The numbers don’t lie. Your online reputation will impact your sales… period.
• 97% of customers search online to learn more about a business.
• 85% of customers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation.
• 60% of customers stated that negative reviews made them not want to use a business.
In the beginning, the Internet was a very different place. Companies that were early to build their business on the Web didn’t really need to engage with customers all that much. Websites were like shiny, slick brochures that were available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and most communication was done through this cool new thing called electronic mail or the good old-fashion phone call.
That model has changed dramatically with the rise of social media and the ability of Internet users to write and submit reviews to websites that get millions of visitors per month. No matter the size of your company, people are talking about you online. More importantly, customers are researching you online by visiting your website, media sites, discussion groups, or social media. Prospective customers or employees are searching for reviews or comments on the Internet. And as the statistics show, what people read about you online does matter.
In modern e-marketing, managing your business reputation online is a must, and this column will examine some of the tools that your business can use to manage how your business is perceived online.
What is Online Reputation Management
Online reputation management (ORM) is how people experience your business on the Web. It most often takes place without your knowledge as they are searching and doing research on services or products.
As mentioned in the statistic above, 85% of customers trust online reviews and those reviews are a determining factor in the opinion (positive or negative) that people will establish about your company. Online reputation management is about being pro-active instead of reactive. You want to generate positive impressions about your business while also handling any negative reviews or comments that may arise. The ultimate goal of ORM is to build trust and credibility with your audience.
What Makes ORM Important
When it comes to online reputation management, “What happens online, stays online.” Whatever customers are writing or saying about a business online will be out there for a very long time in most cases.
By utilizing a proper and timely response, in most instances a business owner can address a disgruntled customer’s concerns. The good news is that 70% of customers who reviewed a business with a complaint, and got a positive response from the business, come back to do business again.
A positive aspect of online reputation management is the value of feedback from customers and/or employees about the business. When feedback is constructive, it can help improve how the business operates. However, negative comments and reviews are also a part of operating online. And not all negative content is the same. Be on the lookout for negative content or comments that can be substantially detrimental to the business. These are typically seen in search engine results pages, when someone searches for a business by name and includes the following:
Traditional Media – Stories in the traditional news media with pictures and/or video of fires blazing at pallet yards can have a profoundly negative effect on the perception of the industry and on the business itself.
Online Review Portals – Services like Google Business and Yelp offer any user the ability to post reviews about a business, good or bad. Additionally, websites like glassdoor.com allow current and former employees to post reviews about working at the company. These review portals open the opportunity for disgruntled customers or employees to write negatively biased reviews that can reflect badly on the business.
Consumer Review Websites – So-called “hate” and “complaint” websites that allow anyone to post negative reviews about a product or service can regularly surface in search engine results when a business name is searched online. These sites can be utilized to flood negative reviews about a business.
Biased-Based Websites – These are websites created specifically to undermine an industry, particular business, even a specific individual. Often used to spread incorrect information and data, they are incredibly easy to create (within a few hours) and can use paid online media to reach the top of a search result quickly. Spending a few thousand dollars here can have a negative multi-million-dollar effect on the target.
A Reputation Audit
In the modern digital environment, it is all too easy to use the Internet as a tool to harm a business. It is essential to manage and control that interaction as it can have actual financial consequences.
Rather than dive into software and tools that are beyond the scope of this article, you can begin by conducting a simple and straightforward online audit of your business brand with readily available technology that will prescribe a starting point and ensure you are on the right track.
Monitoring – Open up a private window in the search browser of your choice. This can be done in any browser by going to Settings. Then type in the business name inside quotes, take note of what comes up on the first page of results and any reviews that may pop up in the sidebar. These following are a cross-section that you may find:
Google – Google My Business is one of the most trusted sources of reviews for any business and a must have for any business to set up an online presence. It is crucial for businesses at a local level because Google will utilize that data in its search results. Look at the overall rating, the reviews and even the photos.
Glassdoor.com – Employee reviews, both current and former, are available on this website. Many prospective new-hires will visit Glassdoor to get an idea of working at the business. Anonymous posting means workers can air grievances, both real and imagined.
Social Media – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. are the mainstays here. If a business page was created for the company on any social platform, it should be visited by someone on staff to keep it updated and monitor for negative reviews.
A simple tip to automate monitoring is to set up alerts at www.google.com/alerts with the business name. Google Alerts has quite a few settings to play with and will monitor multiple channels and sources for any mention of the business name. The alerts can be sent to a designated email on a weekly, daily, and “as-it-happens” basis.
Domain names – The domain extensions for websites (.com/.net/.org) are an important part of taking control of online reputation management. You do not want a competitor taking the business name with a .net extension and pointing it to their own website or even creating a website that harms the business through misinformation. Also consider grabbing any domain names that are close to your own like:
****pallet.com
****pallets.com
****palletcompany.com
Developing a Strategy
Now that the business is set up to monitor its online presence, it is essential to develop an effective strategy that considers the business goals. A good starting point is to define what can be controlled directly vs. what is beyond your control.
Direct control is generally possible with social media platforms as you can have admins (internal staff) assigned to review any updates that may surface. Those sites and portals that are beyond direct control will require a response to any negative comments or reviews on their platform. These can be as simple as replying to those comments thoughtfully or addressing any work-related issues in the case of employees posting comments on work review websites.
It is important to prioritize by impact. Any website that has the potential to be viewed by a large number of users is an important piece to monitor in the ORM plan. Also, assigning someone on staff to regularly review this project will ensure that any negative comments/reviews are addressed quickly. Target those negative comments and seek to provide an adequate resolution to fix the problem and demonstrate your responsiveness. Maybe you can get the customer to change the comment to something positive.
Encourage customers and employees to leave positive reviews on the business where and when possible. Social media platforms are a great conduit for this activity. These positive reviews can be helpful to offset any negative reviews that your business might receive. Set up automatic campaigns for e-mail or text communications to ask for positive reviews after a successful customer interaction. Periodically solicit reviews from customers when providing content or updates, such as a customer e-newsletter or white paper on a topic.
Online Reputation Management is a valuable part of having a successful online presence. With a little up-front work, your business can protect its brand name and parlay that goodwill into new customers and use the constructive feedback to improve operations and customer service. You have spent years building your business reputation in the real world, make sure you take time to do it online too.
