30
Jan
2010
Reputation Professor Complaints
Posted by Reputation Professor as Reputation Professor Complaints
Handling Customer Complaints: 3 Ways To Turn Complaining Customers To Loyal Buyers
Reputation Professor Complaints author Michael Lee.
Handling customer complaints can be a very challenging responsibility. After all, you’re not going to hear anything pleasant from your clients anytime soon. And you’ll probably have to endure everything from mild ranting to full blown swearing tantrums.
However, complaints are a part of business and knowing how to deal with them will only serve to make your business stronger. If you want to learn the secrets of handling customer complaints better, follow these tips:
1) Recognize complaints as opportunities for growth.
Sure, it’s hard to consider being shouted at as a positive thing; but it is sometimes necessary. Of course, customers won’t always raise their voices, but the way they deliver their complaint isn’t always the point. It is what they are saying that needs to register in your head.
If you’re too sensitive, you’ll never be able to survive running a business at all. Instead of taking the objections personally, think of them as ways you can improve on your products or your service.
2) Record the nature of the complaint.
Don’t let any complaint go through one ear and out in another. Handling customer complaints means taking them down and recording them for future reference.
Doing this also shows the customers that you acknowledge what they have to say and that you will definitely do something about it, or at least raise it for a discussion.
3) Follow-up on the issue.
By now, you should have already resolved or have done something about the problem. However, that is not where your service ends.
Handling customer complaints doesn’t stop when you’ve done something about the issue. You still have to communicate with the complainant to find out whether he or she is satisfied with the final outcome or not.
Not a lot of businesses bother to do this, but let me tell you just how appreciated these gestures are. Following up makes the customers feel like they’re really being taken care of.
You might not think that you (or your employees) need to learn the details of handling customer complaints. What you don’t realize is that the way you deal with these matters also has an incredible impact on your company.
Handling customer complaints like a pro will reflect very well on the kind of person you are and the kind of company you have. On the other hand, dealing with customer objections like they don’t really matter will also reveal to others just how you do business.
26
Jan
2010
Reputation Management Services
Posted by Reputation Professor as Reputation Management Services
Reputation Management: Using a proprietary system, Reputation Professor repairs, revises, enhances and manipulates search engine reputation management results for our confidential clients. To protect your image and influence your clients’ perception of your business Contact Us.
Reputation Management Services
US / Canada: 1-877-355-6410
International: 001-321-945-7973
Email: reputationprofessor@gmail.com
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16
Dec
2009
Free Reputation Management
Posted by Reputation Professor as Free Reputation Management
Controlling or managing search rank for your own name is fairly easy for an SEO (search engine optimizer), but what can the average person do? Below I outline a number of free, quick, easy and effective ways to populate the first page of results for your name. I highly recommend people start creating content for their name now as it will be much more difficult after waiting for someone else with your name to muddy the search results to spur you to action.
1) Create a Reputation Management Blog Even if you build just a one-page site using your name on a free blog network, you can quickly use your blog to create pages about yourself and link to other pages you are going to create on this list. Use your name in the blog name. 
Estimated time to complete: 10 minutes Free Options: Blogger (blogspot), WordPress, LiveJournal
2) Create a Reputation Management Wiki Several wiki platforms have done a great job of creating publishing tools that are even easier to use than most blog technology. Though wikis are best suited for group collaboration, the will also work well helping you link to your blog and other pages. Use your name in the wiki name. 
Estimated time to complete: 10 minutes Free Options: Wetpaint, Wikia Wikia
3) Register your Reputation Management domain If you are lucky enough to have [insertyourname].com (or .net, .org, .info) available, snatch them up. The small fee is well worth it even if you don’t actively build a site using it because, at the very least, you are preventing your competition (other people with your name, or people who don’t like you) from ranking high for your name. Even better, use your domain for the site or wiki you are going to create.
Estimated time to complete: 5 minutes Cheap Options: Aplus.net
4) LinkedIn Reputation Management: Set up a LinkedIn profile and make it publicly available. Add background info like education, employment history, awards or certification (or anything else you are proud of). Add links to your other sites/pages. 
