This course teaches businesses how to take control of their most important asset: their reputation. It takes hard work and ethical values to build upon and only seconds to destroy, so it's important to be professional in all dealings with the public. Since consumers can easily and quickly post reviews from their cell phones across various platforms, BBB promotes devising a plan and ensuring the right people are available to address customer concerns before they arise. This class will equip you with the skills, strategies, and best practices to ensure that when it comes to online reputation, your business is putting its best foot forward.

Course Outline

• Why Is Online Reputation Management Important for Your Business?
• Customer Reviews as an Important Facet of Your Online Reputation
• Review Sites 101
• How to Ask for Customer Reviews
• Best Practices for Managing and Responding to Customer Feedback
• Understanding the Customer’s Viewpoint
• Is it Legal for Businesses to Ban Complaints and Negative Reviews?
• The Federal Trade Commission’s Role
• Better Business Bureau’s Role
• What is BBB’s advice from an ethical standpoint?
• Are Paid Reviews Ethical?
• Are Paid Reviews Legal?

• Detailed understanding of how your business’s online reputation can impact your business
• Basic knowledge of how customer reviews work
• An overview of the major review sites and how they function
• Ability to request and respond to customer feedback confidently
• Awareness of some of the tools available to effectively manage online reviews
• An overview of the US Consumer Review Fairness Act
• An understanding of non-disparagement clauses and a business’s legal responsibility
• An understanding of what action the FTC and BBB take on businesses who use non-disparagement clauses in their contracts
• Knowledge of the FTC’s and BBB’s stance on paid reviews
• Ability to apply ethics and transparency in your business’s customer relations