Being a contractor means wearing many hats and knowing what people are saying about your company should be as important as making sure the last person out locks the door at night.
After you have made sure your business is internet worthy, now it’s time to follow the conversation and what is being said about you and your company by customers, vendors, suppliers and just about anyone else who might mention you online. But before I show you an easy way to manage your name online, here is a quick list of things you will want to make sure you are paying close attention to.
You should manage:
- What your customers are saying about you…good and bad
- What your customers are saying about your competition
- What your competitors are saying about you
- What your employees are saying about you and your company
So how do you keep up with the online chatter…Google Alerts!
Here is a quick and dirty way to allow you to keep one eye on the web while running your business day-to-day.
Step 1: Go to http://www.google.com/alerts
Google Alerts Welcome Screen
Step 2: Move to the “Create a Google Alert” section and enter the name of your company.
Step 3: Leave the default select “Comprehensive” as this option will encompass everything online worth tracking.
Step 4: Also leave the “Once a Day” select here too. You do have a business to run, right?
Step 5: Insert your email address and hit “Create Alert”.
Step 6: Repeat steps 1-5 for as many companies, products, industries or people you want to watch.
Once you finish setting up your alerts, you will get an email like the one below for each alert you set.
Alert Creation Confirmation Screen
You can also delete, modify, or add alerts at any time by clicking the links within each alert.
So there you have it, a quick and easy way to stay in touch with what the world says about you, your product or service and your contracting company.