Sooner or later, someone is going to mess something up. The odds say it all. Whether it's you or an employee, you are going to have a bad interaction with a customer that goes public. It could be someone you offended or someone you didn't treat right, but it's going to happen. And 67% of consumers place the same weight on online reviews and recommendations, so a bad reputation can be fatal.
But startups can bounce back and it is possible to salvage your reputation. Profile Defenders is one company that has helped thousands of clients repair the damage caused by online reputation blunders. They remove unwanted Google search results through forcing down negative stories with positive press, thus transforming the perceptions people have of your company.
Cross the Offline and Online Worlds
The chances are you don't have an in-house PR team who can handle your digital management duties for you. The average small business has little experience when it comes to crisis management. That's why companies like Profile Defenders are called in to put out the flames.
You should handle the crisis both online and in the real world. You may not be able to turn back time and repair that digital disaster, but you can definitely take action to mitigate the damage. What you do and say right now will be the next chapter in the story.
Go out of your way to take affirmative action by releasing statements, taking action, and making sure that it fits into your overall strategic vision.
Do You Need an Expert?
This is the first question many people ask. If a toxic employee has held your company hostage by damaging your relations with your customers, it may feel impossible to change things around. And that's where startups start to fall. When panic sets in, it's difficult to counter that.
Instead, you should consider finding an expert to help. Profile Defenders regularly helps clients repair their online reputation. They are able to utilize the rules of SEO to force down negative press and promote the positive things. They can't remove stories from the Internet, but they can make sure they aren't defining your brand.
Get Started Early
You have to make sure that you get started early. As soon as problems arise, it's time to take action. The longer you wait the more people are going to see the negative press caused by a major blunder. The best companies react within hours of a bad story hitting the news.
Be sure to apologize for your actions and show that you are reaching out to anyone you may have upset. Only through doing this can you make sure that the damage isn't too significant.
The Concept of Reverse SEO
As part of your multi-step emergency plan, focus on reverse SEO. This is something that was touched upon earlier, but it's the key to making sure that your online reputation isn't damaged permanently.
Reverse SEO is about populating the search results with positive stories about yourself. It's about making sure that bad stories are buried deep in the Internet where nobody is going to come across them. This is a perfectly legal method of managing your online reputation, so you don't have to worry about taking a hit from Google.
Just make sure that you are producing positive stories around the same time. Go out of your way to take positive actions. Apologize for what happened and take actions that demonstrate you are not going to allow this to happen again.
The Key is Be Active
Overall, the most important tip you should take away from this is that you shouldn't act in a passive manner. Sitting back and hoping these things are just going to go away is never going to work. The flood waters won't recede, they are only going to grow, and they could very well engulf your company entirely.
If you are going to try to stick it out, you'll soon find that it kicks up a stink that defines your company, at least in the short-term. The loss of funds could be critical, so you need to make sure that you take a proactive role.
Hire an expert to help you and figure out how to avoid making the same mistakes again.
Last Word - Get the Right Help
The right help is critical to your success. Organizations like Profile Defenders are the type of experts you need by your side. They can act quickly to make sure that your company isn't too badly damaged by your latest online blunder. Through removing bad search results, you can rest assured that your brand isn't losing sales.
How will you make sure that your brand stays protected today?