Estimated time to complete: 5-10 minutes
5) Jobster Reputation Management: Some people are a little shocked when they find out their profile shows up in search. Not you, because you want it to! Create a jobster account, allow it to be publicly available, fill out a little employment info, answer a couple questions, but write it keeping in mind that your current employer could come across it. 
Estimated time to complete: 5 minutes
6) Myspace Reputation Management pages tend to show up in search as well. Though Myspace has probably ruined more people’s reputations than helped, you will create a clean Myspace page for your name and, if you feel the urge, put the racy stuff on a different profile. 
Estimated time to complete: 5 minutes
7) Flickr Reputation Management accounts and images have a great chance of showing up in the engines, especially for image searches. Creat an account, upload a few photos you like and label them with your name. 
Estimated time to complete: 10 minutes
Comment on Popular Reputation Management Post’s: Sometimes I see a commenter’s name show up in search. Find a popular blogger site or newspaper site that allows comments, and find a post that you feel comfortable commenting on. Use your real name for the name field. Try this on a couple sites. Estimated time to complete: 5 minutes
9) Employer Site If your employer features profiles on their website, ask them to add one for you. If not, talk them into it or author a post on their blog (if they have one). Estimated time to complete: 5-30 minutes, depending on your company
10) Join a Forum Do a search for a forum that you might want to participate on. For example, if you are into guitar, you should search for “guitar forum.” If it looks like a place where it would be easy for you to make five or six posts, then sign up and use your name for your profile name. Make your five posts and fill out your profile page with information about you and use your name at least once in the profile description. Estimated time to complete: 15 minutes
*Disclosure: I work for Wetpaint, but honestly believe their wiki solution is the best option
In the future, Facebook might also be an option. They recently allowed profiles set to public to be crawled, but they are showing logged-out status of your profile, which is basically your name and picture right now. Eventually, I believe, Facebook will open it up to show your full public profile (probably in ‘08).
Keep in mind, Google usually only shows two results for any one site. That’s why I have you contributing on multiple sites. A couple more tips:
- If you ever receive a great interview or bio online, link to it from your sites.
- For online activity that you don’t want to be associated with your name, use a nickname or “handle” that is completely different from your real name.
- If you have stiffer competition for your name, you may need to spend more time building out and linking to the various options I list above.
Other Reputation Management options:
a) Wikipedia If you have a strong brand you can list your company in the Wikipedia online encyclopedia. Estimated time to complete: 30-45 minutes, depending on your company
b) Press Releases Press releases do well in news search, and if you point a few links at them it could also help them outrank other pages. PRWeb is popular. Estimated time to complete: 30-45 minutes, depending on your company
c) Writing Articles This is another easy way to create content that is highly relevant to your brand or name at places like Article City. Estimated time to complete: 60 minutes, depending on your company
Please email recommendations to improve this page to reputationprofessor@gmail.com
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16
Dec
2009
Why Reputation Management
Posted by Reputation Professor as Why Reputation Management
Why Reputation Management
Some complaint sites may be run by a competing company or its employees. In addition to disgruntled employees, ex-wives, ex-friends and consumers, companies may face Internet sites backed by environmental or other activist groups seeking to promote their political causes.
Complaint web sites have become the tool of choice for irritated customers, disgruntled employees, political activists and anyone else to air their bellyaches economically and effectively. Concealed by anonymity and powered by a worldwide audience, Internet complainers can impose chaos on your Company.
Reputation management is critical when considering fiscal implications. Reputation Management through analyzing and influencing search engine results, can prevent the loss of business or career and ensure ongoing success for you and your Company.
•More than 80 percent of executive and corporate recruiters research job candidates online, and 43 percent say they have turned down job seekers because of what they found, according to a study released August 2008 by ExecuNet.
