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As an entrepreneur, you have undoubtedly worked very hard to get your company to where it is today.

However, a sudden fall from grace can shatter your reputation overnight and leave your brand reeling due to bad press, lost customers, and hefty financial losses. Indeed, research shows that damaging content costs one in seven UK companies up to £50,000. Consequently, it is prudent to protect your enterprise’s hard-earned reputation to prevent it from being soiled. Here are some effective things you can do to safeguard your company’s good name.

1) Pay attention to your employees

Your employees can also cause significant damage to your business’s reputation despite your best efforts to protect it. As such, it is vital to pay attention to them to avoid soiling your company’s good name. For example, your employees’ distasteful and inappropriate social media activity can reflect poorly on your organization. Therefore, you can train them to use these platforms in a way that doesn’t jeopardize the organization and their colleagues. Also, try to deal with all employees as fairly as possible to prevent instances of discrimination. This way, you can avoid protracted disputes with disgruntled workers that result in financial loss and reputational damage. But if it comes to it, it will be better to get employment tribunal services to pull you out of the sticky situation.

2) Protect your data and networks

Data breaches are fairly common in today’s increasingly digital age as cybercrime becomes more sophisticated. According to Databasix’s, 43% of UK businesses identified data breaches or attacks in 2019. As a modern-day business, nothing is more embarrassing than being the victim of a security breach that puts your clients’ data at risk. The experiences of Tesco, Equifax, British Airways, and Lloyds Banking Group are some classic cautionary tales about the significant reputational damage companies can suffer from data breaches. Therefore, be proactive about protecting your privacy and networks by using secure hosting platforms that provide encryption and leak protection. Additionally, keep your devices, networks, and software updated to prevent hackers from breaching them easily.

3) Generate your own good press

A lot of what is known about your company online will come from you besides customer reviews and comments. You can even control these reviews and comments if you are active and engaging enough online. Therefore, invest significant time and effort into generating good press for your company as much as possible. For instance, you can upload behind-the-scenes photos of your team at work on your social media accounts to portray your company in a good light. Additionally, you can upload photos of your happy customers and solicit positive testimonials or reviews to spread the good word about your enterprise and boost its reputation.

4) Be vigilant about customer service issues on social media

There is no denying that social media is a widely used tool that your customers can use to make or break your company. Indeed, an Echo Managed Services survey of 1,000 UK adults revealed that customers prefer social media to voice their complaints over other channels like email, phone, webchat, and face-to-face interaction. Therefore, it is prudent to be proactive with your customer service complaints on social media since negative reviews are like a permanent electronic tattoo that your company will struggle to get rid of. For starters, you can simply respond to all client complaints on social media quickly and helpfully instead of ignoring them and encouraging negative brand perception.

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