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Why Do You Need to Manage Your Online Reputation?

Online reputation management is an essential process that helps companies identify what their customers and other people say or feel about their business. It is also about taking steps to align the general consensus with your goals.

Research shows that consumers use mobile to search for reviews. The activity has increased by 35% between 2020 and 2021. Nearly 95% of online users read reviews before making a decision to purchase a specific product or service.

About 88% of shoppers influence their purchasing decision by online reviews. Sterling and Pope is a reputable online marketing company with experience in reputation management, SEO, and digital marketing experts who can help:

  • Improve your brand awareness
  • Generate traffic to your website
  • Build authority and trust
  • Foster stronger customer relationships
  • Drive more sales
  • Attract better employees

Online reputation management is a daunting and time-consuming task. However, you can follow the tips and tricks below to streamline the entire process and achieve your reputation management goals. Read on!

Monitor Your Online Reviews

It takes some time to build a positive reputation in the online world. That’s why Sterling and Pope Marketing recommends taking a proactive approach to online reputation management.

For instance, online platforms like Google, Facebook, and Yelp teem with customer activity. When you monitor these platforms and other review sites, you can manage and maintain your business reputation.

If you fail to monitor customer feedback on these sites and other platforms, you will miss marketing opportunities and damage your reputation. It is because customers base their purchasing decision on online reviews.

Consumers look for responses to review, including positive and negative. According to Sterling And Pope Marketing, customers look for star ratings and feedback. If there are no reviews or answers to reviews or poorly responded ones, consumers will decide to purchase products from a different company.

Choose a Correct Business Category

Online reputation management requires you to choose the correct business strategy. Companies use categories to describe their business and enable them to connect to customers who search for products or services they offer.

Choose a primary category to describe your business. Avoid adding multiple categories to list your products or service. If you have a book shop that includes a café, you don’t need to add the “café” category.

However, the operator of the cafe must create his own listing with “café” as his primary category. Make sure you are specific when selecting a category. For instance, choose “hair salon” instead of “salon.” Make sure the information is specific to your prospective customers.

If the information is inaccurate, you won’t have the correct listing score. As a result, your business won’t reach its target customers because it will be graded against other companies in the same category. You can seek help from Sterling And Pope Marketing to streamline the entire process.

Filter Your Mentions

Most companies use a review management platform or software. If you use such software, make sure you don’t go too broad when setting up your mentions. Otherwise, you will pull in many mentions irrelevant to your business. As a result, you will miss the ones that align with your company.

Therefore, it is crucial that the mentions you pull in align with your company and are relevant to your business goals. Moreover, mentions are an excellent way to see what people say about your business.

Take Feedback Constructively

Review websites are safe for many customers to leave their feedback and mention their experience with a particular company. Every business wants positive and 5-star reviews from time to time. However, if you fail to satisfy your customers, it will negatively impact your online reputation management.

For example, if someone feels they had a negative experience with your products, they will post a negative review. So, this can significantly impact your business, leading to decreased sales, bad reputation, poor customer relationships, and lower returns on investments.

When you respond to reviews, consider that review sites are public-facing forums, and your prospective customers will base their purchasing decisions on them. So, respond to reviews appropriately.

If you receive negative reviews or comments, address them apologetically and encourage the user to contact you offline. Sterling and Pope Marketing can help you avoid negative reviews by implementing a solid response strategy.

Contact Sterling and Pope Marketing

Sterling and Pope Marketing is a licensed digital marketing company with experienced professionals. Our online marketing company has assisted hundreds of local businesses in achieving their online reputation goals. Contact us today to discuss your business and decide the best online reputation management strategy.