Do Reputation Management Services Work?

One of the most important elements of having a business, whether it be online or in-person, is ensuring that you are seen as trustworthy, reliable, and consistent by your customer base. Only by accomplishing this can your company continue to grow; you can grow your audience, increase your revenue, and more. The best way to focus on your brand’s reputation is through using a reputation management service. This article will discuss what brand management is and how a service can help you stand out from your competitors. 

What Is Reputation Management?

Before diving into reputation management services and whether or not they can support your business, it is important to first have an understanding of what brand reputation management is. 

Reputation Management is essential for any company that relies on clients and customers to be successful. Your website’s reputation, as well as your entire brand’s reputation, is often subjected to the reviews that your company receives. Any negative reviews, whether they are present on Google, Yelp, Facebook, or another channel, can have detrimental effects on your business. 

Managing your brand’s reputation can be a lot of work, especially when you are going through a variety of channels and dealing with many different customer needs and complaints. While you absolutely can manage your brand reputation on your own, it is very common for businesses to hire services to assist with this process in order to relieve some stress. When you are working with the right management company, you can keep your brand’s reputation thriving. 

How Does Reputation Management Work?

So, how does reputation management actually work? Let’s look beyond just the simple facts and explore the details of this process. In a slightly more complicated definition, online reputation management is about monitoring and influencing how the public perceives your company. 

There are six key components to managing your brand’s reputation: 

• Promptly addressing negative feedback 
• Promoting positive stories and achievements
• Monitoring online presence
• Protecting against reputation damage proactively
• Responding to customer feedback 
• Building trust and credibility 

Benefits of Brand Reputation Management

There are a variety of benefits to properly handling your brand’s reputation. Here are just a few that you should keep in mind as you work on building your company’s online presence: 

 

• Attracting New Customers and Boosting Revenue: When you offer your customers a positive experience or quickly and efficiently correct any mistakes, you give them something positive to share with others. Word-of-mouth advertising is essential and can bring new customers to your business, as well as more profits. 

• Standing Out From the Crowd: A good reputation can give you a competitive edge over similar companies. When you can make your brand stand out for the right reasons, you can attract new customers and retain the ones you have.

• Recruiting the Best Talent: High-quality talent will naturally gravitate towards companies that have good reputations. This means you can expect to see well-qualified candidates for any new positions. 

Building Customer Relationships

As mentioned above, one key part of brand reputation management is establishing trust and long-lasting relationships with your customers and clients. There are a lot of different factors that can go into building these relationships, whether you are a small business just starting out or an established company. Reputation management services can help keep tabs on all of these different elements and keep your relationships strong. 

Here are just a few ways that businesses can build long-lasting relationships with their customers: 

 

• Know the Customer Loyalty Stages: Keep track of the four loyalty stages and adhere closely to them:

• • • Earning
    • Maintaining
    • Losing
    • Regaining

• Frequently Communicate: Maintain open channels of communication with your customers, such as through newsletters, customer service follow-ups, and more. 

• Provide a Loyalty Program: When a business continues to offer good deals and gives customers a reason to keep coming back, consumers will respond accordingly. 

• Build Trust: Transparency and honesty about your business practices and answering customer questions can help reassure consumers that your company is reliable. 

• Use Digital Marketing: Having an online presence, such as on social media, is a great way to interact with customers and even offer special deals or perks to incentivize new customers. 

Responding To Bad Reviews

When answering the question, “What is reputation management?”, one key factor to be aware of is that responding to bad reviews is a key part of the process. The way you respond to a negative review can make or break your reputation management strategy. So, what is the proper way to respond to this kind of feedback? 

Make sure you take the time to cool down first; it is a common impulse to simply jump to the defense of your company after reading a negative review. However, make sure you take the time to calm down and consider the customer’s perspective. Always respond within a couple of days at most. 

When it comes to properly developing your response, here are a few tips to keep in mind: 

• Remain polite and empathize with your customers
• Thank them for bringing the issue to your attention 
• If applicable, show that you have taken the necessary steps to resolve the issue
• Consider asking for a second chance and inviting them back to your business

What You Need To Know About Online Reputation Management With Google

One thing that is helpful about hiring reputation management services is that they already know the complete answer to the question, “How does reputation management work?”

Management experts know all the ins and outs of reputation management, including the things that search engines like Google might not tell you or make obvious to the average eye. 

If you are not managing your negative Google reviews carefully and making the necessary efforts to remedy them or repair any hurt relationships, a few things are likely to happen. First off, potential customers will be far less inclined to look into your business. Sixty percent of consumers say that negative reviews will dissuade them from a business. However, beyond just losing out on potential customers, if you do not properly manage your negative reviews, it can hurt your online reputation and search rankings. If there are fewer visitors to your site, Google may rank it lower in search results, making it harder for new customers to find you. 

To prevent these possibilities, make sure you have someone closely monitoring your reviews at all times. This is where a service can come in handy. 

Real-Life Examples of Brand Reputation Management

Reputation management is present across virtually every brand on the internet; so, how do these brands handle bad reviews, customer connections, loyalty, and more? Here are a few real-life examples to take inspiration from: 

• Zappos: Zappos goes above and beyond with their customer service, even sending hand-written cards and flowers to customers during difficult times. 

• Patagonia: Patagonia puts their money where their mouth is when it comes to customer values, focusing on environmental impact through their sales and efforts to use recyclable materials. 

• Adobe: Adobe’s customer service is extremely accessible; they offer services through their social media platforms, helping clients and customers through DMs and more. 

• Glossier: User-led content campaigns on social media have helped Glossier build a strong community of followers online. 

What Can We Learn From Large Brand Management?

So, what can we learn from the reputation management services used by larger brands? When asking the question, “What is reputation management?”, it is a great idea to take inspiration and tips from larger brands. Here is one of the best takeaways from what larger brands do to manage their reputation.

Crisis Control

A crisis is never wanted, but sometimes unavoidable. Large brands do a great job of managing these crises and putting out fires by preventing further damage, promising to do better, and following through. Avoiding repeat mistakes is a huge part of reassuring your customers that you can make a positive change and remain consistent and reliable. 

The Best Brand Management Services

If you are struggling with the question, “How does reputation management work?”, there is no need to worry! There are plenty of high-quality, reliable reputation management companies and services that you can take advantage of. These companies offer their clients all sorts of support in managing their reputation online through reviews, customer service, and more. 

 

• NP Digital: Great for local SEO and local reputation management

• Net Reputation: Excellent for brand management services, including PR crises 

• InboundJunction: Great for brand recovery, specifically focused on PR

• Thrive: One of the best for small business management, handling repairs, and more

• SEO Design Chicago: A full-service SEO and content marketing company that handles every element of your online presence, from your website to your Google reviews and more

Brand Management with SEO Design Chicago

When it comes to reputation management services, SEO Design Chicago is one of the best options for all of your online needs. Our company handles your brand’s appearance on your website itself, on search engine results pages, on social media, and more. Our team of online reputation management professionals can help guarantee the success of your brand’s reputation. Contact SEO Design Chicago today to put your best foot forward online and continue growing your business.