The Importance Of Reputation Management

[Purvi Dalvi]

In today’s day and age, building a reputation is tough, especially when there are many competitors in the same industry. Each one of them should be extraordinary and unique from the other. After all, people are attracted to industrialists who think differently and innovatively. Innovation is the key to building a reputation and establishing a strong position in the industry. Though there are many competitors, entrepreneurs need not fear.

Reputation management is defined by two concepts. They are as follows:

1. It monitors and influences the online reputation of a brand or a business
2. It also displays the negative reviews about the person or organisation

Businesses manage reputation in three different methods, such as:

• Building an image: It applies to established as well as new businesses who are trying to make an establishment for themselves.
• Maintenance: This form of management is carried out by companies with a secure hold in the market and the industry. Their customers are of a favourable opinion of them. Their main objective is to maintain their stand in the industry.
• Recovery: This is helpful when a company’s reputation is under threat or is taking a steep decline. It consists of healthy and positive marketing and self-promotion to recover and restore the image soon.

Some steps to protect the reputation of a company

Companies who have already established a reputation for themselves must focus on their protection and maintenance. Given below are three tips to help them do so:

• They must know what to control: While companies encourage customers to post reviews about their products and services online, the content of the same cannot be controlled. Therefore, it is ideal for monitoring all the reviews and responding to negative ones as politely as possible. Companies can manage their search rankings by posting relevant information and content.
• They must know how to monitor their reputation: There are many methods of tracking a company’s reputation. Many of them hire reputation management experts while others choose apps like Google Alerts, Social Mention, Monitor This, etc. to track keywords and provide immediate alerts on the mention of their company’s name.
• The importance of the internet: Even though businesses do not primarily rely on the internet, it is essential to know that customers do. Companies should take measures to online reputation monitoring by regularly searching for firm names and locations. The reviews and results posted online, appears on the screen.

The focus is to maintain the status and corporate image. If companies are taking steps to improve it, they should not give up. If something is moderately successful, they can try to modify their approach and see how small improvements affect their customers. In the case of negative feedback, the company should be informed and alerted immediately.