The benefits of managing your reputation online

Managing online reputation is, in fact, the obligation of every business owner and manager, provided their company is present and operates at least partly online. If you neglect that part of running a company, you won’t be able to develop it successfully and acquire new customers. A good online reputation is always a result of specific actions of your organization. Today, we want to show you why managing your online reputation appropriately is vital.

Your online image is composed of many elements, but there are five essential ones:

1. The quality of your customer service and communication with customers
2. Intuitiveness (or the lack of it) of your website or online store
3. The quality of the products/services that you offer
4. Conditions of cooperation with your company
5. Your marketing activities

This list shows one important thing—your reputation is almost 100% dependent on you. With the exception of some unforeseen situations and the competition’s unethical actions, no company can say that its reputation is bad because of independent reasons. Almost always, it turns out that the unsatisfied customer was neglected or misunderstood by the company, that there was a flawed process, or that someone didn’t do their job or didn’t do it on time.

That’s why the first step in building a positive image of your company is to work on the quality of your products/services and customer service. Once these elements work correctly, you can focus on other aspects that will help you build a positive reputation. You can conduct customer surveys and encourage customers to share their opinions, e.g., on Google Maps. You can constantly communicate with your customers, including the dissatisfied ones e.g., by answering their comments and reviews. You can utilize social listening and analyze what’s going on online concerning your business to better understand and answer your customers’ needs. Finally, you can engage in meaningful PR and marketing actions to start positive communication about your company among new and potential customers.

What is all that about? What are the benefits of improving your reputation online? There are many of them, but let’s mention six key ones. Here they are:

More positive reviews

BrightLocal 1 says 67% of respondents will publish a positive review online after a good customer experience.

The same research indicates that almost 80% of respondents read opinions about local companies, and they do that “always” or “regularly”. The conclusion is obvious – you should have as many positive reviews as possible, and the appropriate reputation strategy will help you get them. Why? Because it should be the main part of your strategy to encourage people to publish more reviews about your company. 

More UGC

79% of surveyees say that user-generated content impacts their purchasing decisions2.

Today, UGC plays a crucial role. By definition, user-generated content is authentic as it originates directly with your customers. The better your reputation, the more UGC you will get, which, in turn, will support your marketing actions, especially SEO. How is that possible? In early April 2021, Google announced its new Product Reviews update. This means that ever since the search engine has promoted in-depth product reviews. Companies and stores that receive well-thought-out reviews (anything beyond “all good”) have a chance to rank higher in the SERP (search engine result page).

Improved visibility online

SEO activities can lower the cost of getting more customers by over 80%³.

Good reputation management refers to conducting regular marketing and PR actions. In fact, everything you do online is an aspect of your reputation. Ads, social media posts, communication with customers, guest posts, and SEO enable you to build the desired image and enhance your visibility. That, in turn, is indispensable for getting more customers, both in the B2C and B2B worlds.

More loyal customers

69% of respondents in the US admit that customer service is essential when it comes to their loyalty towards a given brand⁴.

The better your image, the more customers will stay loyal to you. That’s mostly because of the known fact – it’s not easy to find a trustworthy company that does its job well. Customers who feel like they have found and are satisfied with working with such a company will think twice before deciding to change anything. In this context, a good reputation is one of your business’s most important assets.

Attracting better employees

77% of respondents admit that working at a company having similar values to theirs is important⁵.

Your reputation online is also a result of the values that you pursue at work. Clear communication of these values can boost the interest among potential employees/coworkers who share your point of view. That’s especially true concerning Gen Z – these candidates look for companies that operate ethically and are interested in something more than just making money.

Resilience to crises

Five of the benefits mentioned above result in the sixth one—increased resilience to various problems and crises. The more customers you have, the better your image is, the better your employees are, and the more prepared you are to deal with many different problems. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you are 100% immune to all of the issues in the world—that’s impossible—but you can cope with many of them with ease.

Use Center.ai to manage your online reputation

The Google profile is a valid part of your online reputation. If you manage your profile effectively and have many positive reviews, building a strong image online will be much easier. How can Center.ai help you with that? With our help, you can monitor your reputation and communicate with customers. Moreover, you can actively monitor and analyze reviews that you get and respond to them.
Here, we should quote BrightLocal once again. According to their research, 57% of customers are not willing to work with a company that doesn’t respond to the reviews it gets. Communicating with your customers is important in every context, including Google Maps!
Do you want to know more and see how Center.ai works in practice? Start your free trial today!
¹ https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/
² https://stackla.com/resources/reports/bridging-the-gap-consumer-marketing-perspectives-on-content-in-the-digital-age/
³ https://www.impactplus.com/blog/seo-statistics
⁴ https://www.smallbizgenius.net/by-the-numbers/customer-loyalty-statistics/#gref
⁵ https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/consumer-business/articles/understanding-generation-z-in-the-workplace.html