How To Respond To Negative Reviews (Including Examples)

All businesses make mistakes: a package doesn’t arrive on time, a restaurant brings out the wrong dish, or a doctor’s office forgets to log a patient’s appointment.

Sometimes those mistakes lead to negative reviews. Other times, poor reviews aren’t even due to mistakes, but simply uncontrollable events or a mismatch of tastes. There are countless negative reviews of the most famous national parks, and my all-time favorite poor review comes from Sandra A. of Portland Oregon who says of the Eiffel Tower: “[Y]ou see the city from high up. Big deal.”

Whether your negative reviews are well-deserved or unfairly given is slightly beside the point: your online reputation suffers either way. And while you cannot control a person’s review, you can control how to respond.

If you’re already rolling your eyes at how dreadfully trite that sounds, consider this: a Harvard Business Review study found that when businesses respond to customer reviews -- good or bad -- their ratings subsequently increase.

That increase is due, at least in part, to how little people like confrontation. According to the study, customers who see previous management responses decide not to leave trivial or unsubstantiated negative reviews to avoid a potentially uncomfortable online interaction with the manager.

Even so, not all responses are created equal. Critical reviews can make anyone get defensive, and a poorly worded reply will get seen by 89 percent of customers, many of whom will use that information to judge whether or not they ought to do business with you.

With that in mind, here’s how your business should respond to negative reviews to make the most out of an otherwise unpleasant situation.

Acknowledge and Apologize

Yes, an apology is appropriate — even if you don’t think you did anything wrong.

The reviewer’s experience is their own. You may argue with the facts of the situation (which you probably shouldn’t, at least publicly — more on that below), but you can’t argue with how they feel. It’s how they feel.

A little sympathy goes a long way toward defusing the situation. If the reviewer is complaining about bad service, you can still apologize that they had a bad experience without supporting their criticism of your attention to detail. A simple “We’re sorry to hear about your experience” will do.

Add a Touch of Specificity

A public and anonymous review platform is not the place to mount a serious defense. Yelp isn’t a court of law; you are not going to be awarded justice simply because you proved a reviewer wrong and effectively stated your case.

Even so, it’s often a good idea to briefly speak to the reviewer’s primary concern. Doing so shows that you’re paying attention to their review — that you hear them and care enough to tailor your response to their unique situation.

If possible, this is also a good opportunity to contrast the reviewer’s bad experience with your company policy or what customers usually experience when they visit your business.

Think of it as a way to address the reviewer’s concern while delivering a little backhanded compliment: “We’re usually known for our exceptional customer service and we regret that we didn’t live up to those expectations here.”

Move the Situation Offline

Very rarely will you be able to completely resolve a reviewer’s bad experience thanks to your empathetic online reply. In fact, trying to fix everything in one electronic response can often do more harm than good.

Instead, aim to take the conversation offline. Provide contact information, including the name of a specific company representative, if possible. Doing so demonstrates your receptiveness to feedback and shifts the power dynamic by turning a monolithic organization into a personable one-on-one encounter. It also shows that your company takes customer service seriously enough to have someone in charge of addressing those problems.

“If you’re open to discussing this further, please call us at (888) XXX-1234 and ask to speak with Jamie, our General Manager. We’d greatly appreciate the opportunity to make things right and work toward earning back your business.”

Keep it Short and Sweet

When it comes to responding to negative reviews, less is more. Three to four sentences is a good rule of thumb.

No matter how unfair a negative review, resist the urge to defend every point and prove your case. It may sound counterintuitive, but long-winded responses can actually legitimize the complaint, as if the review needed defending in the first place.

For that reason, don’t go into detail (it can sound defensive) and don’t ask follow-up questions. You want to avoid saying anything that could further incite an upset customer and encourage them to add more detail and negativity to their review.

While your response certainly matters for the individual who left the review in the first place, it’s actually much more impactful for the 89 percent of other customers who will be reading it for weeks or months to come. Keep that in mind as you’re responding to negative reviews and you’ll be much less likely to let your emotions get the best of you. 

And, if you're tired of letting a small number of negative reviews represent your business, there's always room for improvement.

4 Embarrassing Online Reputation Mistakes Businesses Are Still Making

Online reputation management is all about cleaning up, protecting, and improving what people find about you online.

That process is by no means simple; negative reviews, unflattering news, and algorithm updates are all par for the course. No one can control those hurdles, but businesses on the path toward a clean digital presence can sometimes makes self-destructive mistakes that turn routine challenges into long-term consequences.

Are you falling into any of those traps? Here are four of the most common online reputation mistakes business owners are still making today.

Leaving Listings Unclaimed and Profiles Unreserved

One surefire way to take control of your business’s first impression is to claim and update your company information on platforms like Google and Yelp. Those listings are usually one of the first things to pop up in a Google search, and customers know they can go there to confirm simple business information like hours of operation and company addresses.

Incredibly, most business owners are still leaving this opportunity on the table. A study from 2017 found that 56 percent of local retailers still haven’t claimed their Google my Business listing and 66 percent haven’t claimed their Yelp listing.

Unfortunately, Yelp and Google’s automatically-generated local listings can often prove even more disastrous than a missing one. There’s no telling what information is correct and what isn’t. Potential customers who take the listing as gospel may be surprised and frustrated to find a business closed when the listing promised it would be open.

While Instagram and Twitter don’t automatically create accounts for businesses, an unreserved social media profile can be just as devastating.

Businesses that fail to reserve their preferred handles across top platforms early on may find them no longer available the next time they check. Or even worse, they may find the profile has been taken by an impersonator or bad actor trying to sully the business’ name.

Ignoring Social Media Notifications

When customers have a question or a complaint, how do they let the business know? Over the phone? Via email? In person?

