Have you Googled your business lately? What you discover could surprise you. Customer feedback is all over the internet, and it can make or destroy your company. Public relations for a company’s online presence is known as online reputation management.
After all, your most effective marketing weapon is your customers. What people say about your company on the internet is just as essential as what they say in person. In fact, it has become more crucial these days. After all, it is eternal.
The numbers speak for themselves: 97 percent of individuals check online evaluations before contacting a company for the first time, and 84 percent trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. As a result, for many potential new clients, internet reputation is the decisive factor.
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What is Online Reputation Management?
The practice of supervising every component that affects the public image of your company is known as reputation management. It’s exactly what it sounds like: you’re in charge of your brand’s online and offline reputation.
Your brand’s reputation is built on two things:
1. Providing a positive customer experience in every connection with a customer.
2. Encouraging those customers to share their experiences through recommendations and reviews.
Nothing beats plain, old-fashioned word-of-mouth, after all. However, in today’s digital environment, these encounters take place across dozens of touchpoints and platforms, making reputation management more difficult — and more rewarding — than ever before. This makes it essential for any brand to hire a marketing company to manage their online reputation.
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Why is Online Reputation Management Important?
We waste a ridiculous amount of time on the internet, don’t we? In fact, according to the Hootsuite and We Are Social 2020 Digital Report, we spend an average of 6 hours and 43 minutes every day online. It’s no surprise that the digital content we consume has an influence on our view of brands!
In terms of business, this implies that ignoring even a single unfavorable review or remark may swiftly grow into a big problem for the entire company. As a result, businesses must implement an online reputation management strategy. To put things into perspective, here are some key points you must consider.
#1 Building Trust and Credibility
Let’s face it: no matter how hard you try to please your customers, you’re likely to get some unfavorable feedback. And customers may be cruel — according to PwC, 32% of shoppers abandon a business after only one negative encounter.
That said, how you manage a bad brand mention after it appears is crucial. You gain credibility when you manage your online reputation and respond to both favorable and negative comments, reviews, and mentions. There’s no better way to demonstrate that you care about your consumers than by graciously reacting to bad feedback and making adjustments when necessary.
#2 Brand Impression Matters
Consumers, future workers, and investors all have an opinion on your company’s reputation. A single poor review, tweet, or Facebook post can have an impact on any or all of these parameters. Your brand’s image might be ruined in a matter of retweets, likes, or shares if you don’t have a system in place that involves someone swiftly responding to these concerns as they come in, within 24 hours. Waiting may make it appear that your customer’s feedback is unimportant to the business, which is the last thing you want to portray.
Make use of reputation management to help you present your organization in the best light possible. By monitoring and responding to every review, you can ensure that you are the go-to firm for solving difficulties in your sector or that you are the top service of choice.
#3 Better Optimization
Maintaining an eye on your internet reputation may also serve as a source of marketing ideas. You can see how your audience reacted to previous content and marketing initiatives using online reputation management services. For example, consider how people reacted to two statements from JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest banks in the United States. You can use analytics to see when there is a spike in your brands mentions on the internet. In this case, say there were a couple of spikes, one when they partnered for a charity event and second when they publicly supported LGBTQ community.
This way, you’ll learn which initiatives succeed and which don’t by measuring your reach and brand mentions, as well as what message connects with your consumers and leads and what activities cause unfavorable reactions. Summarizing your data will assist you in deciding which marketing initiatives to undertake, resulting in a greater return on investment.
#4 Tell Your Users You Care
Monitoring what people say about companies on social media and reacting to both good and bad comments demonstrates that you care. Naturally, we would all like to get just favorable remarks, which are much easier to reply to. Negative feedback, on the other hand, might be useful to a business in the long run. They are an important source of feedback; pay attention to what consumers have to say and address any difficulties that arise. Disappointing opinions should never be ignored since they may quickly snowball into a social media disaster. Responding to both good and negative feedback will help you create stronger customer connections.
#5 Customers Trust Other Customers
If you’ve ever watched the programme Mad Men, you’ll know that advertising had a significant impact on consumer purchasing decisions. Purchasers nowadays don’t believe what you say in your beautifully prepared campaign; instead, they trust what other buyers have to say about you. When it comes to managing your online connections, keep in mind that your customers are your most potent marketing assets. What they publish on the internet is permanent — it’s like a billboard that never goes away, so make it positive.
#6 Customers Wants and Needs
Examining all of your reviews can also provide you with insight into what is and is not working for your company. Customers will undoubtedly mention both the things they can’t get enough of and the ones they could live without. By detecting these concerns and keeping note of the ones that recur, you can improve your business. This will not only benefit your bottom line, but it will also demonstrate that your company is forward-thinking and capable of adapting to changing circumstances. Consumers will appreciate that you are considering their beliefs and will believe that they are an important part of your company. This will aid in the development of brand loyalty and goodwill.
#7 Investors and Employees
If you’re a business looking to expand through investors or banks, the first thing they’ll look at is your web presence. They’ll be quickly put off from investing in a company with a bad reputation online. You could have a terrific product in their eyes, but the expense and effort it would take to repair your reputation might not be worth it. Keep in mind that most things on the internet are permanent.
Nowadays, even corporate culture is scrutinized. Glassdoor and other employer review sites provide employees an insider’s perspective. Your potential to acquire top industry professionals will be limited if you have a bad reputation on Glassdoor. In addition, business journals that prepare yearly lists like the “100 Best Workplaces” use review sites like Glassdoor to assist them choose candidates. A negative reputation in the sector will stifle growth and B2B chances.
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Key Takeaway
Rather than dismissing it as something beyond your control, you should take actions to protect and enhance your reputation as quickly as possible. This entails both hearing and responding to talks about your company. You may implement a more successful and efficient approach on social media and beyond using reputation management solutions. Reach out to a reputable marketing company and take a look at their entire array of social listening and reputation management tools.
Author Bio: Pamala Brown has been writing about business and marketing for quite some time now. She works as an Editor at She In Charge. Keeping up with marketing trends, algorithm updates, and growing her knowledge in an evolving industry is a dream come true.
