Managing and Boosting Your Brand’s Reputation Online

What’s all the fuss about? – Dealing With Negative Online Reviews

‘Click!’ Sometimes that’s all it takes. Just a click of a button to either make or destroy your brand’s reputation and in turn affect your business! That is if you do nothing about it.

At the rate digital technology has increased its presence, currently everybody from a tween to a senior citizen who has an opinion related to a product, customer service, or business interaction is ready to voice their opinions online. It’s simple and effective because anyone in the world with the internet can access it. If you receive a satisfied customer’s online review about your branch’s wonderful customer service, kudos to you! But what about the times you have disgruntled customers? How do you react to their online reviews knowing other potential customers may be dissuaded from buying your products or services because of those few reviews?

Online Reputation Management to the rescue – A solution to help you deal with any negative publicity and create a favorable online presence. But what is it all about, and how can it help you or your business? To find out, read on.

Online Reputation Management (ORM) – What Is It?

ORM means making your brand look good online by:

• Changing the way your brand is perceived online,
• Creating a positive online presence to minimize the influence of negative reviews, and
• Creating and boosting your business search ranking through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and other ORM tools.

Let’s delve a little deeper into what ORM is all about.

• Monitoring Brand Mentions: This involves actively monitoring online conversations and mentions about your brand through websites and social media. A good review needs visibility, whereas a negative review must be acted upon appropriately. You can track brand mentions through ORM tools on platforms like:
  • Online search engines like Google, Yelp, Reddit, Better Business Bureau (BBB), and Yellow pages
  • Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, amongst others
  • Other Online Media

• Creating and Controlling the Online Presence of Your Product or Service: ORM experts can help your business establish a good reputation by making customers find searchable results about your brand’s finer qualities instead of negative reviews. Some of the ways to create a strong, positive online presence are –
  • Knowing your target audience and creating appropriate online content about your products or services around them. For example, if your ideal customer is a younger person, creating your business-related Instagram or Twitter handles may help create awareness about what you sell.
  • Asking your customers for online reviews. You can incentivize them by offering some discounts for any reviews given. This is an accepted form of marketing if the customer has not been coerced or manipulated in any way for a good review. You can then place these reviews strategically so that they are easily discoverable through online searches.
  • Writing online content relating to your brand using specific keywords to make your content easily discoverable on Google and other search engines.

• Handling Negative Feedback or Comments: As per HubSpot, 80 percent of consumers have stopped doing business with a company because of a poor experience. WebsiteBuilder’s data shows that 94 percent of consumers have avoided a business totally due to a bad review. So, what should you do when you find out that you have received negative online feedback?
  • Acknowledge the customer/individual’s complaint. See if you can get full details and if genuine, find an appropriate solution that will help satisfy them. This shows prompt, positive action on your part.
  • Don’t be condescending, even when you feel the negative review you received has no merit. Make the customer feel that they are being heard and try to find an amicable solution.
  • Turn a bad review into a happy one by helping the disgruntled customer if possible. Remember, this is added publicity for you. People feel like doing business with a company that genuinely cares about its customers.

• Increasing Online Reviews and Feedback: A 2022 review conducted by Web Tribunal shows that 89 percent of customers rely on online reviews before making a purchase. The article further goes on to state that 91 per cent of millennials trust online reviews as much as their family and friends. Another recent study by Northwestern University found that having at least 5 reviews increases the chance of a product being purchased by 270 percent more than a product with no reviews. Genuine appreciation emails, reviews by satisfied customers, and customer testimonials are priceless treasures that can increase your brand equity.

ORM ensures these written testimonials and customer feedback garner the maximum views by positioning them in the right place. You can add them to your company’s landing page for greater visibility. Statistics support that 75 percent of customers usually don’t go past Google’s first page while searching for information. Google Reviews are trusted by most people, so, you can link to them from your website, blog, and social media profiles.

Let Expert WSI eMarketing Help Boost Your Brand’s Online Reputation 

Creating a positive brand image and business reputation is important for any brand to succeed and grow. The ORM professionals at Expert WSI eMarketing understand the importance of brand reputation, and what is involved in creating, maintaining, and boosting your online brand image through greater customer awareness, more visibility, and easily searchable online customer reviews and testimonials.

Contact us now to let our ORM team help you strengthen your brand’s online presence by leveraging the power of customer testimonials and the ‘word on the street’.

Call us at 713-338-3488 to learn more about managing and boosting your brand reputation online with ORM techniques. You can also contact us online to book a digital strategy consultation.

About the Author

James R Alexander, Digital Marketing Strategist, OMCP, PE, MBA at Expert WSI eMarketing, General Manager for Expert WSI eMarketing’. He and this office are an integral part of WSI’s global team.