How to Manage Online Reputation

Social media and review sites have significantly influenced the online reputation of many agencies, contributing to both their success and downfall.

The stories told about your brand on social media can either make or break your business. Just one negative review from an unhappy client can have a devastating impact on your reputation.

This is why effective online reputation management has become crucial, especially for businesses with multiple locations, as nearly all consumers rely on reviews and social media to research companies.

Global executives estimate that, on average, 63% of their company’s market value is tied to its overall reputation. That makes sense, considering that an overwhelming majority (89%) of consumers make an effort to consult online reviews before purchasing a product.

Nearly all of them believe what they see online about your brand. 

Before diving into how you can manage online reputation, let's redefine it for better understanding. 

Online reputation is the overall impression that search engine results, reviews, ratings, and social media portray of your business in its locations. 

Since your online reputation precedes you, no matter your current standing, there’s always room for improvement. You have the ability to influence how people view your brand.

About 49% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. So, if you run a multi-location business, gaining customer trust and driving more sales should be top priorities. A positive online reputation is essential to achieving these goals. By consistently maintaining and enhancing your reputation, you're already halfway toward building strong credibility and reaching long-term success.

Read on to learn why online reviews management is important for agencies and how you can take control of yours. 

Why Take Control of Your Online Reputation

In this highly connected world, while you can’t control what people say about your brand, you do have control over how you respond. 

Reviews provide invaluable insights into where your services excel and where they may lag. Moreover, they offer a competitive edge and attract potential clients. 

A PowerReviews survey revealed that nearly half (45%) of online shoppers won’t purchase from a brand without reviews. Worse still, if customers are dissatisfied with one location, they might avoid your entire brand, not just that particular branch. Negative reviews can snowball, drastically increasing the chances of losing potential clients across all your locations. This is why it is essential to manage online reputation effectively. Your ability to address concerns, show responsiveness, and maintain a positive public image can make all the difference in building lasting trust with your audience.

Here are some important reasons why individuals who run a multi-location brand should manage their online reputation.

Online Reputation Impacts Trust

Since your online reputation encompasses all the stories being told about your services, there is no doubt that a good reputation is crucial for building trust with your clients.

Clients are heavily influenced by what they see online, so online reputation management is essential for gaining new clients, retaining existing ones, and boosting your sales.

A good reputation will increase your online visibility, attract new clients, and strengthen trust with your existing ones. Positive reviews and profiles help you stand out and can lead to more business.

A Positive Reputation Will Create a Strong Competitive Advantage

A good online reputation will give you an advantage over other competitors in the game. Positive reviews and high ratings will help you build loyalty quickly with potential customers and can help you retain them. 

Online reviews management in review sites and social media can also boost your brand awareness and give you a valuable edge, helping you to attract more clients than others. 

Moreover, actively engaging on review sites and social media platforms can enhance your brand's visibility and credibility. Responding to customer feedback, both positive and negative, demonstrates that you value their input and are committed to continuous improvement. 

By consistently nurturing your online reputation, you gain a valuable edge in attracting more clients, retaining them longer, and fostering long-term business relationships. This can significantly boost your brand awareness, making you the preferred choice in your industry.

Online Reputation Can Build Your Brand Image and Perception

How your brand is portrayed online through reviews, social profiles, and search results will impact how potential clients perceive it. A good reputation signifies that you are reliable, offer high-quality content, and, most importantly, provide great customer service.

Consistently earning positive reviews on platforms like Google, Facebook, and niche review sites can strengthen your credibility, especially if you are a brand owner with multiple locations.

When potential clients see that others have had positive experiences with your brand, they are more likely to choose your products or services over those of your competitors. 

Investing in your reputation monitoring is not just about managing perceptions—it's a strategic move that can drive growth, customer loyalty, and everlasting success.

Provides More Control Over Your Online Presence

When you maintain a complete profile and manage online reputation across search engines and listings, you will have full control over the information disseminated online about your brand. This will enable you to promptly address inaccurate or outdated content and provide the right message.

