How to Manage Your Startup's Online Reputation

That's the case for Harrison Fowler, Founder and CEO of RVF International, a startup that helps college graduates teach English in Spain. Young adults and their parents research gap year programs online, and before they sign up to travel to another country, they want to see that a program is well regarded.

"Having a really positive online reputation for us is the difference between being in business and being out of business," Fowler says.

Here's how to take control of your startup's digital reputation.

Share Your Company's Story

Talk about your values to shape the online narrative around your company.

Leena Chitnis, Founder/CEO of Timberdog, which makes adventure and outdoor gear for dogs, puts out press releases, blog posts and social media posts when her company gives back to her community and the world. She spread the word online when she donated dog beds to a shelter and when she supported a high school's charity raffle. She also announced her partnership with One Tree Planted, which plants two trees for each of the dog beds she sells to make her operations carbon negative.

"The good that you do doesn't always have to be like, you do something good and wait for people to notice. Sometimes you have to get ahead of things and preemptively show what your brand is about," Chitnis says.

Jennifer Yancie, Founder of clean skincare brand Jeyancie Beauty, blogs about the experiences that inspired her to start her company. She recounts how she felt self-conscious about her skin while giving cybersecurity presentations to C-suite executives at work. When the brands she tried didn't help, she worked with a formulation chemist to create her own products. The results were a success, and she decided to offer the products for sale.

"We will post the blog content out there, which very much helps us with our SEO, but once we've posted that blog content out there, we will take a snippet of that information and post it on our social media channels, as well as include it in our newsletters that we're sending out," Yancie says.

In addition to publishing your own content, try getting in touch with journalists who might feature your company in online news stories. Chitnis connects with reporters on sites like HARO and Qwoted and maintains a spreadsheet of writers who frequently cover pet products so she can reach out to them.

Build a Strong Website

Use platforms like Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, WooCommerce or BigCommerce to set up an inviting website. Include professionally written copy to describe your products or services, and use high-quality images. If you're selling a product whose functionality can't be fully appreciated from a still image, consider adding videos of your product in action.

Chitnis uses Shopify and has added many details to her website over time, including carousels of photos highlighting her flagship product's many features.

"It's like a bonsai tree at this point. I mean, I worry over it every day and I add something here, take something out, keep it pruned and evergreen," Chitnis says.

Your website should showcase the experiences of happy customers or clients. Incorporate customer reviews into product listings, or ask clients for testimonials.

Fowler's website displays video clips and written testimonials from participants about things they enjoyed during their time in Spain and how they benefited from his company's support.

"You need to have a lot of social proofing is a big thing that we talk about and focus on just like, 'Hey, this seems really cool, but do other people think it's cool and do other people think it's legit?'" Fowler says.

Be Radically Transparent

Disappointed customers or clients may share their gripes online, so do your best to ensure there's no mismatch between how they think your product or service works and what happens in reality.

"If someone does have a bad experience, it's almost always because of unmet expectations or expectations that they had, what they thought their experience was going to be like. And so we figured that out pretty early on," Fowler says.

He's found that openly communicating every detail of the process of moving abroad and settling in at the destination reduces participants' anxiety and prevents frustration.

Be upfront about the ingredients that go into your products, and be clear on what your services do and don't include. Don't leave crucial details up to customers' imaginations. If customers still have questions, make it easy for them to get answers through email and phone or an online chat system.

Ask for Reviews

Prompt clients or customers to review your company online. You can automate the process with a tool like Judge.me or simply ask people for reviews when you talk to them.

Fowler has regular video calls with his program's participants to check in on their progress.

"We do reach out intentionally during the different milestone parts of the process: When they get their visa, that's really exciting. When they arrive, that's exciting. Their first day of school," Fowler says.

It's typical for participants to spontaneously mention that they're having a great time. When they do, Fowler asks if they're okay with writing a review so that other people can find out about the program. Usually, they agree, and Fowler sends them a link to review his company on Go Overseas or GoAbroad because those sites are prominent in his niche.

In addition to asking for reviews on specialized sites for your industry, you can direct customers to leave reviews on Trustpilot, Yelp or Google.

Engage With Online Feedback

Replying to comments and reviews makes customers feel validated. And when comments are negative, responses can help the public see your side of the story and prevent rumors from taking off. It's important that replies come from a real person at your company who can offer solutions like refunds or replacements as needed.

Chitnis responds to nearly all reviews herself.

"I want them to feel like they were seen and heard, and it wasn't just some bot doing auto reply, it's the CEO/founder that's replying to them personally and directly," Chitnis says.

Positive reviews are easy to reply to; thank the person for their feedback, and express your gratitude for their business. Negative reviews can be more challenging, particularly if the reviewer takes issue with your company's existence or practices.

Chitnis has received critical reviews from people who aren't customers but who object to her dog bed's price.

"I just hit them with kindness, and I'm like, 'Well, I'd love to give you a discount to change your mind and try it out.' Or I'll show them a value infographic, but I keep it sweet and I keep it classy," Chitnis says.

People don't usually take her up on her offer of a discount, but they generally back down from their criticism and agree that her product offers a lot of value.

Reading criticism of your company may feel upsetting, and you might want to vent to friends or journal about it. Work through the stress before replying publicly. Responding emotionally can give the impression that you're insecure about your company's offerings and might escalate the disagreement.

Comments that seem to misunderstand a product can be opportunities to update how you communicate about it.

"You can also take that information back and if they're curious about something, what is it that I'm not saying in my messaging on my website or on the product itself?" Yancie says.

When customers complained about the consistency of Yancie's body butter, she realized she needed to be clearer that the product is a thick body butter intended for use in the winter. She's now thinking about developing a summertime formulation in response to the feedback.

Prepare for Reputational Challenges

Have a plan for responding to crises, such as if your company becomes the center of a controversy. You'll want to get ahead of critical online chatter by acknowledging the problem, taking responsibility for any missteps and sharing how you're going to make things right.

Even if your startup hasn't done anything wrong, you might need to address customers' concerns if outside events affect your business. Fowler found himself in that position at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and at times during the war in Ukraine, when his program's participants and their parents wanted to know how the turmoil would affect them.

Fowler says that openly communicating the latest information and sharing options went a long way toward dispelling unease.

"Stay up to date and be okay with sharing what you don't know. Because I think sometimes people want to have all the answers, and that's just impossible. No one has all the answers. And so just being transparent of like, 'Hey, I can control this and I cannot control this. This is what we can do, but this is something that we cannot do,' I think is huge," Fowler says.