How to manage our reputation through communication with client. Part 1

The company's reputation is a complex phenomenon that is formed and changes under the influence of many factors. We have repeatedly talked about the importance of the number and tone of reviews and the need to maintain a positive vibe around the company and brand. However, before you start pumping in reviews and social networks, you should pay attention to the basic tools that are as accessible to you as possible. In particular, how you build communication with the client and how you communicate with him.

Often, for some reason, the aspect of communication is underestimated. They say, "This is banal business etiquette; what can be new here?" And this is a big mistake. Over the past 10 years, the communication sphere has changed, if not completely, then at least in part. New channels of interaction have been formed, and the style and format of the dialogue with the consumer have changed. And to transfer the same cliches and templates from channel to channel means not getting even a fraction of the possible advantages. Including reputational ones.

To prevent you from making such mistakes, we have collected some important tips on how to use communication as a tool for managing the company's reputation. Important: All of the following recommendations have been repeatedly tested in practice by us personally.

Personalize your first contact

Remember that your interaction with the client starts long before he calls or comes to your office. It begins to form already at the first touch:

• when a user sees your offer in the search results;
• when your newsletter arrives via email;
• when your advertising post appears in the social network feed.

Any of these events is in itself a communication that gives one or another result: if a person is interested, then positive, and if he scrolled through or closed, then negative. Therefore, it is necessary to try to accurately meet the user's expectations with the first contact; you and your proposals should not only be interesting but also relevant to a specific subject and relevant to his needs.

This implies a very important rule: every client, including (or rather, first of all) a potential one, needs to be addressed in a personalized way. No matter how cool the text of the mailing list or advertising post is, you cannot broadcast it unchanged to the entire audience. Remember: the user found you for a specific query, or advertising algorithms showed your ad based on his past behavior and interest. That is, there is a formulated need, and you need to try to get into it as accurately as possible.

To do this, change the texts of posts and ads, diversify advertising campaigns for different requests, and use different creatives. After all, the clearer the user sees the solution to his question in your offer, the higher the probability of converting him into a client.

Communicate in the client 's world

A very important rule is that communication should be built where it is convenient for the client. Even if he contacted you in one way or another, there may be more suitable options for him. Therefore, it is better at the first stage to clarify with the person what kind of communication format he would prefer.

And here, it is important not to be afraid to move away from stereotypes. Of course, one can hardly argue with the effectiveness of phone calls for business, but for customers, it is often an inconvenient channel. As the statistics of recent years show, consumers especially appreciate the opportunity to communicate with companies through messengers. If you offer customers such an opportunity, then this is a definite plus for your reputation. Messengers can be called, in a sense, an informal channel of interaction, and for a modern person, this is valuable. This is more person-to-person communication than person-to-company communication.

Correspondence will be useful for you as well. This is a very flexible tool that can be launched at any stage of communication with the client:

• accept new applications via Messenger;
• do not answer the questions of potential customers;
• notify about the stage of order execution;
• activate previous customers by sending out special offers.

It is also important that the history of interactions in messengers be saved and easily exported.
Another valuable opportunity of such communication is that it is convenient to summarize communication here, coordinate final tasks, and advise on any issues. From the point of view of reputation management, this shows your concern for the client, your ability to maintain communication with him, and your responsibility for the result.

If the customer base has already been developed, then with the help of messengers, you can maintain its loyalty with periodic touches. Just remind yourself periodically, preferably in a native format. Ask if everything is fine and how the client's project is developing. People appreciate such an attentive attitude; they like to be remembered. In addition, through such a contact, you can understand the current needs of the client and subsequently come to him with a new offer.