These days, consumers can have all the information they need with the help of the internet.
That said, it is your job to take care of and protect your brand’s online reputation. Doing ensures that your target market will deem you as trustworthy. Because when you are, they will transact with you without a second thought.
To achieve this, you will need to implement online reputation management.
What Is An Online Reputation Management?
These days, almost everyone has an online reputation that they need to manage. Whether you treat yourself as a brand or you have a business, you will need to include online reputation management (ORM) in your marketing mix.
But what is ORM? It is a process wherein you utilize various marketing tactics to ensure that you have a pristine reputation online.
The purpose of ORM is to establish your brand as a trustworthy industry leader.
Why Go For Online Reputation Management?
As mentioned earlier, ORM is meant to ensure that your brand’s online reputation is pristine. Meaning, every time people hear of your business’s name, they will online think happy thoughts.
Otherwise, it will be challenging for you to attract customers and generate sales.
Despite that ORM, does not need to be rocket science. It can be time-consuming, sure, but you can do it correctly with the right mindset. Plus, you need to implement the proper online reputation management services.
The issue with ORM, though, is that there are plenty of myths surrounding this tactic. So much so that it stops you from implementing it. What you do not know is that one negative review can blow up if not managed well.
And when we say blow up, it could mean you might need to rebrand your business. That’s because people will keep associating your brand with something negative, to the point that sales will dry up.
That said, we have listed down eight ORM myths that you should let go of:
1. You Can’t Control One’s Online Reputation
Here’s the thing: You cannot stop people from writing something negative about your brand. However, you can choose to respond wisely.
For example, this has been proven countless times that a timely response to a negative review helps mitigate the damage it leads.
Brands that offer their customers quick feedbacks or response rates will always have that edge.
Whether you like it or not, ignoring the problem will only make it a lot worse. Your customers are always right, and attending to their wants and needs shows them that you value their opinion.
2. Deleting Bad Reviews Will Solve The Problem
The thing is, once published, online reviews are already permanent for everyone to see. That is despite the fact that there are many tools and services that help delete negative reviews online.
So, if you think that you can go away with negative reviews, then you are wrong. In most cases, you couldn’t delete reviews because they act as trustworthy signals to others. If you have managed to do it, you will still be perceived as shady.
Sometimes, the only way to remove a negative review is if it is filled with fake, false claims, often written by competitors.
Because presented with the shadow of a doubt, the review platform is often forced to take another look.
3. No Reputation Is Better Than A Negative One
Some think that they can avoid the scrutiny of a negative review altogether by not just being present on review platforms. But adopting this kind of approach is somehow impossible.
Many review platforms don’t require you to claim your business listing for them to host it. It might sound attractive, but it can be risky.
Not claiming your business means that you cannot respond to negative reviews on that platform. The problem is that such platforms are usually filled with people whose purpose is to vent. Because if they want to be constructive, they would have reached out straight to your official channels.
Being proactive is key. No business is spotless. Nonetheless, you need to ensure that such websites will not rank when some types in your business’s name on Google.
4. It’s A Hassle And Time-Consuming
ORM can be time-consuming if you do not have an effective system. After all, it won’t make sense to create an account on all review websites known to man and respond to any negative reviews one-by-one.
What you need is a platform that will enable you to curate reviews and respond to them.
You should also keep in mind that you do not have to respond to every review. Know when someone is being a troll and when one is leaving honest feedback.
5. It Is Okay To Publish Fake Reviews
Publishing fake reviews will often do more harm to your business than good.
The thing is, it’s not easy to fool people, let alone your potential customers. They would know when a review is fake, and they can scour the internet for more feedback.
Usually, sites such as Yelp or Amazon have filters to eliminate fake reviews from their websites. Thus, you should not waste your time and energy on publishing fake reviews.
Instead, rely on those few genuine ones that make you stand out from the rest of the pack.
6. People Don’t Read Online Reviews
Over 4.7 billion people are active on the internet, and most of them spend their time on digital platforms.
According to BrightLocal, 79% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations from friends and family.
An increasing number of users are dependent on online reviews. Usually, their primary source of information is online reviews, ratings, and recommendations.
Although you should rely on product descriptions for marketing purposes, it would make sense also to leverage online reviews.
In case you are not aware, you can use online reviews as part of your search engine and conversion rate optimization tactics.
7. Online Reviews Are Not Important
Although online reviews are critical, many businesses still doubt their potential.
But still, many people do not trust advertising. In fact, 83% of customers are saying that they prefer reviews over ads.
Also, most consumers agree that online reviews let a user form a decision before buying anything.
Social reviews help a business understand better what their target customers want and what they should expect.
8. Getting Positives Reviews Takes Effort
Yes, it is true ‒ getting ravings reviews from others takes time and effort. Manually investigating poor feedback from a customer and responding takes time.
The thing is, it takes a lot of time and effort when you implement online reputation management by yourself.
Getting people to write reviews for you can be a tough one, too. But you can always ask for it after a fruitful interaction with them.
Technology also plays a vital role here. You can utilize automated post-survey solutions to send email requests to your customers.
Over To You
It is apparent that ORM is integral to your brand’s success. After all, who would do business with you if your customers cannot trust you?
So, instead of believing the myths listed above, we suggest that you be proactive in protecting your business’s reputation. That way, attracting customers and clients can be less challenging.
