Being able to preserve and protect your reputation is crucial for all businesses. Technology is a tool that gives you the power to shape your business and influence your reputation. It doesn’t matter what you do or how big your operation happens to be, comprehensive understanding and clever utilization of technology give you an advantage in the modern business world.
From communication and consistency to flexibility and control, we outline four key ways you can improve your business reputation with the help of the right IT partner.
1. Go above and beyond
In a competitive market, it’s important to do more than expected to stand out from the crowd. When people are spoiled with choices and accustomed to free online services, you need to go the extra mile to get yourself noticed. While you can go above and beyond without the use of technology, virtual products
Online technology can help you provide better customer service, with interactive websites, digital access to business processes, and online chat services to increase responsiveness and improve the experience. Working with a managed service provider ensures you’ve always got the right tools to set yourself apart from the competition.
2. Safeguard your reputation
The digital revolution has brought new benefits to business operations, but it’s also created new challenges. While you need an online business presence, a single bad review or negative issue shared online can create a crisis for your reputation. To protect your company’s good reputation and safeguard what you’ve fought so hard to achieve, it’s especially important to leverage technology to your advantage when problems arise.
While there are lots of ways to proactively improve your reputation, you also need to react effectively to issues, errors and complaints. Take time to understand how your online reputation is created and master all of the platforms that can have a significant effect. According to the Rule of One-Fifty, one unhappy customer will tell 50 people about their negative experience.
It’s not enough to simply maintain your own website – monitor Google Reviews, YouTube comments, Yelp ratings, Facebook posts, LinkedIn discussions, and any industry feedback that can influence potential new customers. Most of these channels appear on the first page of Google, which is as far as 75 percent of users read, according to a Hubspot report.
To make sure your technology is doing more to help than hurt your reputation, it’s a good idea to develop a relationship with a qualified and experienced IT team. They can help you identify service bottlenecks, process slowdowns and system inefficiencies that affect customer experience and lead to negative
3. Consistent service and communications
Dependability and consistency are always important attributes of a successful business. People want a partner they can rely on – someone who will live up to their promises and offer accurate information about their products and services. From reliable security standards to quality control and performance, working with a managed service provider is the best way to reduce your downtime and ensure consistency.
Along with using technology to deliver quality products and services, it can also help you maintain consistent communication. Regardless of which platforms you use or who you’re talking to, it’s important to utilize the right tools and channels to stay connected to your customers. The internet is the most powerful communications tool that’s ever existed. And smart businesses use it to tailor their service delivery, operational processes, content, marketing, and standards to optimize response and results.
Make sure your IT partner is familiar with how to recommend, integrate and update the business communication tools you need most to stay connected and create results.
4. Become flexible and adapt
If consistency is the lasting foundation of every truly successful business, then flexibility gives it doors and windows. Gone are the days when you could rely on quality products and services alone. You also need the skills and visibility to react and adapt to the world around you. Whether it’s changing offerings for different markets, adding channels for shifting customer support preferences, or adjusting workplace tools for changing staff demographics, remaining flexible in this digital world is a true competitive advantage.
Working with a managed service provider like MCA allows you to focus on the bigger picture and find creative new ways to serve your customer base and the team that makes it all happen. Technology is the key to a flexible mindset, with different tools and platforms helping you to stay agile and deliver on promises to customers and stakeholders.
MCA is ready to help you tighten the feedback loop between inquiry and response, so you can quickly respond to your market and adapt to changing needs.
