Online Reputation Management, or ORM in short, is a varied concept that aims to create a positive public image for a brand, business or a person. ORM is about monitoring and managing brand’s reputation over the internet, ensuring that your business’s image is being represented positively and your potential customers are left with a good impression of who you are and what you do. So why is ORM so important for a business?
(1) Impact on buying decisions
ORM will impact your customer base. 81% of buyers will do some online research before making a purchase decision, how you appear online will affect their final decision. Online reputation is a business quality quick check, as 88% of consumers will go through reviews to determine whether your business is reliable. Therefore, if you have a poor online reputation, you might lose your potential customers.
(2) Online version of word-of-mouth
85% of consumers treat online reviews as personal recommendations, they trust the online reviews just like trusting a word from their friend. If you couldn’t handle your ORM well, it might cause a crisis to your business. Even a multinational company like Nestle, is forced to shut down temporarily its public page after they failed to present a reputation management on the Greenpeace harmful environmental practices crisis.
(3) Internet will keep negative reviews
The Internet will keep almost every record. Not only what people saying good about your business will stay online, what people criticize about your business will also stay online. By using a proper response, you could turn unsatisfied customers into loyal customers, as 70% of complaining customers will come back to the business if they get a satisfying response.
(4) Get valuable feedback
Monitoring is an important part of online reputation management. You can collect some useful information on customer satisfaction and feedback regarding your products or services. So before you conduct a poll or a survey, you could just look over the internet and see what your customers had said about your business.
Conclusion
With the advancement of Internet today, your existing and potential customers are able to get a voice around your business . People are talking about you and will continue to do so. Therefore, ORM is an essential part for a business, a marketing or a growth strategy.
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