When prospective customers search for services, one of the first things they will see are reviews from previous customers. As a business owner, you want any potential customers to have the best impression of your company. This is where online reputation management comes into play. Keep reading to see the multiple ways online reputation management can benefit your business.
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A significant reason online reputation is important is that it identifies opportunities for your business to grow and improve. Feedback from customers, both positive and negative, provides you with insight on what your customers enjoy about your business and what you could be doing differently. Both positive and negative reviews can highlight areas that need improvement or ways you can enhance your services for customers. Using online reputation management, you can be more aware of these growth opportunities. This means that you can be more in tune with your target audience and more aware of your customers’ needs.
When people search online to make purchasing decisions, they will research brands and read reviews before making their final decision. According to BrightLocal, “93% of consumers used the internet to find a local business in the last year.” With online reputation management, you be sure that customers are getting the best possible impression of your business when they find you through a Google search. You can also leverage reviews to focus your marketing strategy on specific services and keywords that will boost your rankings in search results.
Customers talk. They share experiences with friends and family, on social media, and on review sites. According to The White House Office of Consumer Affairs, as reported by customerservicemanager.com, “a dissatisfied customer will tell 9-15 people about their experience. And approximately 13% of your dissatisfied customers will tell more than 20 people about their problem. Happy customers who have their problems resolved will tell only 4-6 people about their positive experience.” As you can see, negative reviews spread much more quickly than positive reviews. An online reputation management strategy can help turn those negative reviews into neutral or positive reviews before they even have a chance to be published, helping to build your brand’s credibility. With effective online reputation management, customers are encouraged to leave reviews following positive experiences.
If you’re offering multiple products or services, do you know which ones are receiving the most positive reviews from customers? If you’re not aware of what your customers are happy with, you could be losing out on the opportunity to highlight these services. The same goes for social media posts; which posts are customers or followers most engaged with? With online reputation management, you can get insight on what is and isn’t working for your brand and use that information to better build your brand image and improve brand awareness. Also, the more positive attention you attract to your brand, the better your search engine rankings, resulting in increased web traffic to your website.
If you’re planning to grow your business and looking for investors, they are going to research your business and review customer feedback before doing business with you. Investors and banks will be wary of putting money into a business that has a negative online presence because there is a risk for lost money. With a positive online presence, they will feel more confident in the stability of your company and be more secure in their decision to do business with you. So, having a good online reputation is vital for any future business connections you hope to build.
Your business’ reputation attracts more than customers, it also affects the type of staff you bring in. A positive online presence can increase the number of applications you receive for job openings, improving the chances of hiring highly qualified staff. A negative reputation could mean your hiring pool is filled with less qualified applicants. Qualified candidates will almost certainly do some research about your business before submitting their application, or before accepting an interview. They will look at customer reviews and former employee reviews about your company. Your online reputation has the possibility to impact their decision to apply or say yes to a job with you. Attracting qualified personnel can ensure that your business is hiring the right people who will help to strengthen your brand image.
If you’re ready to discuss online reputation management for your business, Group6 Interactive’s qualified team can help you develop an online reputation management strategy. Contact us today by calling (802)342-4656 or sending us an email via our contact form.