•Online reviews are second only to personal advice from a friend as the driver of purchase decisions; user reviews are more influential than third-party reviews. (”Web users and web community,” Rubicon Consulting, Inc. October 2008)
•86% of consumers read online business reviews before making purchasing decisions; 90% of whom say they trust these reviews. (Kudzu.com survey of 600 users, December 2008)
•Almost two-thirds (62%) of consumers read consumer-written product reviews on the Internet. (Deloitte & Touche, September 2007)
•When asked what sources of information they are “very likely” to consult before making a decision about their entertainment options, 62% named Web sites with user reviews as their top choice, even beating out a knowledgeable friend (59%). (Marketing Sherpa, July 2007)
•Seven in 10 (69%) consumers who read reviews share them with friends, family or colleagues, thus amplifying their impact. (Deloitte & Touche, September 2007)
•74% agree-including 14% who strongly agree-that they choose companies and brands based on what others say online about their customer service experiences, the survey shows. (Society for New Communications Research, May 2008)
•More than eight in ten (82%) of those who read reviews said that their purchasing decisions have been directly influenced by those reviews. (Deloitte & Touche, September 2007)
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15
Dec
2009
Personal Brand in your Job Search
Posted by Reputation Professor as Reputation Management Tips
Top Tips for Incorporating your Personal Brand in your Job Search
When you think about your next career move, how would things be different for you if you were HUNTED rather than being the HUNTER? Personal branding (the process of clarifying and communicating what makes you and your unique value proposition different and special) allows you to make a name for yourself. It differentiates you from your peers and helps to position you as a leader in your field – as a specialist and an authority who knows how to do a job and fill a particular niche in the workplace better than anyone else.
Rather than finding yourself constantly pursuing job opportunities that never quite pan out, sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring, and having doors stay locked shut to you, imagine what a positive and secure feeling it would be to have employers and recruiters actually seek YOU out. With some time and effort put into identifying and communicating YOUR personal brand as it relates to your career, this is one of the key benefits you will enjoy.
If you are a professional engaged in a serious job search, it would be almost impossible to escape the issue of personal branding. Everyone is talking about it! And, for good reason. Personal branding can make an incredible positive impact on not only your current job search, but on the success and progression of your entire career. But, just because everyone is talking about it, doesn’t mean that everyone is making use of the knowledge. Through personal branding, there is still an incredible opportunity for the forward-thinking professional to position themselves heads and shoulders above their peers and competitors in the job market.
It is not difficult to be convinced that personal branding is the wave of the future when it comes to the professional job search. But once you are convinced, and once you have put the effort into clarifying YOUR personal brand, how do you make that leap to incorporating that brand into your job search? Is there such a thing as a brand-driven job search? How exactly do you promote your personal brand in the job market?
Here are 5 tips for incorporating your brand throughout your resume, your cover letters, and your entire career marketing portfolio.
Tip #1 – Branding provides your resume and other career marketing documents with instant, precision-like focus that positions you as the ideal candidate for the specific type of opportunity that interests you. An unfocused resume is boring and ineffective. An unfocused resume wastes your readers’ time and will land in the circular file. A properly branded resume is, by definition, focused, and addresses not only your unique value proposition, but it does so in a way that addresses the concerns of your target audience.
Tip #2 – Use your personal brand profile and personal brand statement to project a cohesive brand image and value proposition across your resume, cover letters, and all your documents. In my work, I have the opportunity to review a lot of resumes, letters, biographies and other documents that my clients and prospective clients have tried to write for themselves. This tip relates to one of the most common mistakes that I see. Too many people try to be too many things to too many people. Their career marketing portfolios (resumes, cover letters, biographies, etc.) are a hodge-podge of documents written over a number of years and added onto randomly whenever the need arises for an updated resume. Certainly across the portfolio, and sometimes even within the same document, I find multiple design and content styles, as well as disconnected and outdated messages. When you brand your job search documents you immediately correct this problem.
Tip #3 – During the first review, resumes are scanned for mere seconds in a process that is meant to do nothing more than filter out unqualified candidates. Clearly and succinctly incorporating your personal brand statement into the profile or summary section of your resume is a way to ensure that your resume will stand out and get attention. One way to accomplish this is with a headline statement followed by a sub-headline that promotes your value proposition. If you aren’t familiar with this style, take a look at the many sample resumes on the Distinctive Documents website.
