At a time when almost everyone is online, it goes without saying that managing your brand’s reputation in the digital space should be a vital component of your communications strategy. Many factors go into managing your online reputation, but online customer reviews are arguably one of the most impactful.
According to studies, 90 percent of customers trust online reviews, or the “collective word of mouth”, stemming from the fact that these reviews are predominantly written by community members. As a result, reviews can have such a substantial impact on acquiring new customers and generating new sales.
It is therefore completely understandable why businesses keep track of their feedback as part of their online brand reputation and image enhancement efforts. Review management is fundamental to managing a brand’s overall reputation.
This has made the role of online reputation managers increasingly important. Online reputation managers are responsible, amongst other things, for boosting brand reputation, using data to gauge the effectiveness and success of reputation improvement campaigns.
Beyond implementing online reputation campaigns, active engagement between a business’s brand and its target market is equally vital. In this case, businesses often opt for having dedicated reputation managers. Having reputation managers allows companies to maintain effective and public two-way communication, which has become necessary in today’s social media era. In the absence of a dedicated reputation manager, companies can also opt for having marketing or social media managers take on the task of monitoring and managing customers’ reviews and interactions.
In today’s digital world, designating a specified reputation management professional is a worthy investment, bringing enormous benefits to not only your brand but your entire organisation.