer complaints.
Other internet reputation repair tools you can use to gauge public sentiment:
• Sentiment Analysis: Monitor online mentions of your brand to gauge overall sentiment and understand how your audience feels.
• Social Listening: Track conversations across social media, forums and review sites to spot potential issues or address negative feedback promptly.
• Review Audits: Analyze your online reviews to uncover common concerns.
While compiling this report, monitor the situation closely to fix online reputation issues, especially if it’s gone viral or caught the media’s attention. Have your social media team monitor related hashtags and comments, and let your PR team stay on top of updates.
2. Own Up and Be Honest
As soon as you have a grasp of the situation, it’s time to address it head-on and fix online reputation concerns. This means acknowledging and taking responsibility for any mistakes that may have caused the crisis.
An Edelman study found that people expect businesses to show integrity and dependability during crises. They want brands to address their concerns with honest dialogue and act on their commitments.
Acknowledging problems, even without an immediate solution, is preferable to staying silent. You can show accountability and a genuine commitment to resolving the issue by issuing public statements.
Some brands use a proactive online reputation repair strategy called “stealing thunder,” where they reveal information about the crisis before it hits mainstream media. This approach can control the narrative and show that your company is working towards a resolution.
3. Create a Plan of Action
After taking responsibility, create a plan to address the crisis and its underlying causes.
This includes implementing new policies or procedures, offering compensation or refunds, addressing gaps in customer service and communicating changes to your audience.
Transparency and clear communication are key to a solid online reputation repair plan. Keep all stakeholders updated and aligned on your actions to address the issue and ensure it does not occur again.
Employees can be powerful brand ambassadors during a crisis. Leaders should ensure that staff understand the situation, empower them to take corrective actions and train enthusiastic team members to support their online reputation restoration efforts.
4. Share Your Plans for Resolution
The last thing you want is to repeat the same mistakes. Once you have created a plan for repairing online reputation, share it with your audience through regular updates on social media or your website.
For example, in the case of product recalls, you can share information about how and where customers can return or exchange the items. You can also consider additional compensation, such as discounts, extended warranties or upgrades on future purchases.
For other types of reputational crises, inform your audience of any changes to policies or procedures that will help prevent similar issues in the future.
Finally, don’t forget to thank your audience for their patience and understanding during this challenging time. Acknowledge their critical role in your business and let them know how much you value their loyalty and support.
5. Respond Empathetically to Individual Concerns
While addressing the crisis as a whole is essential when working to repair online reputation, don’t forget about individual concerns. About 69% of people believe that a brand acknowledging its mistakes is very effective in building trust (Marketing Charts).
Start by responding to negative comments or reviews with empathy. Avoid being defensive or dismissive, even if the criticism seems unwarranted. Instead, listen to their concerns and offer a sincere apology. Try to resolve the issue privately through direct communication with the individual.
In some cases, it may not be possible to reach a resolution with every individual. In these situations, continue to address any public comments or concerns respectfully and professionally.
Keep communication open, especially for customers directly affected by the situation. Offering direct contact for further assistance or providing tailored solutions can go a long way in repairing online reputation.
6. Generate Positive Content
As you work towards resolving the crisis, continue to generate positive content and actively engage with your audience. This helps shift the focus away from the negative situation and rebuild a positive image of your brand.
One effective way to create positive content is to share user-generated content (UGC). Encourage your customers to post about their positive experiences with your brand on social media and re-share them on your channels.
You can also share stories about previous company efforts, such as supporting non-profits, volunteering or implementing sustainable practices. This can help overshadow negative press, and over time, people will associate positive content with your company instead of the incident.
7. Create a Review Management Strategy
An estimated 75% of consumers frequently read online reviews before making decisions (BrightLocal). For many, the quantity of reviews is crucial in determining trust in a business’s overall rating.
In fact, 59% of consumers believe a business needs between 20 and 99 reviews for its average star rating to feel reliable (Search Engine Journal).
“They (online reviews) play a big role because positive reviews can help fix a broken business reputation and drown out the negative information,” said Tim Clarke, Senior Reputation Manager at Thrive.
So, what is a company to do when it has a crisis, and negative reviews flood in?
The rule of thumb is NEVER to ignore or delete reviews. Instead, have a review management strategy in place.
A review management plan can help repair online reputation by:
• Monitoring online reviews across platforms, such as Yelp, Google, G2 and social media channels.
• Responding quickly and appropriately to negative and positive feedback.
• Encouraging satisfied customers to leave reviews.
• Utilizing tools like review management software to monitor and respond to reviews.
• Use AI-powered software to analyze trends in consumer sentiment and guide business decisions.
• Identify areas for improvement based on feedback.
• Regularly update staff on best practices for customer interaction and review management.
How to Showcase Online Reviews
If you have a roster of positive reviews, showcase them on your website or socials to counter negative reviews and demonstrate customer satisfaction. To do this:
• Create a dedicated review page featuring positive and negative reviews and your responses and actions.
• Use widgets or plugins to display reviews from multiple platforms directly on your website.
• Leverage reputation management software to automate the process of sharing top reviews.
• Manually add selected reviews to your website, though this requires consistent updates and may be less efficient.
Now that you know how to ‘fix my online reputation,’ what can you do to sustain it?
9 Tips to Prevent Future Reputation Crisis and Build Resilience
“I know now how to fix my online reputation after a crisis, but how do I proactively plan for my brand’s future?”
This is a question we often get — and a really valid one, at that. Use this moment to evaluate how to sustain and strengthen your brand’s reputation for the long term.
Here are some tips to prevent future reputation crises:
1. Have a crisis management plan in place that outlines roles, responsibilities and communication channels.
2. Regularly monitor mentions of your brand on social media and other online platforms.
3. Stay transparent with your audience about any issues or challenges your company may face.
4. Train employees on how to handle customer complaints and potential crises.
5. Conduct regular risk assessments to identify potential vulnerabilities and address them proactively.
6. Continuously gather customer feedback through surveys, focus groups or social media listening tools.
7. Actively address any concerns or negative feedback and take appropriate steps to resolve them.
8. Use tracking tools to monitor key metrics and trends related to your company’s reputation.
9. Remain active and engaged on social media and other online platforms.
How To Fix My Online Reputation and Protect My Brand in the Face of Any Crisis
No matter how prepared you are, every brand is vulnerable to a reputation crisis. However, a crisis doesn’t have to spell the end.
Safeguard your brand’s image and confidently navigate any reputational crisis with Thrive Local. We provide comprehensive online reputation management services designed to keep you in good standing, including:
• Internet Reputation Repair
• Reputation Monitoring
• Review Generation
• Survey Campaign Management
• Local SEO
Ensure your business is accurately represented and learn how to repair your online reputation – speak to our reputation restoration experts today.
