Ninety per cent of clients will research a company online before hiring or purchasing. This is also likely done before the prospective client visits your website. Recent studies also indicate that customers are 50 per cent more likely to be motivated by an online review than by a discount offer. As you can see, reputation management is crucial.
The demand for online reputation management services is driven by the fact that 58 per cent of Fortune 500 executives view reputation management as a crucial component of branding strategy.
Is your business experiencing any of the following:
- Losses in sales
- Declining consumer confidence
- Declines in the search engine ranks
- An increase in staff turnover
- An increase in marketing costs
It may surprise you to learn that all of the above are linked to poor online reputation management.
Online Reputation Management
This blog post will define online reputation management (ORM) and detail the duties and techniques required to make it succeed. We will also highlight the cost of not paying attention to ORM while building your business. Finally, we will outline the advantages of reputation management and review response services in particular.
Let’s dive right into the basics of ORM marketing and the necessity of online reputation management. The control of a business’s online reputation will play a significant role in digital marketing. Both your social media marketing and search engine optimisation (SEO) success depends strongly on brand reputation management.
Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) listing is another factor in reputation management. We’ll discuss how ORM affects local SEO and how it might encourage consumers to promote a brand. We’ll also examine the advantages of employing online reputation management services and reputation management software.
What Is Online Reputation Management?
Online Reputation Management focuses on tracking and controlling your brand’s online reputation. The objective is to strengthen your trust signals so that investors and clients would want to work with you. Online reputation management is crucial for this reason.
Search engine optimisation (SEO), public relations (PR), conversion rate optimisation (CRO), reputation monitoring, reputation restoration, social media marketing, and review production should all be included in your reputation management approach. The right combination of these strategies enables your company to benefit from online reputation management.
Why It’s Crucial to Maintain Your Online Reputation
More than ever, people are avoidant of risks, meaning proactive management of your business’s online reputation is more crucial than ever. Customers tend to trust a brand that has a solid online reputation.
Here are the top ten reasons why online reputation management remains important in 2023:
1. Improves Profits and Sales.
A Harvard Business School working paper claims that each star rating a company receives (such as on Yelp or other websites) can boost revenue by as much as 9 per cent. Consumers claim that online reviews absolutely affect their purchasing decisions in 97 per cent of cases. This emphasises the value of managing your online reputation.
Companies with services that have a high number of positive reviews attract more customers. This explains why reputation management is vital in today’s digital age.
On the other hand, a high number of negative reviews can affect sales and return on investment (ROI). If you need help creating or repairing your online reputation, feel free to contact us, and we’ll be happy to help you.
2. It Affects Your SEO Strategy
If your company can’t generate enough interest among clients, your website’s visibility will suffer as well. Starting off with strong on-page SEO is only one-half of the picture. One advantage of online reputation management is that it raises brand awareness external to your site.
Online reviews account for 15 per cent of the ranking variables in Google’s Local Pack. This emphasises the need for reputation management. Google prioritises user-generated content (UGC). One of the most effective tactics is to increase the number of customer reviews on Google and other review websites.
Each online reputation management solution provider will inform you that user-generated content (UGC) should be integrated with your Google Business Profile. This increases your click-through rate (CTR) and the trustworthiness of your brand, and your local rankings will eventually improve.
3. It Contributes to Your Social Media Marketing Strategy
Social media is an important component of both search engine marketing and ORM. Brand reputation management necessitates the development of an efficient social media strategy by each company. The goal is to make your brand more customer-centric and accessible to new and existing customers.
According to studies, your customer churn might increase by up to 15 per cent simply because you did not actively engage your customers. People will perceive your brand as just another business looking to sell something if visitor engagement is minimal.
In today’s digital marketing, 46 per cent of businesses use social media for online reputation management. Others make use of review sites, news websites, and blogs.
4. It Generates Instant Social Proof
Another benefit of reputation management is that it generates social proof for your brand right away. UGC is crucial not only for search engines but also for humans to assess trustworthiness. When customers see one or two stars on a review about your company, they are less likely to dig further.
But, earning three to five stars can easily convert a viewer into your next customer. This highlights the importance of online reputation management in digital marketing. ORM enables your customers to gain more social proof that you and your business are trustworthy. Displaying client logos, presenting customer feedback, and linking to other review platforms are all beneficial.
5. Enhances the Quality of Products, Services, and Customer Experience
Another benefit of online reputation management is the ability to examine client feedback. This feedback is extremely beneficial to product development. You can better meet your customers’ demands and tailor your offerings to address their problems or challenges. When people sense you’re paying attention, the customer experience increases.
6. It Attracts a More Skilled Workforce
ORM enhances your brand’s legitimacy, resulting in more trust with the general public. Your excellent reputation attracts people who share your essential principles and can motivate more skilled professionals to want to collaborate with you. Note that 69 percent of job seekers reject offers from organisations with a poor reputation. If prospective employees see that a company treats their customers well, they’re likely to also be treated well too.
7. Improves Customer Loyalty and Converts Them Into Brand Ambassadors
Staying on top of reviews and social media comments can help businesses boost client loyalty. Responding to complaints promptly gives the opportunity to establish outstanding rapport with clients.
Monitoring social media helps you understand customer sentiment and deliver meaningful solutions. Building customer loyalty converts customers into brand ambassadors who can help to spread the word about your company. Still wondering, “Why is reputation management important?” This is one compelling incentive to do so. There is no easy way to manually keep track of everything that happens on the internet, which is why using software solutions and the best online reputation management services is critical.
8. It Enhances Conversion Rates
Employing the best online reputation management tools can boost brand trust. This includes resolving conflicts and increasing good brand reviews. Conversion rates grow when your brand’s reputation is strong, and trust is high. According to studies, receiving more good reviews can raise your conversion rate by up to 270 per cent.
9. Manages Unknown Listings
You may better detect, claim, and manage unknown website listings by using ORM software. There are hundreds of web directories, for example, Yelp, TrustPilot, showmelocal and more. However, some of these listings and backlinks are detrimental to your website. Using the best online reputation management services will enable you to locate them as quickly as possible.
10. Increases Your Control Over Your Online Presence
Your online presence ideally reaches far and wide throughout the internet. While you have complete control over the content on your website and social media pages, you do not have control over other portals such as Reddit, Quora, and review sites. You can recover control of how your brand name is utilised online with great brand reputation management.
What Does Online Brand Reputation Management Involve?
Online Reputation Management involves keeping on top of your online reviews and customer sentiment online. Agencies like Crunchy Digital can provide tools to perform online listening and assess the public sentiment about your online reputation. Luckily, these tools can also make it easy to read and respond to reviews in a timely manner, meaning you don’t need to log into multiple platforms to respond. Whether your online reputation is positive or negative, responding to reviews quickly is crucial to handling objections and showing good customer support.
Why Choose An Online Reputation Management Company?
Getting the best online reputation management services is vital for all types of businesses, with 84 per cent of marketers stating that online reputation management should be a major component of future digital advertising strategies.
In today’s crowded internet era, a good online reputation management strategy wins you half the battle. It’s crucial for your Google Business Profile listing, SEO strategy, social media marketing, sales, and ROI.
If you need help in any of these areas, feel free to contact us for a free consultation. We’ll be happy to help.