Tip #4 – Personal branding gives you a way to truly let your personality shine through and to establish an emotional connection with your audience. It can be tough to make this connection in your resume, but your cover letters and your narrative biography are great opportunities to promote soft skills and weave in examples of key brand attributes. In a very real sense, personal branding requires that you be courageous about really “owning” yourself and acknowledging yourself for the strengths and value you bring to the table. Let your personality come across in your letters and in your biography. Don’t be afraid to make a connection by accentuating your strengths and value proposition as they relate to your audience. This is a great way to establish rapport and trust with your reader even before you have the chance to speak by phone.
Tip #5 – Keep in mind that one of your primary goals in branding your job search documents is to paint a compelling portrait of your unique value proposition. To do this, you will need to structure your resume so that it promotes your key skills, qualifications, experiences, and achievements in a way that is both convincing and compelling and clearly illustrates to the reader that you can meet their needs and help them to achieve their goals, all the while adding value to their organization and delivering a strong return on their investment in hiring you. This is a lot to accomplish in a single resume! One of the most effective ways to do this is to focus the chronology of your work history on achievements and results. Write your achievements so that they tell a succinct story of the challenges and problems you have faced, the actions you took to meet those challenges, and then the results and benefits of those actions – the actual return on investment of your actions. Writing your professional chronology in this way will engage the reader, supporting your brand and helping them to envision how you will add value in the future to their organization.
Author: Certified resume writer and personal branding strategist, Michelle Dumas is the director of Distinctive Career Services LLC. Through Distinctive Documents http://www.distinctiveweb.com and her Executive VIP Services http://www.100kcareermarketing.com Michelle has empowered thousands of professionals all across the U.S. and worldwide. Michelle is also the author of 101 Before-and-After Resume Examples http://www.before-and-after-resumes.com
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15
Dec
2009
Reputation Management
Posted by Reputation Professor as Web Reputation Management
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Reputation Management involves both marketing and public relations along with search engine marketing. Visibility and high search engine indexing with good publicity which displaces negative publicity is the goal. This results in a increase in positive web presence, helping you own top spots in search engine rankings. Online Reputation Management enables you to protect and manage your reputation becoming actively involved in the outcome of search engine results.
Contact David Daniels more information Local: (321) 945-7973 |
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14
Dec
2009
Credibility
Posted by Reputation Professor as Reputation Management Credibility
Credibility: Hard to Achieve – Easy to Lose
Credibility Author Graeme Nichol Arcturus.
There have been many studies on credibility in life and particularly in management. It seemed like an interesting topic to read and reflect on. I am not going into a huge diatribe merely making a few observations.
In this world we live and die by our credibility. It takes years to build up a level of credibility and you have to maintain it constantly or lose it in an instant!
Credibility is an important aspect for a leader and trusted advisor. One of the interesting aspects is that there are three levels to your credibility. Namely how you perceive yourself, how others perceive you and finally how you are perceived within the organization. The perception by others maybe very local but for many managers and consultants who work globally this can have an extended web! Each of these needs to be in some form of alignment so as to be meaningful and deliver the results.
If we struggle to believe the persona we project how would we succeed? Look at successful credible people they have an aura of success. They project success. In management and in life we need to be positive to keep moving ahead and developing our credibility.
If you think you’re the cat’s whiskers and you colleagues have a different opinion. This would not be good. You have to try through a 360 degree evaluation to ensure some alignment on this.
Then look a little further out in your organization. How are you doing? How is your management team doing? Your company as a whole?
Credibility is the ultimate foundational for effective;
• Leadership/Team Building
• Relationship Development
• Coaching & Teaching
• Customer Service
• Sales
Credibility is; “The level of respect others have about you”
As credibility goes up, so does other’s willingness to;
• Believe what you believe
• Value what you value
• Support your plans
• Help you achieve your goals
• Be honest with you
• Trust you
What makes credibility increase and decrease?
• Behavior perceived as being appropriate (from the other person’s perspective – not yours) to time, tasks, people and situations, makes credibility increase.
• Behavior perceived as being inappropriate for the same factors makes it decrease.
