The reputation marketing field has evolved from the marriage of reputation management and brand marketing. It involves a brand’s reputation being vetted online in real time by consumers leaving online reviews and citing experiences on social networking sites. With the popularity of social media in the new millennium reputation, vetting has turned away from word-of-mouth to the digital platform, forcing business to take active measures to stay competitive and profitable.
Reputation marketing consists of monitoring, acquisition, and amplification.
Effective reputation management begins with monitoring online reviews. You need to know what your customers are saying about you online so you can address problems as they arise. Start by claiming your listings on Yelp and other online review sites and then check for alerts. You can also use an automated tool to scour the internet for reviews, which allows you to see reviews from all sites in one spot.
If a negative review comes up, respond to it. Let the customer know that you are sorry that he or she had a negative experience and you will fix the problem. This type of response shows people that you care about customer service and are willing to do what it takes to satisfy your customers.
You also need to acquire more reviews to boost your online reputation. Most customers either don’t think of writing reviews or they find the process too cumbersome, so they don’t bother. You need to get past these roadblocks to increase the number of positive reviews your business receives.