“A good reputation is more valuable than money”- and it will not be an overstatement to say that online reputation is one of the vital assets for any business today. Online Reputation Management (ORM) is the practice of crafting strategies that shape or influence the public perception of an organization, individual or other entity on the internet. It helps to drive public opinion about a business, its products and services. Many people might not be aware of the fact that effective management of online reputation can facilitate businesses to achieve higher sales conversion rates and also serve to strengthen customer loyalty.
Nearly 9 out of 10 consumers will hesitate to purchase from a business that has negative online reviews. On an average, a one-star increase on Yelp leads to a 5 to 9% increase in a business’s revenue. Dealing effectively with online reviews and response management involves diligent monitoring of the reputation of a brand on the internet, addressing the responses (both good and bad) with relevant content and using customer feedback to solve problems before they damage the brand’s goodwill.
In this blog, let us explore some reasons why a business should take online reputation management more seriously:
Better Search Engine Ranking:
Online reviews can create a huge impact on your brand’s SEO (Search Engine Optimization). It’s because search engine algorithms know it very well that customers pay serious attention to the online reviews of a company/brand and product before making a buying decision. Hence, a business that puts sustainable efforts towards managing its online reputation can increase their SEO visibility and traction. Search Engine can be persuaded to fetch you higher search page ranks with responsible and dedicated online reputation management initiatives.
Increasing Client’s Trust and Brand Credibility:
Even a bad review can become the reason for enhancing your brand credibility to your customers, with timely and relevant online response management. It is an opportunity to prove your accountability by clarifying their doubts and grievances by giving an honest, polite and candid reply. In fact, it is an opportunity for personalized interaction with your customers and businesses must learn to capitalize on it. Your response management will also attract online eyeballs and serve to accentuate the brand’s image. This is one of the best and proven ways to gain customer confidence.
Drive Higher Business Revenue:
Online reputation management is very important for boosting business revenue. It is crucial for a business to know what their clients are saying about the business since as per research findings it is found that 91 percent of people regularly read online reviews and around 84% of people trust online reviews as a personal recommendation before purchasing a product. Another recent study conducted by the Harvard Business School also showed that businesses that enjoyed higher ranks boosted their revenues by 5-9%. Thus, listening to your customer reviews and managing the responses can be a very critical activity for any brand or business.
Concluding Thoughts:
Managing your business online reputation is not a rocket science; however maximum businesses fail to prioritize this important activity. By the time organizations realize the power of online reputation management in building their brand presence, a lot of negative footprints are already created in the online space, thereby making it difficult for digital marketers to neutralize its adverse impact. All the digital assets of an organization/business starting from websites to all social media accounts, third party publishing platforms, and numerous review sites can open up a world of opportunities for building your online brand that can be instrumental in either making or breaking your business in the long run.