Issue link: https://learn.thebdx.com/i/715086
theBDX.com 11900 Ranch Road 620 N, Austin TX 78750-1345 © 2015 Builders Digital Experience, Inc. All rights reserved. W H I T E P A P E R | R E P U T A T I O N M A N A G E M E N T 8 Steps to Improving Your Online Reputation 1. First, set expectations with your buyers. Home buyers need to understand that home building is a very human business. Mistakes will happen, but buyers must understand and believe you will be there to correct any mistake. Be humble and remind them that this is a human business, but that you are committed to them. Make this part of your pre-build process and make it easy for buyers to give feedback. 2. Audit and monitor your brand online. There are numerous tools available for free or at some cost that will email you anytime your brand is mentioned on social media or select websites that we will discuss further in this whitepaper. 3. Respond to negative reviews quickly and publically. Don't let bad reviews cause further damage to your brand by going unanswered. Not only will delays allow the current situation to get worse, but you may lose sales that are pending. Solely responding privately may be the worst thing you can do. That said, there are right and wrong ways to respond. 4. Recruit satisfi ed customers to write positive reviews. Focus on Google +. You need at least 5 reviews before your star rating will be displayed in local search results. There are three times in the building process you should ask for reviews: One, right after the buyer signs the contract. They are euphoric, probably appreciative for any extras or discounts you may have extended to them. You have not even had time to make mistakes. Two, after a successful walk-through once follow-up items are addressed. Three, anytime your client sends a thank you note or expresses sincere appreciation for your team's efforts. Ask them if they will help by reviewing your business on Google +. Send them the direct link to the URL via email and then follow-up to thank them or send them something as a token of your appreciation. 5. Be proactive! Stop bad reviews before they happen by being proactive in seeking feedback. There are many moments of truth for builders. One of the most important is right after a walk-through of the home. The consumer has a chance to identify all the things they feel needs to be addressed before closing. Be like the good doctor who calls his patient after a procedure to see how they are feeling. Address issues quickly and effectively and negative reviews are unlikely to be posted. The other critical time for home builders to check in is after warranty service calls. Are you making it easy for consumers to fi le a claim? Are you responding to them in a manner that meets or exceeds expectations you help set? Ask them and then follow-up. The money you spend now will save sales later. 6. Be accessible. Stop brewing bad reviews by making sure it is easy to contact senior company representatives. A bad review is often in response to a delayed response to a problem you would normally immediately fi x. If they know they have your attention, they are less likely to write a bad review. Don't ask them to write a bad review by being inaccessible. 7. Own or control your page #1 search results in Google. When someone searches for "[Your Brand Term]" or "[Your Brand Term] Reviews" you need to own these pages. For your brand term, this is pretty easy. By setting up your major social profi les and linking to them along with other pages/sites you control, you will be there. We recommend the following: LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, your blog , and sites you control such as your profi le on Career Builder and your builder profi le on NewHomeSource.com. 8. Push negative content down by promoting positive news and reviews. The only way you can push negative content to page 2 of a Google search is to get 10 other things to be considered more relevant. You have to be more relevant to the consumer's query to win the rank and satisfy consumers with the content you have. This is all about SEO. Page 2