10 Tips to Protect Your Online Reputation in 2021

The role of online reputation management (ORM) cannot be overstated in today’s technology-driven world. It only takes a few seconds for consumers to access your company profile and customer reviews and make their judgment. Online reputation management is crucial to the success of your business because it influences how people perceive your company. A poor reputation is bad for business.

Why is online reputation important for a company?

With more customers turning to the internet to express feedback on products and services, implementing a solid reputation management strategy has become more important than ever.

Word of mouth spreads fast, especially through online channels, and your company stands to lose up to 22% of customers with just one published negative article about your company. You’ll want to use ORM strategies to counter those negative or bogus reviews before they end up ruining your business.

A positive online reputation, on the other hand, can help boost conversion rates as nine out of 10 customers read reviews before buying a product. This is why companies invest in ORM tools that turn happy customers into 5-star ratings.

How do you protect your online reputation?

Here are some reputation management tips that are worth considering:

1.   Monitor customer reviews

It’s vital to monitor reviews across all platforms, channels and review sites. If you want to review these manually, there are tools that can help you. Google Alerts and TweetBeep, for example, notify you when there’s a web mention of your company name.

As there may be over a hundred review sites and channels to monitor, this task can still be tedious, even with the tools available. Alternatively, you could use ORM tools for easier tracking.

2.   Respond appropriately to customers’ feedback

Using the customer’s name when you respond and personalizing your message goes a long way. Empathize and carefully review your responses before sending them.

Look at any negative reviews from the customer’s perspective before responding. Research the issue as needed and let them know that you’ll act on this.

3.   Respond quickly

Regularly checking reviews gathered by your ORM software helps ensure timely responses. Let them know you’re aware of the problem and that you’re doing what you can to resolve it in the best way possible.

4.   Profile your customers

Attempt to profile your customers so you can tailor your responses fit to their preferred communication style. Don’t take the bait of customers posting bogus reviews hoping to get a deal in exchange.

5.   Use feedback to improve current processes

Don’t ignore criticisms. These reviews expose areas in your products that need further development. Use customer feedback to improve your product and provide an even better user experience.

6.   Post high-quality content

Let customers know about the strengths of your company and the benefits of using your products or services. Customers not only check reviews; they also check site content before making a purchase.

7.   Publish positive reviews

Are customers raving about your products? Don’t hesitate to give those comments some space on your website or social media pages.

While you can’t prevent people from posting unjust or fake reviews, you can encourage the rest of the site visitors to read the positive feedback and high ratings instead. Make these glowing reviews as visible as you can as they can help you win your site visitors’ trust and recover from bad reviews.

8.   Engage with your customers on social media

One way of gauging your online reputation is by monitoring your social media mentions. Keep track of your customers’ comments, and don’t hesitate to join in the conversation in a professional way.

If the comments are negative, continue to engage with your customers and strive to win their trust by letting them know that you’re doing something about their complaints.

9.   Maximize the features of online reputation management tools

ORM software can quickly track and centralize all feedback across various platforms, review sites and third-party publishers, making the process more efficient, accurate and convenient.

Reputation management software also allows you to create a database of your customers’ information, allowing a more convenient delivery of personalized and localized campaigns.

10.   Hire a professional reputation management company

ORM software can be effective, but many companies have hired professional reputation management companies to generate and manage their reviews. Reputation management software can’t guarantee results the way these agencies can.

If you’re just starting out and not getting as many reviews as you’d like, a professional reputation management company can politely ask your customers for feedback using custom emails. They can send customers with positive reviews to a preferred network where they can post their ratings for the public to see. Customers with low ratings will be redirected where their feedback will be sent as an email instead.

Moreover, these experts can leverage high customer ratings as a site element that converts more customers into leads.

The New England Neurological Associates hired a professional reputation management company which delivered 121 new reviews for the medical practice in only 294 days, helping them improve the review scores of 12 out of 15 doctors.

There’s so much value in user-generated content (UGC) like online reviews and customer feedback. And while receiving bad reviews seems inevitable, good reputation management strategies should be able to help your company bounce back from negative ratings and win your customers’ trust.