Reputation Management -lend an ear to what the world talks about you

Reputation management is all about using the tools and platforms to control and manage the public views about you , your company or your services. More than just a communication or a technology issue it is a multi faceted approach in stalling online slanders and to retain your brand. Posting a few blogs or press releases alone wont help you to come out of the rut you have landed into! Only a smart blend of the most effective ORM tools that will help you to repair and manage the public image about your company.

So, ultimately it’s important for all businesses to perceive what other people are saying, tag along the customer trends, analyse the competition in the market before coming up with a most appropriate plan to even off the damages caused by bad press and negative publicity. Make sure that all the company information such as directory listings, is accurate and updated. Though large companies might have a team of communications specialists to do this monitoring, small- to medium-size businesses either end up spending a lot of their quality time in monitoring online comments, or ignore it altogether, which could be even worse.

However, ORM is not a complex crisis management tool, which needs to be considered only in the event of a catastrophe; on the other hand it is an ongoing process, which becomes part of any corporate administration policy. A few simple steps would make sure that you are always prepared for the worst.

Make sure to update all your online listings to keep in touch with your customers. A phone number that fails to connect or a website URL that shows errors are the last things you expect. Engage, communicate and converse with your customers through online communities in case of any crisis. Keeping them in the dark by remaining mute might damage your repute very badly. Never ignore the customer feedbacks as these can greatly help in your decision making and planning.

If by any chance a negative review does pop up, waste no time; set out on a vigorous reputation management by SEO and SEM techniques to make sure that the customers are guided to the positive content. Remember, according to a research study, 35% of small businesses gained new customers from positive reviews while a staggering 84% of consumers decide what to buy and where based on customer reviews!