Reputation Management

Reputation Management

Reputation management is the processing of influencing and controlling of a group or individual reputation. The concept of public relation, development of internet and social media and reputation management corporations have made a significant impact on an individual or group reputation.  Some corporations use Online Reputation Management (ORM) that focuses on the management of services and products through website search results. Through the website, customers may review products of the company and make their comments. Negative customer review may have the effect of indenting the reputation of the management. Reputation management can be categorized into offline and online reputation management (Griffin, 2008).

Offline reputation management focuses on managing perception by the public concerning the business through the use of non-digital methods. The corporation uses well-defined control measures to collect the views representing how stakeholders perceive the entity. The firm may use offline control tools such as press releases, corporate social responsibility, sponsorship and mass media (Wallace, 2011).

Online reputation management focuses on managing perception by the public concerning the business through the use of digital methods. The search results from websites on the company products and services will provide management on the insight concerning the reputation of the corporation. Corporations such as Amazon, eBay and Alibaba have e-commerce markets where various stakeholders make a comment.  In online reputation management, the corporation has adopted principles such as protection of privacy, quick, accurate search results, disengagement with detractors, avoidance of creating links to other websites and use of social media. The management monitors website the negative feedback from the customers and takes the appropriate corrective action; otherwise, it may have an adverse impact on the reputation of the management or decrease the site’s ranking. Online reputation management tools include Awario, Reputology,  SEO SpyGlass, GoFish Digital Complaint Search, Grade.us, Brandwatch, Review Trackers and IFTT. Awario collects and analyzes information across social media and websites. Reputology monitors online reviews in real-time. GoFish Digital Complaint Search is tasked in collecting negative reviews about the product on various websites. SEO Spyglass monitors low-quality links that affect business rankings. Grade.us monitors social media and provides customizable reports. Brandwatch provides analysis of brand reputation and provides detailed reports. Review Trackers encourages satisfied customers to do the online review. IFTT alerts the business when its brand is mentioned online (Seigneur, 2017).

The importance of reputation management includes better search engine ranking, increased customer trust and credibility, increased revenue and professional image. Customers take time to review a product online before purchasing. Hence, if the reputation of the company, it will achieve a high ranking by SEO Spyglass. The customer would prefer to buy a product which is highly ranked.  Customers trust online reviews and depend on whether positive or negative reviews. The brand will gain trust and credibility if it has the majority of positive customer reviews. The corporation has a good reputation achieves credibility from customers and would be preferred to that of its competitors once the products and services are found to be credible and reliable and will the company to generate higher sales revenue.

The firm having a professional corporate image is important to attract and retain the customer in the marketing of their brands. Potential and existing customers start searching the business name on the internet. The potential customers will avoid purchasing the brands of a company if they find negative reputation. Increased sales revenue of a brand can have the effect of improving the corporate image.

Social media reputation management refers to the process of monitoring what is posted on social sites. The management should take timely corrective actions on any negative comment posted on the social site. If social media reputation management is done properly, customers have trust and credibility concerning business brands. The management to monitor their social media reputation it includes the company’s name, high-profile employees, brands, industry keywords and its competitors. The management should post relevant content on social media sites. Online reviews are relevant to enable management to decide its reputation.

In summary, reputation management refers to the process of influencing or controlling the reputation of a group or an individual. Reputation management has been influenced by public relation, growth of the internet and social media sites and corporation dealing with reputation management. Reputation management can be classified into online and offline. The importance of reputation includes improving professional image, trust and credibility, increases sales revenue and improved ranking. Social media reputation management refers to the processes of monitoring what is posted on social media sites. The management should pay attention to negative online review and take necessary corrective action.