Your company brand should be deliberate, not accidental. Here are some key online reputation management tips that will help you own your story.
10/29/2019 12:00
Following up on the Managing Your Brand session at ACA International’s 2019 Convention & Expo. which addressed the importance of online reputation management, ACA Communications Consultant Tim Dressen talked with panelists about controlling messaging at your company for an article in the October issue of Collector magazine.
Panelists included Wendy Badger Esq., chief compliance officer with ECMC Group; Debra Ciskey, IFCCE, executive vice president with The Collections Coach LLC; Teri Plunkett, CCCE, director of client services with Professional Finance Company Inc.; and David Williams, president of Williams & Fudge Inc.
Their overarching message? You need to take control of your online presence.
Managing Complaints
If companies fail to tell their own story, someone else will do it for them. In any consumer-oriented industry, that story will undoubtedly involve unhappy people who want to be heard.
Their quickest and easiest recourse for voicing their displeasure comes via countless complaint portals, review websites and social media forums, Dressen reports.
“Those of us who answer complaints know that they’re not always completely factual and tell only one side of the story,” Ciskey said. “So, responding is important because you can provide your side of the story as much as possible without providing third-party disclosure. That response starts the process of telling our story.”
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Better Business Bureau manage the most prominent complaint portals affecting accounts receivable management companies.
Public information viewable on the CFPB portal includes the consumer’s complaint as submitted, whether the business provided a timely response and limited options for the company to offer a public response.
The BBB posts the consumer’s complaint, the company’s response and a determination of whether the BBB considers the matter resolved.
Responding to complaints quickly is essential. Not only does timeliness demonstrate to regulators that you take complaints seriously, but it also helps deescalate problems before they grow.
“How often have you ended up with a lawsuit from an unhappy consumer only to find that they sent in a CFPB or BBB complaint previously?” Williams asked. “If you don’t respond quickly, that’s when you often end up with worse issues. If consumers feel heard, they’re going to be a lot less mad at you.”
When writing complaint responses, agencies should consider not only the reaction of the complaining consumer, but also regulators. Each response provides an opportunity to demonstrate your agency’s approach to compliance.
“When you respond, make sure your compliance shines through,” Plunkett said. “Address the consumer but also the regulators who may be reading so they can see your compliance measures.”
It’s also useful to track and analyze complaint data. Look for trends, provide insight to management and address operational issues or system glitches that are contributing to complaints.
Dressen also reports on managing online reviews and social media comments as well as promoting stories about your company you want the public to see.
Consumer review websites and social media forums allow everyone to have a voice. They are also often the source of first impressions for job candidates, elected officials and anyone else researching your company.
Monitoring and responding to comments made on those sites demonstrates that the company takes complaints seriously and cares about resolving them.
Complaint responses are important but they represent only one piece of the online reputation management puzzle, Dressen reports.
Agencies also need to play offense, actively promoting the stories they want people to see.
These stories begin with action—doing good things and publicly talking about them.
Your company’s brand consists of many things: company history, employee treatment, community involvement, award recognition and your approach to doing business. Leverage anniversary celebrations, employee awards, charity events and elected representative visits to publicly share your company values.
Read more tips on managing your agency’s brand in the October issue of Collector magazine and listen to Badger, Ciskey, Plunkett and Williams discuss the topic on a recent episode of ACA Cast.
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