Would you buy from a company that has a 1-Star review on Yelp? Would you suggest someone try a brand that sells unreliable products? Would you leave a positive review for a brand that gave you a bad customer service experience? Absolutely not. So, why do you think people reading bad reviews about your brand online will ever purchase your products or services? Believe us, how you carry your brand online matters and that’s precisely why we want you to understand why online reputation management matters. Let’s get started!

What is Online Reputation Management?

We are living in the digital age. Everything, and we mean everything, is now available on the internet. In this day and age, when internet and smartphone penetration is at its crest, how you represent your brand online can make or break your business. In other words, the reputation your brand has online matters. In the biz, we call this online reputation, and the tactics we use to build and maintain our client’s online reputation is called Online Reputation Management.

What are the benefits of Online Reputation Management in 2023?

Before we go on to discuss the benefits of online reputation management, let’s talk numbers. Here are a few online reputation management statistics you should certainly consider in 2023!

• People that find online reviews impact their buying decisions — 93%
• Customers that take online reviews just like personal recommendations — 91%
• Consumers that need at least a 4-star rating before contacting a business — 49%
• An increase of one star in rating on Yelp results in a 5-9% increase in revenue!

Below are the top 5 benefits of deploying an online reputation management strategy for your business. Let’s dive right in.

1. Makes your business credible

A serious question that you need to think about is, how much business are you missing out on if your company doesn’t have a great online reputation? Consumers prefer purchasing from brands they find credible and from brands that are likely to provide them with a high-quality product or service. Since trust is a major factor in any successful customer journey, a negative online reputation can keep potential customers from becoming actual customers. Consistently managing your online reputation helps you track your brand’s negative mentions and feedback effectively. When you strive for a positive online reputation, it becomes easier for you to tackle a negative review before things get out of control.

2. Builds an ideal brand image

Your brand image is everything. A customer journey usually begins with a simple online search before moving to your social media pages and then finally to your website to make the purchase. A well-drafted online reputation management strategy allows you to take care of every nook and cranny of your online presence and build that ideal brand image. It gives you ample exposure to negative information being spread about your brand, helping you take the necessary action to comment and resolve issues and drive negative comments down with more positive reviews.

3. Better reputation, more sales

As we mentioned earlier, most customer journeys begin with online research. Customers look for your brand online and determine the quality of your business based on the information available to them. Once they find you, they tend to look for what other people have to say about their experience with your brand.

In other words, they are looking for confirmation that your product or service is worth their hard-earned money, and they receive this validation through reading positive online reviews left by your previous customers or even employees! To attract prospective customers, you should have a strategy to collect as many reviews as possible for your products and services. Most prospective customers will skip past a brand that is plagued with negative reviews. FYI, a 3-Star review nowadays is considered a negative review. So now more than ever the better the online reviews, the better the chances of your company growing its customer base.

4. Boosts search engine rankings

A great online reputation also increases your chances of ranking higher on a search engine. Here’s how it works, Google and other search engines rely heavily on what users like and don’t like to click on once they make an online search. If your company’s website has more clicks and longer sessions, you will automatically start ranking higher than your competitors. 

Now, how do you go about getting more clicks? By having great reviews for your company, of course! Positive reviews for your products and services will attract attention and influence your prospective client’s buying decisions. The more attention your reviews get, the more clicks you will have, and the higher your search rankings will be.

5. Cost-effective marketing strategy

That’s right. Maintaining an online reputation for your company is not expensive. Once you hire a professional to get it done for you, you can attract tons of positive reviews and recommendations for your business and enjoy a consistent flow of leads. Couple an online reputation management strategy with a strong social media presence and now you’re cooking with fire. 

Final thoughts!

There you have it. Online reputation is vital a part for the success of your business and if monitored and managed properly it will help drive your business to the next level. Want to get started building a positive online reputation for your company? Connect with us today! Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments. Also, don’t forget to check out our other informative posts on the blog!