Developing Credibility Behavioral Examples that Build
• Honesty
• Devotion
• Punctuality
• Good Example
• Ethical Behavior
• Taking responsibility for behavior
• Keeping promises
• Forgiving and Understanding
• Getting Involved
• Focusing on the Positive
Avoiding Credibility Behavioral Examples that Destroy
• Dishonesty
• Lack of Devotion
• No Concern for Time
• Setting a Bad Example
• Unethical Behaviour
• Breaking Promises
• Denying responsibility for Behaviour
• Unforgiving
• Not Involved
• Focusing on the Negative
Think how Kenneth Lay, and Jeff Skilling destroyed their credibility in the Enron debacle. I am not so sure that Martha Stewart’s credibility was damaged by her short stay in prison. She was not guilty of insider trading, which would have destroyed her credibility! Maybe he legal system took a hit. Perhaps more so internationally than locally. Kinda weird!
We wont discuss politicians. Each one could have a book written by the ebb and flow of their credibility.
Build your credibility and maintain it – your life does depend on it!
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14
Dec
2009
Reputation Professor on How to Sell You
Posted by Reputation Professor as Reputation Professor on How to Sell You
How to Sell You: Building Personal Branding
“If no one is sold on you, no one will buy from you”
Reputation Professor on How to Sell You Author Olatunji Ladi Adejumo.
Welcome to the world of personal branding.
This is the era of the brand. A lot is said about product and corporate branding but human beings are part of the interface between brands and the product or company. The inescapable result of this fact is that you must also begin to look at and work on yourself as a brand.
Let’s get this right, the choice you have is not to have a brand or not but what kind of brand to have. Why? Simply because everyone has a brand: bad, good or somewhere in between, knowingly or unknowingly. The difference between you and the person who has consciously built a virile and vibrant personal brand is that the person has taken control of his/her personal brand. The result is one of someone who radiates all the attributes and qualities which s/he has predetermined to exude.
The concept of personal branding is closely related to that of leadership and at the heart of it is passion. The professional who takes his/her personal brand development and management serious is bound to rise to the top and act as a path for others to follow.
One fundamental purpose of branding is to differentiate one product or service from another. The same purpose underlies the process and outcome of personal branding: to differentiate you from the others in your field. A personal brand is therefore a definite combination of expectations and associations which are nurtured and projected over time.
In a world which is in constant need for professional services, success can only belong to those who can stand up and stand out of the crowd, those who can prove that they have something to offer before being given the opportunity to sell a product or service, those who have developed a rounded, viable, virile and vibrant personal brand.
A personal brand is not a result of laboratory alchemy or rocket science. It involves and is all about you. It however, takes time to build, maintain and sustain. It must be nurtured carefully as people’s perception of you is what determines their level of involvement with you.
Your personal brand is not a quest for a holy grail but the result of a planned and sustained programme which has a definite outcome.
You personal brand stands you out and elevates you above the mass realm preventing you from being bogged in the swamp of sameness and avoiding the ‘me too’ impression. While it will not confer upon you the status of a movie-star when you are aa accountant, it will make the critical connection between you and your target market. A personal brand is a must in contemporary society and a key factor in your success.
Olatunji Ladi Adejumo is a professional Public Relations and Management practitioner specializing in e-Public Relations, Brand Management and Communication. An avid follower of various sports, a motivational speaker, writer and coach, he has a relentless passion to assist business owners and professionals rise to and remain at the top of their game in life. He has evolved a systematic and innovative educational program using sports to connect go- getters with their aspirations.
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13
Dec
2009
Reputation Professor about Online Reputation
Posted by Reputation Professor as Reputation Professor about Online Reputation
What is your Online Reputation?
Reputation Professor Online Reputation Author Nicola Nelson.
So, you spend time, money and effort ensuring the reputation of your company is exactly what you want it to be. But, have you considered your online reputation?
Online Reputation Management is becoming a buzz phrase in the online world as companies realise the damage that can be done to their reputation at the click of a mouse.
Imagine, you have completed a sales presentation to a prospective client – you have told them just how darn good you are and why you are the company for the job.