Not anymore. Nearly 60 percent of Millennials prefer to use social media to voice concerns and complaints. Even non-Millennial customers are likely to vent their frustrations online: 47 percent of buyers across the board address customer service issues over social media, second only to in-person complaints.

Taking care of customers online is important for brand perception, but it also impacts a business’s bottom line. Customer care is an opportunity to form a relationship, not just solve an issue.

On the other hand, brands that ignore customer complaints on social media risk losing them forever. When consumers complain and get no response at all, more than one-third will never buy that brand’s product or service again.

Scheduling out posts using an automation tool like Buffer or Hootsuite can be helpful, but remember that social media is not a one-way street. Make time to regularly check back in to see how people are responding and audit notifications for customer questions and concerns.

Forgetting About Online Reviews

Picture the scene: a business begins to invest heavily in its digital marketing program. The content team writes dozens of articles and creates engaging videos to increase brand awareness. They share all that content on social media channels, launch various pay-per-click campaigns to drive leads, and start to build up an engaged audience.

The only problem? As soon as those potential customers decide to look deeper and research the company, they find the company’s negative online reviews.

A few negative reviews here and there is completely normal, but the real damage comes when there are no positive reviews from happy customers to balance the score. All customers are left with at that point is an unrepresentative sampling of negativity to inform their purchasing decision.

That's a concern worth taking seriously: 86 percent of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business.

It might be impossible to prevent unhappy people from posting negative reviews. But there are two important steps you can take.

First, it’s critical to respond to those reviews to mitigate their impact. Nearly 90 percent of consumers read businesses’ responses to reviews, so an unanswered review is a missed opportunity to balance the scales.

Second, it’s worth putting a process in place to generate new positive reviews. Angry customers aren’t the only ones with a voice; happy customers are willing to write about their experiences too, as long as it’s easy to do so.

Handing Responsibility to the Under-qualified

What happens when businesses realize they need help with their digital footprints? Usually, they either look to either hire the right staff internally, or else partner with firms that specialize in digital branding and online reputation management.

But sometimes they make the decision to start delegating responsibilities internally -- often to people who lack the necessary experience.

It is not uncommon, for instance, for CEOs to delegate social media responsibilities to interns or executive assistants. Neither is it unheard of for content marketing or review management tasks to fall on executives who don’t have the time nor ability to do an effective job.

Unfortunately, that’s when mistakes are made. Those mistakes can undo months, or even years of hard work spent building up a strong brand and a loyal customer base.

Facebook and Twitter responses are often the first line of defense against angry customers. Blog articles and social media posts contribute to the first impression people get when they research your company for the first time.

Online content takes many forms, but regardless of platform or length one thing is certain: that content needs to represent the brand well. Accidents, misrepresentations and customer service flubs are far too common to risk delegating those responsibilities to a first-timer.

There are enough challenges along the road to a clean and positive online reputation without suffering embarrassing mistakes along the way. There’s nothing wrong with involving interns in your social media activity, but do yourself a favor and leave management to the experts.

Is Your CEO On Social Media? If Not, Your Business May Be At Risk.

Roughly 60 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs are not active on any social media channel and fewer than 12 percent are active on more than one channel.

That’s surprising, especially given consumers’ overwhelming desire for transparency from businesses and business owners. Consistent headlines about data breaches and privacy concerns are surely to blame, leading 86% of Americans to say business transparency is more important today than ever before.

It’s no longer safe for businesses to stay silent on their values, business decisions, and political and social stances. Younger buyers, especially, are using digital transparency as a measuring stick to identify the companies they want to purchase from — and those they don’t.

That helps explain why an industry leader like Nike felt compelled to launch an advertising campaign with an athlete is polarizing as Colin Kaepernick. It’s simply a good business decision: some 86 percent of people are likely to take their business to a competitor when there’s a lack of transparency on social. (In fact, Nike’s sales surged in the days following the Kaepernick ad debut, suggesting that Nike’s competitors may be suffering from this very affliction.)  

CEOs are in a uniquely appropriate position to answer the consumer cry for business transparency on social media. Not only can they can speak to the rationale behind business decisions and give a compelling behind-the-scenes perspective, they can also share insights on industry trends that inspire consumer trust and interest.

Even so, nearly 90% of Fortune 500 chief executives are still missing the mark on social. They either don’t understand how social media supports business objectives or aren’t committed to using it effectively to achieve their goals.

That’s a risky situation for those businesses because a CEO’s reputation is directly responsible for 44% of a company’s market value. When you consider the impact on recruitment, corporate reputation, and stakeholder confidence, it becomes difficult to ignore the financial impact of an executive’s personal brand.

Sure, social media transparency is just one component of a powerful executive brand, but it’s an essential component. Not only do consumers want to know what a business stands for, they also want to know the same of the people running the company.

Transparency can even play a significant role in the long-term preservation of a business and its business owners. Think of it like an insurance policy: when brands are transparent and develop a history of transparency, nearly 90% of people are more likely to give them second chances after bad experiences and 85% are more likely to stick with them during crises.

At its core, a CEO’s social media strategy ought to appeal to the curiosities of its most important audiences, whether that be investors, consumers, or employees. According to a recent study by Sprout Social, when it comes to a CEO’s social media activity, consumers find the most value in the company’s reasoning behind business decisions, followed closely by industry thought leadership and inside looks at the company.

Though this type of information tops the charts when it comes to positively impacting consumers’ brand perception, executives with different priority audiences may find alternative content to be more effective. A focus on employee recruitment may necessitate sharing individual employee stories while a focus on investors may inspire more content about the CEO’s entrepreneurial experience and long-term vision.

Regardless of an executive’s target audience or social media focus, it’s important for their online activity to feel as authentic as possible. Whether CEOs choose to run their own social media profiles, manage it in-house or partner with a digital agency, their activity must feel relevant and representative. After all, most consumers set a higher standard of responsibility for business transparency on social media than they set for politicians, nonprofits, friends/family and even themselves.

