Have you ever searched up a list of potential restaurants to dine in at on google? Let’s say you manage to find a restaurant that interests you, but then you see the number of stars it has… 2.5/5. You instantly tick it off your list of considerations and move on to a higher rated restaurant. This is the effect that bad reviews can have on the consumer decision making process, and a prime example of why online reputation management is now integral to conducting business in the modern world.
Some businesses may believe that negative reviews aren’t worth their time and choose to disregard them. What they may not realise is how much revenue they are throwing away. According to a study, if users find a single negative review, businesses run the risk of losing 22% of their customers. Furthermore, there is a 59.2% chance of losing customers if three negative results appear in a search query. In fact, your brand’s reputation can be harmed by more than just negative reviews. Negative articles, blogs, and comments on social media platforms that show up in search results all have the power to undo all your hard work.
What is is Online Reputation Management (ORM)?
ORM is the process of monitoring, measuring, and influencing your brand or business’s public perception across the web. This includes efforts to ensure that the desired positive search results outweigh the undesirable negative ones.
There are 3 factors to ORM:
- Google Search Results (online presence)
- Social Media Presence
- Reviews and Feedback
Firstly, it is important to implement SEO and keyword research to know exactly what terms your prospects use when searching for you or your business online. This establishes online presence.
Secondly, creating social media presence on all major social media platforms allows prospective customers to understand and get to know your brand’s character. Furthermore, engaging with followers and being quick in responding on official social media accounts increases visibility of your brand. It is good to also comment, share and post regularly on various topics so that you are seen as an expert in those areas.
Finally, bad reviews may not always have a negative effect if you provide solutions, show customers you care and that you are willing to learn from mistakes. The way you respond to negative reviews will emulate your brand’s character, and helps build trust within your stakeholders.
All in all, ORM plays a large role in digital marketing since it helps to remove bad reviews about a brand and business from search engines. By inserting new information online, ORM pushes out-of-date or undesired content from search rankings.