Now imagine that same customer leaves your meeting with a warm and fuzzy feeling but decide they should carry out a bit of Internet research to find out as much about you as they can. Lo and behold, they turn up some less than complimentary comments about your product or service on a few forums and blogs.
Ah, the beauty of the freedom of speech. That is all well and good when people are saying complimentary things, but imagine the damage when they are not. A disgruntled employee, a less than satisfied customer or maybe a serial complainer, could all be at the root of the problem.
It is a known fact that PR is more effective as a selling tool than Advertising, why? The reason is PR is deemed to be impartial. Large corporations have even taken to adopting this practice with their TV advertising – for example the very large Supermarket who instead of telling you what good value for money their goods are, have decided to employ the services of a much loved British Comedienne to do what? Sell? No, bake bread on TV. There is no “strap line”, no “sales pitch”, they have not taken this decision without doing some research into human buying behaviour!
With this in mind, how powerful do you think negative information about your goods or service will be when deemed to be ‘impartial’?
But don’t for one moment think that this situation is limited to big businesses. You only have to look at the number of ‘review’ websites there are now to see that it can affect all size of businesses.
Remember the old adage “a happy customer will tell 2 people, an unhappy one will tell 10 times that number!” well, add the Internet into the equation at 10 times could easily become 1000 times on the information super highway!
Brand Reputation Management, Internet Reputation Management.
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13
Dec
2009
Reputation Management Article Marketing
Posted by Reputation Professor as Reputation Management Article Marketing
Expanding Your Reputation Through Article Marketing
Reputation Management Article Marketing Author: Johnny Albertson
A positive reputation is a priceless asset to any business. The loyalty of a small group of customers is nice, but generally not enough to bolster sales and keep food on the table. As entrepreneurs, we are always looking for new ways to reach a greater number of people.
There are a million ways to get your name out there, some more effective than others. Our modern society offers marketing opportunities through television, radio, telephone, the Internet, and a vast array of print sources such as brochures and magazines. Your budget will likely dictate which of these methods you choose to utilize.
There is one method, however, that any business owner should take advantage of. Regardless of the size or success of the company, article marketing is a fast and cost effective way to legitimately market your company.
How to Get Started
There are three main steps to the article marketing process:
1. Begin by writing a batch of articles surrounding topics that relate to your business.
2. Submit the articles to an article distribution service. (You can attempt to submit them to content sites individually if you have a boat load of time to spend on the project.)
3. Watch as your articles are distributed to hundreds of sites and subsequently published all over the Internet. The best part is that all of these articles will have links back to your website, significantly increasing site traffic and company exposure.
Lots of websites have an insatiable hunger for fresh content. This is why these article distribution services have become so popular. They have formed relationships with many of these content sites who have come to trust them to provide well-written and informative articles.
Branding Through Article Marketing
Article marketing is one of the best ways to get your brand name on the public eye’s radar screen. When you provide interesting and engaging articles that pique readers’ interests, you are assured that many of these people will check out your company website. The more often people see your brand name, the more it becomes ingrained into their memory.
For instance, if your company produces highly efficient halogen bulbs, you might write a number of articles addressing energy consumption and conservation. Every time a reader sees one of these articles, they also see your brand name. Then, the next time they find themselves face to face with a burnt out light bulb, they will immediately think of your company. It’s all about putting a face to your name.
The Article Marketing Difference
Article marketing offers something different than other marketing efforts, which is why it has proven to be so effective in gaining positive exposure for the businesses that use it. Instead of bombarding the consumer with fancy sales jargon, these articles simply give the reader good information.
It’s like making an investment in the customer before they invest in you. By offering them something right off the bat, they are more likely to trust that you are interested in something more than just sell! sell! sell! It shows that you want to share your expertise about the industry you represent.
As the saying goes, any publicity is good publicity. In my opinion, it’s always best to stick with the good publicity. Article marketing will help you do just that. Instead of turning people off through annoying advertisements, choose a different approach. Dispense a little wisdom up front and you are sure to turn potential customers into loyal customers.
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