Is that high bar due, in part, to the current lack of social transparency found among today’s Fortune 500 CEOs? Perhaps. Is there pressure for tomorrow’s executives to adapt or risk alienating their target consumers? Definitely.

Those willing to take their executive presence outside the boardroom and into the digital landscape are primed to enjoy a distinct competitive advantage. After all, simply posting on LinkedIn is enough to make you more socially transparent than the majority of today’s most successful CEOs.

6 Surprising Ways to Use Google Adwords You Haven't Tried Yet

There’s a legend in the digital marketing world of a college graduate who wanted to work at a large digital agency.

This enterprising young graduate submitted his resume, and when he didn’t hear back, decided to leverage Google AdWords by bidding on the names of executives at the large company.

When those executives Googled themselves and curiously clicked on the paid search adverts, they were taken to the graduate’s resume. The executives were both peeved and impressed, and the graduate was ultimately offered the job.

Pretty inventive use of Adwords, right?

It defies the classic way businesses use the platform: bidding on keywords with commercial intent and convincing potential customers to click through to visit your website. Dermatologists bid for keywords like “fix my acne” and “dermatologist nyc” while lawn care businesses bid for “grass cutting service.”

It’s quintessential cost-per-click (CPC) advertising, and it’s often a great way for business owners to allocate their advertising budget.

The only problem is that Google Adwords can get really expensive when your competitors are bidding on the same keywords with the highest commercial intent. (The keyword “asset management” goes for $49.86 per click, and “lawyer” goes for nearly $55 per click.)

Thankfully, this isn't the only way to use Adwords. In fact, it’s not even close. Here are six unusual ways to use Google Adwords that you probably haven’t tried yet.

Poach Your Competitors’ Clients

When your consumers get really close to making a purchase, they Google the vendors they found along the way to do some final comparing. But what if your business isn’t one of the vendors on their shortlist?

Don’t fret. With a little clever engineering in Google Adwords, you can intercept customers during this final research phase.

Instead of bidding and focusing on industry keywords, try setting up your ads on the brand names of well-established competitors. By inserting your business into the conversation when consumers research your competitors, you give yourself the opportunity to attract purchases from those who are still on the fence.

In fact, a little Googling shows this is pretty common practice. When you Google the content discovery platform “Outbrain,” you find an ad from its competitor: Taboola. And when you search “Taboola,” you find an ad from Outbrain. 

Tuft & Needle's Google Adwords campaign that shows up when people Google Casper.

The mattress company Tuft & Needle takes this a step further. When you Google “Casper,” Tuft & Needle’s advert suggests there is a shocking flaw in the competitor’s product. “Do Not Buy a Mattress,” it reads, “Before You Learn the Truth.”

When you click through, you land on a custom Tuft & Needle landing page with explanatory videos that discredit higher-priced competitors and offer a potentially better solution. Ethical quandaries aside, I have to admit this is a pretty genius use of Google Ads.

This can all get wildly expensive, especially if other competitors are trying the same tactic, or if the established brand is protecting itself with its own Google Ads. If this means poaching is out of the budget, another clever option is to bid on misspelled versions of your competitors’ brand names.

“Bidding on a misspelled version of your competitor’s brand can produce wonders, especially if your competitor is a big name in your industry,” explains Nick Ilev, Director of Marketing at Gabriel Marketing Group. “In some cases, more than 10% of searchers misspell brand names. If you capitalize on those misspellings, you can shoot to the top of the page with relatively low ad spend.”

Target People Who Aren’t Ready To Buy Yet

It sounds counterintuitive, right? Why would you want to go after the people who aren’t ready to buy yet?

According to John Leo Weber, the VP of Marketing at ProjectManager.com, it all boils down to different interpretations of the value Google Adwords provides.

“Most advertisers bid on high buyer-intent keywords because they see Adwords as a conversion engine,” says Weber. “Instead, advertisers should treat Adwords as a traffic engine. You can bid on lower buyer-intent keywords to bring traffic to your site, and put people into funnels to be targeted in other ways."

In this mindset, a non-conversion on the first visit is an opportunity, not a loss. As long as you have marketing funnels in place to capture and nurture your leads, you can get potential customers for a faction of the cost, and then use those other marketing channels to convert them down the line. In other words: remarketing with a twist.

When you have high commercial-intent keywords going for $50+ per click, this top-of-the-funnel tactic starts to seem pretty appealing.

Figure Out Who You’re Not Selling To

Imagine you sell software that helps independent physicians manage their medical practices. Your product is not designed for large healthcare systems, so you wouldn’t want one as a customer.  

If you target keywords like “medical office management software,” you’ll reach your target audience. That’s great, but you may also get people searching for software to support the management of large practices.

This exact scenario happened to Beth Cooper, Marketing Manager at KNB Communications.

“The fact is, no matter how great your product is, there are some people you simply aren’t selling to,” said Cooper. “The trick is to figure out who those people are and think of keywords around them. AdWords lets you add them as ‘negative keywords,’ meaning they will not show your ad to people who use those search terms.”

By using negative keywords such as “hospital” and “large,” Cooper weeded out people searching for things like “hospital management software” or “large medical practice management solution.” She also used negative keywords like “free” and “open source” because the client wouldn’t want to pay for clicks if people were looking for a free software product.

Why is all of this important? Negative keywords can save you money, big time.

Remember: you pay for each click in an AdWords campaign. You don’t want to pay for clicks if the clicker most likely will never be a customer. So further targeting your campaigns will give you better bang for your buck.

Using negative keywords also improves the quality score Google assigns each of your ads. A better quality score means higher ad rankings and -- you guessed it -- a lower cost per click. The ultimate win-win.

