Creating a reputation takes 20 years and just 5 minutes to spoil it. This is a truth every person active online should understand. People often react to posts very fast without thinking twice about repercussions their post would make on the mind of people who deal with you in business or socially.
Again, some people representing celebrities or big corporations often make statements in press or online platforms without much thought about perceptions of other people. They do not give much thought to what else could be construed from their statement creating uproar in the online world and a big damage to reputation of people they are representing.
As more and more companies and people are joining online platforms and forums to enhance their visibility, there is much larger scrutiny of companies and people by others regarding the authenticity of their lives and values as projected to the outside world. This has called for bigger responsibility on you as to how you behave online and the kind of statements that make.
However, since so much is happening online every day, there are always chances that a reputation scandal involving you or your company breaks out some day. Therefore, here are some steps to take to survive scandal and control the damage caused.
Assess the damage:
One of the first things that you do when you are in the middle of a reputation crisis is that you need to sit down quietly and assess the damage caused and find the possible reason for the damage. Complete assessment of authentic damage will give you a base to work upon and steps that you need to take to control the damage.
Set realistic goals and expectations:
Once you have assessed the quantum of damage, you have to now set realistic goals and expectations from damage control measures. No matter what you do, reputation restoration and building takes its own time and you have to accept that life will not be the same as before.
Plan your media strategy:
Many people who face situations like this issue their clarifications to the media giving statements that go against them and land them in a deeper trouble than before.
You must plan and time your strategy before making any statements online. You must make a concrete and detailed plan of actions that you believe are necessary for damage control and restoration of reputation.
Pick social media fight cautiously:
Internet is a great place for you and for companies to increase their visibility and grow. At the same time internet is also a great tool in the hands of unsatisfied customers to vent their anger and show their dissatisfaction.
Often, it is the dissatisfaction of customers online that post something regressive to your image. It is very difficult to erase posts and comments online. They stay there for very long and become a black spot on your image forever.
Instead of picking up an online fight to settle score or satisfy your ego, it will be best not to fight but to accept any shortcoming online and satisfy the customer.
This way you will not only repair the damage caused at the earliest, but also get some brownie points in the form of good reviews by the unsatisfied customer and other people as well.
Increase information about the company:
It is a well-known fact that humans have a very short memory. People tend to forget about things of the past very quickly. Therefore, instead of issuing very quick response to all the questions from media and outside people, wait for some time till the frenzy cools down a little bit. Let the negative information about your company fade and then start increasing positive information about your company from different quarters.
Most people read reviews on the front page and hardly go to the rear pages for product review or company review. This way you will be able to survive reputation scandal without a scar.
Read More: 10 Ways to Build Positive Reputation for Your Business
Pay attention to customer service:
Online business is all about customer service and customer satisfaction. Once you have the confidence of your customers, any reputation scandal from outside sources and rival companies will not harm you enough to take away your business or even tarnish your reputation beyond repair.
Seek help from reputation management professionals:
Now that online business is high on demand, so are the professionals dealing with reputation management. These are highly professional and experienced people in the field with years of experience in the field. They know exactly what to do in certain circumstances, and they have people who can manage and manipulate online platforms and their visibility.
In case, you are out of choice and don’t feel confident enough to handle the situation yourself, it would be good for you to contact reputation management companies who will send experts that can guide you in repairing your lost reputation.
