Impressions - September 2015 - 49

PRO TIP / / / / / Go to Yelp, Angie's List, etc., and read negative reviews.
You'll gain insight into what offends people and what kind of behavior
they will punish you for.
order at a quoted price break or any hidden or undisclosed fees - is a trigger for
these kinds of events.
When miscommunication happens,
deal with it on the spot by explaining the
situation. Apologize for any misunderstanding and have the customer tell you in
his own words why he's upset. If a transaction results, document it and have him
acknowledge with a signature. Be clear and
transparent, and you'll eliminate the biggest cause of negative posts and comments.
Whatever you do, don't be a jerk.
There's a fine line between having the
customer try to take advantage of you
and you being firm and unyielding. Snarky
comments, and being condescending or
patronizing are bad practices. Even when
you're frustrated by a price shopper who's
soaking you for information and trying to
work you for the best deal, smile and be
firm. A disrespectful attitude is one of the
fastest ways to offend a prospect and get a
negative review.

to the negative post. If you mostly have
positive information, it will diminish the
negative information.

PUMPING POSITIVITY
The third thing you can do is actively
cultivate your positive image online. Send
out press releases on charitable donations.
Make sure links to your site are listed. Post
short stories or articles about your community involvement. Start a company
Facebook page and regularly post to it. Get

listed on as many community websites as
possible to show your active participation.
If someone says something nice about
you or your business, copy and paste it
along with the link back to it. This will help
the positive post show up when someone
searches for you. The goal is to overwhelm
any negative information with a long history
of positive involvement in the community.
The psychological principle of consistency says that if information or situations are inconsistent with documented

ONLINE CONSISTENCY
Your second proactive move is to
ensure your online information is listed
consistently everywhere. This includes
Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram,
free directories and paid sites you can use
to promote your company.
The company name, address, phone
number, contact information and website
should be the same everywhere. This causes
Google, Bing and Yahoo! search engines to
recognize and associate you with the online reputation of your business. The more
times it shows up with identical information, the more online authority you have.
A 2014 AC Nielsen survey showed
that 68% of online viewers trusted online
reviews and 90% trusted peer reviews.
This means if a review shows up in Yelp
or from a friend on Facebook, the average
online viewer puts a high degree of trust
in it. By consistently listing your company,
all of your positive reviews will contrast a
negative review.
Also, if a prospect sees a negative review and searches for more information,
all the sites on which you are represented
will appear. This is an authority offset
impressionsmag.com

Looking at Yelp and other review sites can be helpful. Reading the comments will give you a big clue about what people are
expecting and how not to handle surprise situations.

September 2015 | Impressions

http://www.impressionsmag.com

Impressions - September 2015

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