Support Your Organic SEO Initiatives

According to 2017 data, Google searchers click on Google ads about 15% of the time. The other 85% goes straight to the organic results -- that is, the search results that are notGoogle ads.

That’s why search engine optimization (SEO) remains a cornerstone of digital marketing initiatives. By creating valuable content and optimizing it to rank for carefully-considered keywords, you convince Google to rank your website for key terms and phrases in the long run without having to pay each time someone clicks.

Of course, writing high quality content is incredibly time-consuming, and it can sometimes take months before the results of a SEO campaign come to fruition. So how do you know which keywords are worth your attention before you dedicate months of writing, optimizing, generating traffic and building backlinks?

Google Adwords can help.

“Adwords data is invaluable for SEO keyword research,” explains Elliott Brown, an SEO and marketing consultant. “If people are willing to pay for traffic from certain keywords, it's worth making an effort to get that same traffic for free.”

While it may take weeks or months to push organic results higher in search, you can see the results of your PPC ads the same day you launch a campaign. And writing an advert in AdWords takes way less time than developing long-form blog content.

“By determining which keywords are most effective in driving traffic to your website, you can double back and include those in your SEO strategy,” Cooper agreed.

To that end, remember to share your Adwords data with the team responsible for generating organic traffic. Doing so can help align everyone's efforts around the most profitable keywords for your business.

And once you’ve determined the right keywords to target when you create your new content, try using Google Adwords to drive supplemental traffic there too.

“PPC ads are not going to magically increase your organic rankings; you can't pay to do that,” said Cooper. "But PPC can help to catalyze your SEO efforts by increasing traffic and proving to Google that your page is relevant to certain searchers. This in turn helps your page appear more often in relevant searches, and much more quickly than with SEO tactics alone.”

Create Some Buzz And Go Viral

Every platform that hosts content has the potential for virality, and ad platforms are no different.

Remember the time that auto salesman posted a brutally honest Craigslist ad for his 2002 car that got the Internet buzzing? Or what about the time Geico released that Hump Day camel commercial and that’s all people ever said around the office on Wednesdays?

There’s no reason you can’t apply those same creative tactics to Google Adwords too.

“One of the most creative usages of Adwords I've seen was for Cinema L'Amour, an Erotic Cinema in Montreal,” said Philippe Côté-Léger, Online Marketing Director at Lab Urbain.

“They were bidding on the keyword Kleenex. I don't remember the exact ad, but I guess you can figure out what they were saying!”

To be sure, virality on Google Adwords can be tough to achieve, especially when you’re up against super relevant ads on high-volume keywords. As funny as it may be, an erotic cinema’s ad for Kleenex is likely to earn a low quality score from Google and get buried without much attention.

Instead, try focusing on hyper-targeted and longer-tail keywords with less search volume. Or try targeting something that’s more timely, like an upcoming industry conference or event. Take it from the enterprising young graduate I mentioned earlier: by doing something completely unexpected for the right audience and bidding on the right keywords, you can make a life-changing impact.

Though the use of ASCII art in Google ads is now banned, here's a German auto company’s inspiring approach to textual advertising from years ago.

Quickly Gauge Customer Sentiment

Want to see if your new brand messaging will resonate? Need to know if your latest headline ideas are as good as you think they are?

To answer questions like these, business owners often rely on expensive research studies. But with Google Adwords, this kind of data may be more accessible (and cheaper) than you ever thought possible.

Paul Bromen agrees. He’s a serial entrepreneur with several mobile game apps under his belt that have amassed millions of downloads.

“My favorite way to use Google Adwords is to test out new ideas,” said Bromen. “Before I start a new business I run several campaigns designed to test product offerings. I put ads next to similar products or in the broad category. Anything with over a 4% click through rate is a great opportunity.”

That kind of speedy feedback can be critical for testing out the viability of a new business idea. That’s no joke, considering that 50% of startups fail in the first four years.

“I was once hired by a budding entrepreneur who wanted to launch a vintage-inspired clothing shop online,” said Andrea Atkins, Marketing Evangelist at Revere.AI.

“She was hesitant to launch until she knew the business idea was a profitable one. So instead of building an entire e-commerce store for her, waiting for a large inventory shipment, and integrating with payment processors, I built her a landing page with 8 product photos and PayPal 'Buy Now' buttons.”

The success of the Google Adwords campaign proved the product/market fit.

“It ultimately gave her the confidence she needed to move forward with a complete website build, and a successful business launch,” said Atkins.

Originally published on Forbes.com.

Ryan Erskine is a Senior Brand Strategist at BrandYourself, where he helps people take control of their online presence. Visit his website, follow him on Twitter, and read his book here.

Want to Improve Your Glassdoor Rating? An External Agency May Be The Answer

Just as Yelp has radically changed the way we pick restaurants for dinner, Glassdoor now offers job applicants a similar process for deciding where to send their resume.

It works like this: employees leave anonymous reviews on their companies’ Glassdoor pages, offering prospective employees an inside look at company culture, salary structure, and opinions of management. 

As is the case with Yelp, a negative Glassdoor average can dramatically affect a company’s ability to drive revenue, recruit top talent, and attract investors. In fact, 83% of job seekers now base their application decision on company reviews and half of consumers won’t do business with a company with a rating below 4.0 (out of 5).

Most companies can’t achieve that 4+ star rating without a review management process in place, and it’s easy to see why. Without being prompted, who do you think is more likely to spend time on a jobs website: happy or unhappy employees? And without being asked, who do you think is more likely to leave reviews: satisfied or disgruntled employees?

By prompting employees for reviews at the right times, not only do you correct for an inherently negative reviewer bias, but you also help potential employees make better career decisions.

But improving a Glassdoor page is not as simple as blindly blasting emails out to your employees and expecting the problem to go away. (In fact, not only does pressuring your employees to leave positive reviews go against Glassdoor guidelines — it’s also the kind of thing that’s likely to come back and bite you long-term.)

