In the last few years, the technology has taken on a more social side. Instead of relying just on an impersonal, albeit attractive and easy-to-use website, business owners are now spreading the word about their companies and their products through a myriad of social networks like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. These sites allow owners to interact directly with their clients and be more "in the moment" with them. Business owners can provide updates in a timely manner and even introduce new products and special deals without spending a dime on advertizing-clients even help by clicking "like" and sharing the businesses' pages with others, thereby spreading the word about the business exponentially. Blogs and tweets are cropping up all over the place. These are yet another way to spread the word about the merits of different products and addressing customer questions in a public forum.
All of this amazing, cost-effective advertising should leave you confident that you have done everything possible to attract and keep new customers, and to keep existing customers content-but don't let your guard down yet. There are a few key things to be aware of before you launch your company online:
The layout should be eye-catching with some white space so that features stand out
There should be navigational tools that assist viewers in getting from one place to another easily and logically
The grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure should be flawless
Pages should load quickly
Without attention to these things, your professional reputation may be shot before you make your first sale. While there are business owners with the skills needed to produce a professional web presence, most will benefit from the services of an Online Reputation Management (ORM) professional.
If you look closely at your competitors' websites you may discover that while some are excellent, others are less than professional, and some are just an embarrassment. The thing that some business owners miss-especially those that don't have a professional managing their online reputation-is that this website, or blog, or tweet, represents them and their companies. In fact, a website may be the only exposure your client has to your company. People will look elsewhere if the information on your site is hard to read, or difficult to navigate. If the articles are disorganized or full of poor grammar people may be turned off. To put it in perspective, you would dress professionally and speak correctly if you were face-to-face with a customer, and your site should reflect that same professionalism because that site is how people around the world will judge you and your company. This is not the kind of thing you want to trust to a novice.
Another caution is how you use the social networks to communicate with your customers. While it is great to take that bold step into the new millennium and start using the communication tools that the members of gen X and Y use with such ease-proceed with care. A bad review of your company or your products will spread like wildfire through these very same forums with just the click of a mouse, and before you know what hit you, your business reputation will be in tatters.
A professional ORM can make all the difference in how your business is perceived in the online world. They know how to use these different sites to get the word out about your business without risking your professional reputation. They know how to field questions, and address aggressive comments without putting your company in a bad light, and how to promote it in a way that will reflect the professional image you want the world to see.
Ronald Foster is a champion of the customer experience and operational efficiency. He has focused his career on the development of systems and processes which serve the customer and stakeholders alike.
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