“Your reputation is your passport to unlimited possibilities”.
This statement is counted as a true saying in the digital world where over 1 billion people are meeting in the cyberspace every day. Be it the physical world or the internet world, reputation is all that a business is touted to be its pride. One negative remark about your brand on an online platform and all the reputation that you have been building through ages comes at stake. The thought of it gives nightmare to many and of course you do not want that. Right?
In the Digital era, businesses rely on plethora of services to reach out to their target audience, or be on top rank of the search engines, but one service they overlook is Online Reputation Management. Yes, it might seem to be a bit strange, but even the optimization tactics and flashiest websites will not be able to win over existing and new clients if there are negative remarks about you.
So, let’s have a look at the importance of ORM for your business.
Understanding ORM
Let’s begin with understanding what is ORM. Basically, it is the process of controlling what comes up when someone Googles’ your company’s name. It is the process of improving or restoring your brand’s good standing by countering, weakening, or eliminating the negative material found on the internet and replacing them with more positive material & improving the credibility of your organization and customers’ trust in you.
What defines negative remarks on online portals?
According to research, there are some common search keywords or phrases, which people use often when they are not happy with a service, which are:
- Would not recommend this to anyone
- Worst experience of my life
- Never use again
- Left me in tears
So, these are some of the real reviews, which are commonly posted on online portals when complaining about a service.
Importance of ORM
So, by now it is evident that ORM is important for a business to cast aside all the negative remarks about your brand and put a show up with positive ones. However, there are other reasons as well that makes it important for businesses.
Effective Results
In the world of ORM, it is a common saying that an “Efficient ORM means Effective Results”. Be it an investor, any organization, or general public; all go online to gather information about a brand/company. So, to gain good results and not to lose out on potential investors, clients, and business; you can make accounts on platform such as Glassdoor, MouthShut, Indeed and many other sites that will help you build a positive image.
Your online footprint becomes the face value of the brand
It is a popular saying, that your online footprint better be good, to be the top choice for businesses and customers. Gossips, rumors, and speculations are an important part of the online world and if you get caught in the web of a negative story, then there is a possibility of putting a lot at stake from a business point of view. In the digital era, every story travels like a wildfire and ORM comes to the rescue for negative stories.
Building Trust & Credibility
Gaining the trust of your clients and customers is one of the major components of success for businesses. By any negative remark or false complaint, your company can suffer a loss of confidence in the public view. Now comes the point that how do you build the trust and credibility of the customers with ORM. Because when you are responding to a remark it means that you are listening to what they have to say and helping them in a possible way.
In today’s time, when so many options are available usually people do a complete research before buying any product or service. Can you guess what they are looking for? Yes, they are looking for all kind of reviews negative or positive about your brand/company on various online platforms. One of the most important aspect is to claim the accounts of your company made on various online portals and revert them with positive responses.
Recruitment
Everyone wants to hire the best team in the world. But, even the top individuals research about the company and reviews they have got from the previous employees. So, your reputation plays an important role in this aspect as well and it is important to know what your employees are talking online.
So, a negative listing on Yahoo, Google or any of the other review sites, is an alarm for you to not let these damage your face value!