A more thoughtful approach requires getting employee buy-in ahead of time. It means sending review requests out to the right employees at the right times throughout their tenure at the company. It requires responding to individual reviews and consolidating feedback trends to turn them into actionable company improvements.

A comprehensive Glassdoor initiative is a lot of work, and it often becomes someone’s full time job. Business owners who are looking to turn the tide and improve their Glassdoor rating must therefore answer a critical question: “should we manage the process in-house or hire an external agency?”

As I’ll lay out here, there are three main considerations when wrestling with that decision: economics, expertise, and employee sentiment.

What Is The Cost Difference?

A simple way to gauge the cost difference is to take the in-house salary of the person who would run the initiative and divide by 12 to compare to the monthly agency fees.

An HR Coordinator makes nearly $48,000 annually in the US. Of course, that doesn’t take into account the costs required to advertise for the job posting or pay for a recruiter. (Standard recruiter fees are now about 20 percent of the employee’s salary up front.) Nor does it take into account employer’s costs for taxes, benefits, and health insurance.

There are additional costs to consider for training -- I’ll get into that below -- as well as retaining the talent you recruit.

This isn’t a surprise to any business owner, but it’s a point worth considering. As Larry Gurreri of Sosemo points out, the recruiting lifecycle never ends.

“You need to determine if your company has the means and commitment to retain talent, or in other words, the budget available for raises, bonuses and employee perks,” says Gurreri.

“If your answer is not a resounding “yes!” the safe bet is to hire an agency.”

Do We Have The Necessary Expertise?

If you’re in need of Glassdoor help, the chances are high that your team hasn’t wrestled with this kind of problem before. In that case, the economic decision will actually be more complicated than simply comparing annual salaries and incidentals to the agency quote. You’ll also want to consider the expertise required to execute a review management campaign efficiently and effectively.

Have your employees dealt with review management issues before? If not, what kind of learning curve are you forecasting as they familiarize themselves with the relevant software and implement a company-wide review management process? And perhaps a more important question: how much worse might the situation get while your team is learning the process by trial and error?

Given the importance of Glassdoor in the recruiting process -- competitors are just one click away -- there’s a certain comfort in knowing that you could start tomorrow and avoid a learning curve or lengthy experimentation process.

What Will Our Employees Think?

Companies looking to fix Glassdoor internally have another problem to consider: the ask itself. 

Corporate reputational issues are sensitive, and it can be challenging to toe the line between asking employees to leave reviews without coming across as coercive or desperate.

That’s a problem, because happy employees are most motivated to leave positive reviews when they appreciate how it helps the business, are ensured anonymity -- and most importantly -- don’t feel pressured by their own company.

Working through Glassdoor problems with a third-party provider can alleviate that pressure, clarifying the goal as more business-oriented and less personal.

Thanks to the implied legitimacy and confidentiality that comes with an independent agency, employees have an easier time believing that you really are looking for authentic feedback and aren’t just trying to sweep a problem under the rug.

When your team understands you’re taking the problem seriously, they’ll be much more likely to give authentic, accurate, and positive feedback.

Turning Your Glassdoor Page Around

It should go without saying that no Glassdoor page will get better in the long-term without a strong base of happy employees. If you concentrate only on improving your online reviews without making improvements behind the scenes, you’re likely to end up right back where you started.

That being said, with the right plan in place, you can turn Glassdoor from a reputational hazard into a competitive recruiting tool.

My suggestion? Focus on what you know best and leave the online reputation management to the experts. Not only is it economical, but it also gives your team the bandwidth to make the most of the feedback you receive. By keeping your attention on your business and your employees, you’ll be better equipped to make the most of that data and align your business accordingly.

Originally published on Forbes.com.

Ryan Erskine is a Senior Brand Strategist at BrandYourself, where he helps people take control of their online presence. Visit his website, follow him on Twitter, and read his book here.

Seeking Funding? Top Investors Reveal What They Look For Online Before Meeting Business Owners

Raising a round of funding is no easy task. There’s a lot to worry about and a lot to prepare for. Your pitch deck needs editing (again), there’s always one more networking event to attend, and you still need to prepare answers to tricky questions about your business.

You also need to land meetings with investors. That’s easier said than done, especially if you don’t have a strong online presence.

Consider this: 65% of internet users see online search as the most trusted source of information about people and companies. (That’s a higher level of trust than any other online or offline source.)

I polled dozens of top investors on their online search habits as they are deciding to take meetings with business owners. Some simply peruse LinkedIn and Google’s page-1 results for a quick first impression; others go much deeper, reading thought leadership articles, scanning social media profiles, and previewing news articles to get a more comprehensive view.

Among the wide range of answers, one thing became absolutely clear: entrepreneurs and founders with authentic and impressive online presences will find it much easier to land investor meetings than those without.

I’ve compiled answers below from eight top investors to use as reference when it comes time to raise funding for your own business. If your online presence needs improvement, you’ll want to review this entrepreneur’s guide to online reputation management and this comprehensive guide to personal branding.

James Joaquin

James Joaquin is the co-Founder and Managing Director at Obvious Ventures. James has been working in venture capital since 2007 and has invested in a wide range of mission-driven startups including Plum Organics (acquired by Campbell’s Soup), TenMarks Education (acquired by Amazon), and Opower (IPO April 2014).

How often do you look businesses and business owners up online? And at what point in the process?

Joaquin: Every minute of every day we're looking up businesses online. The triggers are either to gain more information on a company that has contacted us, or to research leading companies in a business and/or tech area that we're focused on.

What things specifically do you look for? Both good and bad?

Joaquin: We look at a number of factors, including:

• Background of the team.
• Their points of view or thought-leadership pieces published online, at places like Medium.
• Products, customers and accomplishments of the business. If the company has already launched a consumer product, we look online for consumer sentiment and reviews (places like Amazon, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter).
• Which firms and individuals have previously invested.

