It is impossible to overestimate the importance of online reputation for jewelry stores and small businesses that make their earnings from internet sales.
Being the owner of several popular jewelry websites and successfully selling my goods in many additional online arenas,
I can honestly tell you that correct managing of your online ratings and reviews will make all the difference between failure and success.
Getting Positive Ratings and Reviews
There are several ways in which you get positive ratings and
reviews that will be noticed by search engines – review websites,
general directories, social media, e-commerce websites and your own personal website and blog.
I’ll outline briefly how you can receive good ratings by using each of these options.
Review websites are neutral services that allow people to express their positive or negative views about a specific business.
While some business owners are fearful or services such as Yelp because they think they may receive negative comments,
if you are running a clean business and provide good customer service, review websites are the perfect way to build a positive online reputation.
Encourage your customers to write a review about you and even email them the relevant links.
Once you receive a few positive ratings they may even show up in the Google search results and potential customers take them very seriously.
Social Media can generate a lot of positive buzz for you and your business. In today’s online environment, creating an active Facebook page is essential.
However, don’t make the mistake of thinking that simply creating social media pages will promote your business.
In order to successfully create some viral buzz, you will need to encourage your customers to participate in activities, voice their opinions, like and share your posts.
You will need to monitor your social media pages on a daily basis, post updates and respond to any comments that you receive.
E-Commerce Websites with EBay being the most obvious example, all provide customers with a ratings system.
Getting a few hundred five star positive reviews will do wonders for your business.
Once you’ve earned positive reviews from all sources listed above, you will discover that your products will feature better in search results and that it will be easier to sell to customers that feel they can trust you.
Your Own Website and Blog should contain reviews and comments sections in which your customers will be able to leave you remarks, feedback and suggestions. Make sure you acknowledge and answer each and every comment.
Maintaining Positive Reviews
Always keep an eye open for what people are writing about you and do everything in your power to understand complaints and successfully resolve them.
Maintaining your positive online reputation is worth far more to you than winning an argument with a particular client, even if you are one hundred percent right.
Providing good customer service is not about determining who is right and who is wrong, but about having the customer feel that you always try to identify with his concerns and complaints, even if they are unjustified.
Doron Heifetz is an expert jeweler and the owner of the monogram necklace website.