When you have control over your online reputation, you can shape narratives about your brand. You can highlight positive aspects, share success stories, and showcase clients’ testimonials, all these can contribute to building a stronger online reputation. 

Regular reputation monitoring also allows you to keep track of clients’ reviews and mentions so you can respond on time. When clients see that you are engaged and responsive, you are more likely to see your brand as reliable and customer-focused. 

Online Reputation Attracts Qualified Leads

Reviews serve as powerful social proof. Positive reviews and high ratings can attract new prospects without costing you any fees, and it will be much easier to convert a one-time visitor into a long-term loyal client when you have a good reputation.

Online reviews management over reliable sources like Google will help you target ads that encourage past clients to share their experiences and provide testimonials about your work for and with them.

Increase Client Satisfaction

Proactively seeking reviews shows that you care about satisfying your clients’ needs. Additionally, following up after a project to learn about pain points can help you refine your services.

By taking steps to manage online reputation, you can resolve issues openly, which builds confidence, while closing surveys demonstrate that you’ve learned from the experience. Personalized post-purchase communications will make your clients feel valued, increasing their loyalty and satisfaction, which in turn leads to more referrals and revenue.

Demonstrates Your Customer Service

As a business owner with multiple locations, prioritizing excellent customer service is essential for promoting referrals. When you actively manage online reputation by responding to all reviews—both positive and negative—you send a clear message to your clients that you value their feedback.

Addressing even minor complaints can help prevent client loss and enhance your overall customer service. Additionally, handling complaints privately and professionally can transform unhappy customers into loyal advocates.

A Positive Reputation Will Boost Your Search Engine Visibility 

Over time, online searches have become the initial step in acquiring new clients, making visibility in search results crucial for your business. Regularly managing your business profiles on major listing sites can enhance your local SEO ranking, allowing you to reach more clients organically.

Enhance Marketing and Advertising Results

Online reputation management serves as a powerful marketing tool, enhancing your other efforts and yielding a higher return on investment (ROI). Positive reviews and profiles make it easier to retarget customers with special offers.

Creating content that showcases your specialized services can help establish your authority as an industry expert. Additionally, engaging with clients on social media allows you to transform discussions into brand advocacy.

Surveys can further help you understand genuine customer needs, which you can incorporate into your advertising strategies. Altogether, these actions expand your reach and improve the effectiveness of your marketing efforts over time.

A Positive Online Reputation Will Attract Top Talents

The impact of online reputation management goes beyond ratings and reviews, leading to more clients. Having a positive online reputation demonstrates that you are a leader in your niche with satisfied clients and a positive work environment.

This can attract skilled candidates who want to work for a successful brand.

Your online reputation can also spike a feeling of fulfillment in your current employees, making them feel proud to work for a well-known brand, which can motivate them to perform well and provide excellent services.

Improves Internal Processes 

Feedback from clients is an excellent way for you to identify shortcomings in your service delivery and make amends where necessary. This will prevent recurring mistakes and positively impact continuous improvement in your service delivery.

Additionally, by taking the time to manage online reputation and actively seeking and responding to feedback, you can generate positive reviews that streamline your workflow, resource allocation, and technology investment. Positive feedback from clients and the industry can directly contribute to this process.

Enable Data-Driven Decision Making

Online reputation management tools will provide continuous information on reviews, social activity, keyword rankings, and more. This detailed data offers deep insights into customer preferences, helping you optimize your services. 

Comparing your performance to competitors can reveal opportunities for differentiation. Feedback can also help you fine-tune your reputation campaigns. 

Trends in customer sentiment can indicate changes in satisfaction, guiding process improvements. These insights are essential for creating personalized digital experiences and strategic planning for long-term growth. 

Steps to Manage Your Online Reputation 

Online reputation management is not a one-time task, it is a step-by-step process that has to be followed efficiently. 