How deep of a search do you typically do? Are we talking just Page 1 of Google? Page 3 and social channels?

Joaquin: In addition to the points above, we use LinkedIn as an efficient way to better understand both current and former employees of the company.

What kinds of things have impressed you to the point of definitely wanting to continue the conversation? On the flip side, what kinds of things have been an immediate turn off?

Joaquin: We look for passionate, purpose-driven teams that are reimagining industries in a world positive way. When we find the intersection of profit and purpose, that excites us. A clear lack of authenticity is a turnoff.

Nitesh Banta

Nitesh Banta is an angel investor and the CEO of B12. Nitesh previously co-founded Rough Draft Ventures and was an investor at General Catalyst. He’s invested in dozens of companies including Handy, Boxed, Grammarly, and Mark43.

How often do you look businesses and business owners up online? And at what point in the process?

Banta: I always look up businesses and entrepreneurs before meeting them. I generally do this before accepting a meeting and again before an initial meeting or call. If I end up doing subsequent meetings or diligence I will do an even deeper search online.

Looking up an entrepreneur is a key part of my job as an investor to ensure I am prepared and using an entrepreneur’s time wisely. I would hate to use meeting time asking questions I could clearly answer by spending a few minutes doing research online.

What things specifically do you look for? Both good and bad?

Banta: Initially, I look at the website of the business. I want to understand how the owner positions the business and how far along the company is in terms of team development, customers and product.

I also look up the LinkedIn and personal website of the founders to understand their experience and any mutual connections we might have. Next I will look up their Crunchbase or Angel.co profiles to get a sense of funding history. Finally, I may quickly browse something like Google news to see if there is recent press.

As I evaluate an investment further, I will more diligently look up competitors in the space, reviews from customers and employees and press about the company and founder to ensure there are no warning signs that might make this a bad investment.

How deep of a search do you typically do? Are we talking just Page 1 of Google? Page 3 and social channels?

Banta: My searches get deeper as I go further in the investment process. Before a first meeting I check out the key web presences mentioned above and I will rarely get beyond the first page on Google or initial postings on social. As I get closer to an investment, I will go deeper to make sure the story I hear from an entrepreneur is consistent with reality.

What kinds of things have impressed you to the point of definitely wanting to continue the conversation? On the flip side, what kinds of things have been an immediate turn off?

Banta: A well-designed website that makes a product stand out goes a long way. In addition, the type of people involved with the company (team members, investors, advisors and customers) provide social proof that the company has momentum. Finally, I want to feel like there is a compelling founder narrative to give me an understanding of why a founder is uniquely able to solve the problem they are going after.

Having a really bad product trial experience can be a big turn off. Similarly negative customer reviews or employee reviews are generally a bad sign. Finally, if the overall narrative of the company or founder seems undifferentiated, I would be less excited to take a meeting.

Anything else you'd be willing to share about that process?

Banta: Looking up a business online is a really efficient way to make sure you are taking the right meetings and making the most of those meetings. I am confident I can do initial online research in under 10 minutes, which makes a world of difference when vetting an opportunity.

Sue Heilbronner

Sue Heilbronner is the co-founder and CEO of MergeLane, the investment fund focused on companies with at least one female in leadership. MergeLane has made 37 investments since 2014, including Havenly, Mapistry, Pana, Shinesty, and TomboyX.

How often do you look businesses and business owners up online? And at what point in the process?

Heilbronner: I always look up business owners and founders online, whether they are looking for potential investment, a connection to me, or a meeting. My first due diligence step is LinkedIn.

What things specifically do you look for? Both good and bad?

Heilbronner: If I’m focused on investment possibilities, I am first and foremost looking for indicators that the person has been a superstar in other places in her life. This can show up as educational reputation, honors received in school, promotions received in prior roles, or success in a previous startup. The indicators vary with age, but I’m essentially asking myself “has this person totally shot the lights off in her life?”

I don’t know that there’s much “negative” I’m looking for. Extreme job hopping might be an indicator of someone who might bail on a company if the going gets tough. I pay attention to poor writing, syntax, and sub-par communication skills.

Lastly, I will say that I also am running a personal filter that is something like “would this person be interesting to me?” That’s not the ultimate filter for an investment, of course, but it might be an initial filter to lead me to put my attention on a person or a company.

How deep of a search do you typically do? Are we talking just Page 1 of Google? Page 3 and social channels?

Heilbronner: LinkedIn gets a full background review. If someone is especially interesting, Page 1 of Google and Twitter.

What kinds of things have impressed you to the point of definitely wanting to continue the conversation? On the flip side, what kinds of things have been an immediate turn off?

I end up looking up a lot of people who are earlier in their careers because as a part of my fund I focus more on startups and founders than I do, say, on fundraising (my partner handles that). I am attracted to people at this stage who have created opportunities, whatever that means. Perhaps they’ve chosen an unlikely path, or they’ve been in the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps in combination with being at the top of their college class.

I also love working with athletes. It’s not critical that someone be a Division 1 collegiate athlete, although that’s fun to see. I just like people who “get” sports and competition. I think sports breed competitiveness and tenacity, and these are key success indicators in my book for building a great company and a great career.

Lauren Jupiter

Lauren Jupiter is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of AccelFoods, an investor in disruptive food and beverage companies, backing its portfolio brands with industry access, expertise, and infrastructure. AccelFoods has invested in over 30 innovative brands, including Aloe Gloe, Four Sigmatic, and Kidfresh.

How often do you look businesses and business owners up online? And at what point in the process?

Jupiter: One of the first things we do when considering making an investment in a company is to check out the company’s website. Websites provide a glimpse into everything from a company’s brand identity and engagement with consumers, to how management prioritizes various channels of trade.

