Online reputation management involves taking proactive steps to create a positive buzz around your brand on review websites, social networks, forums, and other third-party websites. The ultimate goal is to make your brand trustworthy and create a pleasant customer experience.
According to a study by Gartner, B2B buying groups spend 27% of their time researching companies online during the purchase journey. This is the biggest chunk of time spent on key activities so managing your online reputation is crucial to your success.
Why brand reputation matters?
The online reputation of a business is everything in the modern world. As we mentioned above, anyone considering doing business with you, regardless if they are B2B or B2C, will check out your online profile and learn as much as they can about you. Therefore it is crucial, when starting your own business, to proactively manage your online presence and ensure it reflects your brand positively.
They will base their opinion of you and your business on what they discover from this. Unfortunately, negative reviews or unfavorable press mentions can ruin an excellent online presence in seconds.
This is one of the primary reasons for the existence of digital reputation management. This sphere, mainly handled by top reputation management companies, enables business owners and marketers to take control of the online discourse related to their company.
10 tips to keep your B2B online reputation strong
The following section contains ten tips from top-level professionals in online reputation management. If you can utilize these principles effectively, you will surely excel in crisis management and ultimately build a flawless digital presence.
Here's everything you need to know!
Enlist the help of branding experts
As discussed above, brand image consultants and reputation management experts can help companies improve their online reputations. Effective search engine optimization is one of the keys to optimizing a website and promoting a brand online.
Diversifying a company's online presence is also important, enabling brands to maximize exposure through social media and other modern marketing channels.
Maintain honesty and transparency with customers
Industry leaders must maintain constant transparency and honesty if they want to improve their business's online reputation. Be aware of your audience's needs and desires, and keep in touch with them. Consider the feedback they give you and actually make changes as a result.
Get testimonials from satisfied clients
Having others vouch for you is essential when you work in the digital space. You're much more likely to earn the trust and confidence of new prospective clients if you can get previous customers to share their positive experiences.
These testimonials can relate to a wide range of topics, and leaving it up to your satisfied customer to decide what they wish to praise is best. That said, asking specific questions about your transparency, expertise, work ethic, etc., will get clients to share their thoughts on these particular categories.
Listen to your customers and honor their preferences
Keep revisiting your digital strategy, particularly the official website, and focus on the company's social footprint. It is best to communicate with your audience based on their preferences, whether on social media or via email.
As we already discussed, maintaining transparency will build trust and help you define your goals more clearly.
Build brand loyalty
Creating brand/customer loyalty is the most effective way to improve a company's online reputation. The value of customer loyalty is incomparable to the value of customer satisfaction.
The loyalty of your customers proclaims the superior quality of your products and the high level of customer service you provide. A loyal customer who won't stop talking about your company is the best advertisement you could ever have.
Always own up to your mistakes
Although companies are mostly powerless to control what is said about them online, listening to customer feedback and addressing problems head-on can improve their standing if and when incidents do occur.
Regardless of whether you initially believe you or your team are wrong, try to take another look at each incident through the customer's eyes. If you realize there's been a mistake, acknowledge it publicly. Make sure nothing is swept under the rug.
Mistakes may temporarily anger people, but in a digital age where everything comes to light, being transparent and honest is the best way to repair your online reputation.
Remember to take care of your offline reputation
Leaders and marketers must work on more than just their online reputation; they must also keep their offline reputation in check. One way to do this is to gather testimonials from satisfied customers and share them online.
However, your offline reputation is also improved by participating in charity events, treating your employees and customers well, and offering top-notch service.
Use organic channels to share your voice
Nowadays, sharing your voice to make others aware of who you are and what you believe in is imperative. It is obvious when you try to "sell" an image to your customers versus when you genuinely try to help them.
Utilize organic outlets (forums, blogs, social media posts) to highlight what makes you unique, assist your audience with your expertise, and, most importantly, be authentic. Trust us; you will soon be rewarded with positive reviews and an excellent online reputation.
Maintain a strong brand identity
Make sure to build and maintain your brand identity systematically. All members of your team understand the core values of your brand.
This obviously relates to everyone working in the marketing department and posting on the company's behalf on social media. However, it also includes every other member of the team. Remember, your reputation and identity are not only built online but offline as well.
If you can get your employees to live and breathe the company values, they will naturally integrate those values into each customer interaction, both online and offline. This will lead to a more robust brand identity and create an environment where your customers know exactly what to expect.
Make your values known
As our world keeps turning to increasingly virtual means of communication, customers are constantly looking for ways to feel more connected to the brands they love.
That said, communication with your customers should never be a one-way street. Keeping profiles on social media and other platforms solely for brand awareness or SEO puts you at risk of losing touch with your customers.
You can't simply share information and ignore the response; this can negatively affect your online reputation and lead to client churn. Try engaging your audience in a conversation and encouraging them to share their thoughts and experiences via a more personal approach.
Conclusion
It is vital to manage your digital reputation to retain control of what people learn about your brand when they search for it online.
Even though you cannot change what customers say about you or how they perceive you, you can encourage positive feedback and work to resolve issues when your customers are unhappy. You will be able to consolidate and improve your online reputation this way.
Ultimately, a well-managed online reputation leads to customers putting more faith in you, enhancing the brand experience and boosting your revenue in the long run.
