Before the Internet, customer opinions about a product or service were transmitted mostly by word of mouth from one friend or associate to another. Your company may or may not have been aware of the opinions because it was person to person. With the rise of blogs, forums and social media, people now voice their opinions with a much wider reach.
Even as recent as a few years ago, the Internet was a very different place. Companies were not engaging customers online but simply selling to a passive audience. Websites were essentially static brochures. Online conversations did not exist in the way they do today, and the overall communication landscape was very "top down."
Today, the situation has changed significantly. Before making a purchase, prospects are asking questions on forums and reading reviews about your products and services. Customers are tweeting and posting Facebook updates about their latest experience with your company; they are repinning photos of your work on Pinterest and saving images to their Ideabooks on Houzz.
Because of these changes, companies are being held accountable for their products and services like never before. To remain viable and successful, companies must take into account people's voices, opinions and reviews and take an active role in online social interaction. When comments surface, they influence buyers who are researching your company and products. Negative comments may derail sales efforts that have taken months to cultivate.
It's not Google's fault – it's basic human nature. People tend to be more interested in negative articles and posts, and are more likely to click and read that type of content. This means negative posts get more page views, which means they rank more highly in Google's search results.
Google isn't deciding that negative headlines should be higher: they follow an algorithm largely decided by human interest. It's a simple but unfortunate fact that people are inclined to check out the negative, and our click behavior proves it. In addition, the overall popularity of a site is a factor in the weight Google assigns to search results.
In order to protect our online reputation, Windsor is currently:
- Creating and managing multiple public profiles:
- Facebook https://www.facebook.com/WindsorWindows
- Twitter https://twitter.com/windsor_windows
- Pinterest http://pinterest.com/windsorwindows/
- Houzz http://www.houzz.com/photos/users/windsorwindows
- LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/company/windsor-windows-and-doors
- Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/windsorwindows/
- Linking amongst the various sites above
- Routinely posting relevant content on social media pages
- Responding to various comments posted on the different sites
- Monitoring Google Alert results to observe chatter for specific keywords in order to address issues promptly
After establishing a stable foundation, we plan to:
- Get more people (including dealers, homeowners, builders, etc.) to "Like" Windsor on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Houzz
- Encourage more people to repin Windsor photos on Pinterest and to add to Ideabooks on Houzz
- Teach more distributors the importance of linking to Windsor's website
- Post reviews on Houzz from satisfied, loyal dealers and homeowners
- Develop videos and create a YouTube channel
- Build a testimonial page on Facebook consisting of positive comments from builders and architects
As a Windsor Distributor, this is what you can do to maintain a positive reputation:
- The dealer locator on Windsor's website links to distributors' websites if an address was provided. We would also greatly appreciate it if distributors are able to link from their site back to Windsor's website. Reciprocal links between sites increases activity and improves both of our Google rankings. The Windsor logo may be utilized as the linking icon.
- Complaints are the results of frustrated customers. Sales reps need to address customer concerns at the source. Be responsive, upfront and proactive with customers. Make a personal visit to the home or business to inspect problems and repair issues. Take that opportunity to be a friendly, helpful educator. Make sure in the end, that the customer is satisfied. Take the time to explain why the problem exists. Make inexpensive improvements such as replacing worn weather-strip or cleaning out a dirty tract. It may very well be worth the cost to replace a window. The goodwill that kind of treatment generates is well worth the investment. In the end, you do not control the perception of your brand, your customers do. Leverage them to tell the story by providing excellent service after the sale, and it will be as good as you are.
- Make sure that your customers are aware of the Windsor warranty. We stand behind our products and offer very comprehensive coverage and compare favorably to other manufacturers in the industry. For concerns with recent orders, refer to Windsor's no-charge policy.
- Windsor has a presence on several social media networks. It would be helpful if employees of our distributors participate in discussion threads with favorable commentary when appropriate.
In a perfect world, we'd be able to remove all the unfair, outdated, and negative search results about our products or our companies. In reality, most content is here to stay. What you can do is create your own positive content to suppress the negatives as much as possible. Windsor strives to be "Easy To Do Business With" and we place a high value on cultivating and maintaining long-term relationships.