We always perform a full background check on brand founders with every transaction. Because we typically partner with early stage brands, we are investing in founders and management teams just as much as we are investing in companies, so we need to do our due diligence in researching people behind a brand, not just financial and legal info. One of the first steps of this diligence process is performing a Google search on the founder(s) and/or management and reviewing their social media presence, like LinkedIn.

What things specifically do you look for? Both good and bad?

Jupiter: When it comes to the brand, we would hope that, even if the company is small, it has a solid online presence and can be easily found in an online search. We like to see companies building an authentic brand and fostering a digital community of brand loyalists based on strong online content. We also want to make sure that what the brand stands for is aligned with AccelFoods’ own values as a brand.

In the early days, it can be very hard to separate a brand from its founder. A founder’s personal brand can be an extremely positive asset in building a company brand, as it can help reinforce the authenticity and passion that is so important to consumers today.  

That being said, we also want to make sure there are no red flags, with either the brand founders or the company itself. Bad press, litigation, or poor business track records (reputation) can be challenging, particularly when we are just getting to know someone. We expect our entrepreneurs to exemplify the highest standard of professionalism and quality and that starts long before our investment.

How deep of a search do you typically do? Are we talking just Page 1 of Google? Page 3 and social channels?

Jupiter: A quick Google search, especially the “News” results, can be very revealing. When it comes to the founders, how they portray themselves publicly and their own personal brand can have an impact on their likelihood for investment, be it from AccelFoods or other investors down the road. In the same way that a potential employee would put their best foot forward on social media, an entrepreneur seeking capital should too.

Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are incredibly powerful tools to connect with consumers. Brands with a high number of followers, but little engagement, such as comments or likes, can come across as less authentic than brands with fewer followers but higher levels of engagement. We look for quality, not quantity, when evaluating a brand’s online presence the same way we do when we evaluate a brand’s retail footprint.

What kinds of things have impressed you to the point of definitely wanting to continue the conversation? On the flip side, what kinds of things have been an immediate turn off?

Jupiter: Early-stage brands need to be good storytellers. Having an engaging website that clearly states what the product is, its differentiation, and how it fits with your lifestyle is key for Millennial consumers.

We love seeing high quality content and engagement with followers, particularly for products with unique ingredient profiles or go-to-market strategies that require more consumer education than your typical consumer brand might.

Anything else you'd be willing to share about that process?

Amazon can also be incredibly useful when gauging product and company quality. Scrolling through reviews offers an insightful look into a consumer’s experience with a brand and its product.

Kyle Nakatsuji

Kyle Nakatsuji is the co-founder and CEO of Clearcover, a new data-driven auto insurance startup. Previously, he co-founded the VC team at American Family Insurance, where he and his team invested in promising startups at the intersection of technology and risk management including Ring, Life360 and Revolv (acquired by Google).

How often do you look businesses and business owners up online? And at what point in the process?

Nakatsuji: Early and often. Venture capitalists typically start looking at businesses' and business owners' online presence before the first meeting to prepare, and continue to do so throughout the entire process, as they learn more about the networks of people and companies surrounding the company they're evaluating.

What things specifically do you look for? Both good and bad?

Nakatsuji: When I was on the VC team at American Family Insurance, the biggest thing I looked for was data to back up the overall thesis behind the investment. For instance, finding out that a founder had less experience in data science than you initially thought might seem bad. However, if your overall thesis on the business didn't hinge on the founder having an extensive knowledge of data science, then it's not necessarily considered good or bad -- it's just data, which is never a bad thing to have a lot of when looking to potentially invest in a company.

How deep of a search do you typically do? Are we talking just Page 1 of Google? Page 3 and social channels?

Nakatsuji: As a VC, I usually looked at Google results and LinkedIn profiles before meeting with founders. If they're technical, I also made sure I looked at GitHub, too. During the entire process, I spent time looking at both the business I was considering investing in and their competitors, employees and former employees.

What kinds of things have impressed you to the point of definitely wanting to continue the conversation? On the flip side, what kinds of things have been an immediate turn off?

Nakatsuji: I was always impressed by founders that had a history of study or analysis of the area they're trying to fix because it shows they were committed to the problem in a deeper way, and that it wasn't just a "spur of the moment" opportunity for them. For me, an immediate turnoff was finding facts or evidence that directly contradict what a founder stated in the past. For instance, if the work they did at a prior employer didn't align with the work they were doing and trying to do at their startup, that was a red flag for me. There's a big difference between a debatable hypothesis and misrepresentation.

Gil Beyda

Gil Beyda is the Managing Director of Comcast Ventures, the VC affiliate of Comcast Corporation. He has invested in B2B startups including Demdex (acquired by Adobe) and Divide and Invite Media (both acquired by Google).

How often do you look businesses and business owners up online? And at what point in the process?

Beyda: I always look up entrepreneurs online before meeting them. I start with LinkedIn to see their background and then try to find places where they might blog, like Medium.

What things specifically do you look for? Both good and bad?

Beyda: I look for their qualifications and experience. Plus, I like to see that they are visionaries who have built networks over their careers.

How deep of a search do you typically do? Are we talking just Page 1 of Google? Page 3 and social channels?

Beyda: Initially I'll just do a cursory search, but as we enter into the diligence phase for a potential investment, we'll go deep and try to find anything and everything that is out there -- hopefully not finding anything that might question the character of the founding team.

What kinds of things have impressed you to the point of definitely wanting to continue the conversation? On the flip side, what kinds of things have been an immediate turn off?

Beyda: We are impressed if an entrepreneur has a long history of blogging and offering important insights into various areas of professional interest. Thought leadership is important.

Anything else you'd be willing to share about that process?

Beyda: If we decide to invest in a company, we'll also do background checks on key members of the team. Nobody's background is perfect, but we would like not to be surprised.

