We are in the process of going through an online revolution, that is revolutionising the way that retailers work.
The days of finding your clients through a bricks and mortar shop front seem to be slipping away. The duel development of the internet and our ability to easily browse it anytime has revolutionised the ability for retailers to promote their services to clients anywhere they can deliver to who are actively searching for or have an interest in your products.
However, making a sale online is not as easy as just having the right product available at a good price. As the internet has enabled buyers to research products and suppliers before making informed decisions as to who to work with.
So now whilst having great products and competitive prices is still important alongside them you need positive reviews and a good online reputation. Here are six ways in which you can build a positive online reputation.
Have a trustworthy website
This means that you should have your own website. The website should be well written with good content. It should be indexed on google and have the correct SSL (security certificates that validate a website as genuine to a browser.)
The certificate authority carries large portfolio of SSL certificate whether it is Comodo, GlobalSign, GeoTrust or DigiCert but, it depends upon the site’s needs to choose the right SSL certificate. For example, if you choose GeoTrust SSL certificate, you need to browse all GeoTrust’s products and if require ask their live support that which SSL will fit to your site.
The higher-level extended SSL certificates will display a green layer over your URL when it is shown on a compatible browser. This is a clear signal to the user letting them know that the site is secure and genuine helping you to earn their trust and close sales.
As the SSL issuer is guaranteeing this fact, you will need to go through several hoops when applying and wait whilst the website and company is verified before it is issued.
Have genuine social profiles
Your business should have its own Facebook page with quality content. You should have a linked in profile and entry. If appropriate the business and also have Instagram profile, they currently have over 25 million business profiles and over 80% of these are outside of the US.
If you build up your fan base/ followers posts can be an easy way to share new products or promotions. For example if you are an international courier you could promote an extra discount for shipping to USA to encourage more work for that specific route. Regular posts and updates are again a clear signal that the company is genuine and can help build awareness and sales.
Sell on other online market places
Having your goods on eBay, Amazon, Etsy and other online marketplaces, enables these marketplaces to promote your services and brand to visitors. As these marketplaces are very strong for a search engine online perspective, it very easy for these stores entries to appear in search results.
Remember that these sites will also be rating their stores, and so going the extra mile for clients is very important.
For example, once you despatch your orders let the receiver immediately know the tracking details for the courier services used, as this can help generate great reviews.
Sign up to an independent review site
You are able to set up automated reviews that will be published on their trusted domain. This will enable your reviews to be seen whenever you brand is searched for. Ensure that you respond to all reviews including the bad ones promptly as this shows the professionalism of the company. You can also use your best reviews as an additional sales tool, by quoting them on your product and check out pages of your own site. They also can help with offline credibility by adding them to your brochures and marketing material.
Publish a Blog
You should position yourself, company or products as an expert in your field. One of the best ways to do this is to write articles about your products and services. Often guides on how to achieve something or overcome common problems are also valuable content to be posting. These can also generate visitors to your website or blog once indexed by the search engines.
PPC and SEO
Protect your online brand by making sure that it appears number one in browsers search results. This should be easy to do for your brand by doing some search engine optimisation. This is where your make sure the structure of your website’s pages is optimised for the keywords that you would like the search engines list.
Then add some signal from directories and other websites such as social sites and review sites that the site is genuine and this will ensure that the search engines list your site correct. However, competitors can still bid on your brand using per click so it is good practise to ensure that you protect the first search result on a browser by occupying the top PPC position yourself. After all you do not want a competitor stealing your clients.
I hope that you have found these tips useful and remember that the route of build up an excellent online reputation comes from providing great customer service and treating your customers as you would like to be treated.