Jeff (J.D.) Davids

Jeff (J.D.) Davids has completed over $1 billion dollars of investment deals including angel investments, venture capital deals, corporate ventures, acquisitions & IPOs. He has served on the management teams of 8 VC-backed startups with 6 successful exits, and produces and hosts a series of expert videos, workshops and programs entitled SmartMoney Startups.

How often do you look businesses and business owners up online? And at what point in the process?

Davids: We search companies and executives online 100% of the time.  

What things specifically do you look for? Both good and bad?

Davids: We do an initial screen before we agree to take a meeting. We save ourselves a lot of time by not taking meetings with people whose online profiles do not demonstrate active forward progress of the company. We filter out a big chunk of people who never get a meeting because their online profiles did not reflect that they had industry-leading technology and/or solutions with a "tribe" of supporters engaging with them online.

No tribe, no progress, no investment, no meeting.  

How deep of a search do you typically do? Are we talking just Page 1 of Google? Page 3 and social channels?

Davids: We scrub profiles in the following order:

• Company website with Team Page: This is the #1 place to see if they have a solid team that is well respected in the industry. If they only list the CEO, that's a red flag because they aren't sharing credit with anyone else. Easy to eliminate those.
• LinkedIn: We look at the profiles of the management team, the company, and any advisors. I look to see how many articles they have posted (an indicator of being a thought leader), and if they have any recommendations from colleagues.  
• AngelList & Crunchbase: Do I recognize the names of anyone affiliated with the company? Do they have a good reputation in the industry, and do I know them? If I see a profile with just the CEO and a company profile and no other connections, they either aren't building a tribe of supporters, or they aren't plugged in to them online. Either way, the CEO needs to be creating a "movement" that will attract people to support the company and rapid adoption of its products and services.   
• Google Search: I Google search someone's name to see if they are being written about in the press and to ensure that they don't have a troubled past.

What kinds of things have impressed you to the point of definitely wanting to continue the conversation? On the flip side, what kinds of things have been an immediate turn off?

Davids: If the founders are connected to someone I know who has a good reputation -- as an investor, an advisor, or any other role in support of the company -- this indicates that they have "social capital." You don't have to be "in the club," but if you have made positive contact with someone with a good reputation in the startup circles that I travel with, that elevates you from an "unknown entity" to a "somewhat known entity." I can easily call that person and ask a couple of quick questions to get a good gut check.

What turns me off is people that list 15 patents and how amazingly brilliant they are but no-one is connected to them. A company webpage where the CEO is the only one listed indicates that the culture there is not optimized for collaborative team work.  

Dennis Joyce

Dennis Joyce is an investor across multiple asset classes including commercial real estate, equities, and various alternative investments. He is an active member of Seattle’s Alliance of Angels and Puget Sound Venture Club and sits on the screening committee of both groups. His angel investments include Ripl, Blokable, Visual Vocal, Bluhaptics, and CityBldr.

How often do you look businesses and business owners up online? And at what point in the process?

Joyce: I look up businesses and business owners 100% of the time during due diligence on a deal. I don’t have time to search on every pitch I hear, but if I am at all intrigued and would like to continue a relationship with a founder, I will be connecting via LinkedIn, Twitter, FB and every other format to stay close. I’m your new best friend.

What things specifically do you look for? Both good and bad?

I want to know things like “what is your art,” or “what is your hook,” or “what is your angle.” I’m trying to determine what a future leader is bringing to the world that it desperately needs. I’m looking for that “it” factor.

I look for how many followers they have and how consistent they are with their message. I want to see how committed they are to this business. I want to know the depth of their domain expertise. I try to get an idea of the character of a founder and the circles in which they travel. It’s good to see a future thought leader express themselves in places like Twitter and on LinkedIn and Facebook. A founder needs to balance having a strong voice but must also be focused online. The best founders express their character in their work, but do not let it get out of hand.

How deep of a search do you typically do? Are we talking just Page 1 of Google? Page 3 and social channels?

I will follow on Twitter and LinkedIn. I try to dig into Google and see if there are news articles and will go even deeper and try to read anything I can find, even old blog posts. I will subscribe to YouTube and Facebook channels. I am a huge believer in marketing through these channels and I want to see how well a company is growing their audience in these arenas.

If the founder has an online hobby (like a mixtape DJ or geek stuff) I will try to delve into that deeper. At the end of it all, I am about to begin what is hopefully a long-term relationship with another person and their company, so I need to learn as much as I can about this person and the team.

What kinds of things have impressed you to the point of definitely wanting to continue the conversation? On the flip side, what kinds of things have been an immediate turn off?

Hard question. Of the thousands of pieces of information I am digesting, it is hard to determine things that are turn-ons. I will say a founder’s ability to self-promote and generate interest, get press, attract followers on Facebook or YouTube are the most impressive. That signals to me the founder has the ability to stand up and represent a product or company. I also try to get a sense of how a founder reacts to criticism and rejection because that comes with the territory and needs to be managed.

A turn-off for me is a particularly heavy-handed affiliation to one cause or another that interferes with the product one is selling. We are all guilty of turning others off from time to time, but it is very important for founders to show class and dignity.

Another turnoff is being boring. If I wanted to read a person’s boring tweets about their latest Uber ride, I’d follow more VCs on Twitter. That’s why they are VCs and not founders. Be yourself and be interesting.

Anything else you'd be willing to share about that process?

When I invest in a founding team or a product I am building a multi-year relationship with them. They are becoming part of my family. It is way more spiritual than most people think. People need to be thoughtful about how they portray themselves online. It is important to be the best version of themselves whenever possible.

Originally published on Forbes.

Ryan Erskine is a Senior Brand Strategist at BrandYourself, where he helps people take control of their online presence. Visit his website, follow him on Twitter, and read his book here.