Here are steps you can take to manage online reputation: 

Step 1: Consistent Management 

The first strategy for managing your online reputation is to control it, as it is already in action. You can do this by monitoring your service keywords across various review sites, social media platforms, blog sites, and other sources. This will allow you to filter out the positive and negative comments about all your brand locations online. 

You can conduct reputation monitoring by: 

• Using Google alerts for tracking your keywords relating to your business. 

• Monitoring tracks frequently with the most commonly used social networking sites, such as Facebook, Instagram, and X (earlier known as Twitter). 

• Monitoring any query concerning any of your brand locations on the search engines. 

• To gain more detailed results, it is recommended to use an online reputation management tool. 

You have to keep this process ongoing to continue to learn from the client’s feedback and to notice them promptly. This process enables one to identify weaknesses and opportunities that could help one remain active. 

Step 2: Reply to the Online Reviews 

After identifying negative and positive comments through monitoring, the next step in online reputation management is to provide a thoughtful and professional response.

Responding professionally and diligently to reviews demonstrates that you genuinely care for your customers.

Here are some good practices for responding to reviews: 

• For each comment made, whether positive or negative, be sure to reply to show that you are acknowledging the feedback and are concerned. 

• To any negative review, the first basic reaction should be prompt and non-defensive. Other guidelines include responding professionally, politely, and as courteously as possible. 

• When dealing with negative feedback, it should be handled carefully for several reasons, especially because the feedback has pointed out a valid mistake that needs to be corrected.

• Provide relevant solutions and compensation if needed. 

• When clients make this kind of contact, most will be eager to receive a response to their concern within a 48-hour timeframe. You should meet this expectation to provide a satisfactory solution to their negative reviews and manage online reputation.

Step 3: Interact With Clients on Social Media Platforms

Social media has expanded significantly to be the primary medium for online reputation management that can impact your brand in all locations, either positively or negatively.

You can engage with your clients on social media by: 

• Develop daily social media posts about services that you can deliver. 

• Replying to clients’ questions, feedback, and negative feedback. 

• Ensuring clients give positive feedback and testimonies about the services being offered. 
  

Social media is a platform where clients interact; using it to engage with your potential clients can enhance your visibility in selected communities. 

Step 4: Build a Way on How to Monitor and Maintain Search Engine Ranking 

While it is always beneficial to consider online reviews management and feedback from customers about the products and services you offer, it is equally, if not more, valuable to focus on search engine optimization and make that first impression count.

You must assume and work with the understanding that ranking higher on search engines can lead to significant growth in potential clients.

Identify the search terms related to your service, location, and other factors that clients are likely to search for.

Backlinking is another important aspect of SEO that needs attention. If you obtain quality backlinks from other sites related to your niche and from authoritative sites within the industry, search engines will regard you as an authority in that particular niche.

SEO should be conducted regularly to ensure that your organic search visibility is strong and that prospective clients can find you online across multiple locations. 

Step 5: Use Online Reputation Management Software 

To efficiently and professionally manage your online presence, it's essential to regularly check all aspects of the process and take appropriate action when needed.

Instead of relying on traditional methods, you can manage online reputation by utilizing effective tools and services. 

These tools offer comprehensive reputation-tracking solutions that allow you to monitor and respond to negative comment threads effectively. 

With these resources, tracking reviews from various platforms becomes more manageable, enabling you to engage with your clients and build trust and credibility.

Reputation monitoring empowers you to control your brand image by identifying trends, understanding client sentiment regarding your services, and minimizing the impact of any negative comments you encounter.

It's important to note that these tools are incredibly beneficial, simplifying the process of online reputation management and maintaining positive relationships with your customers.

You can achieve this by tracking your service keywords across review sites, social media, blogs, and other platforms. This will help you identify positive and negative discussions about your brand across all your online locations. 

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Summing Up

In conclusion, managing your online reputation is crucial, especially in today’s landscape, where clients thoroughly research brands before choosing products and services.

However, consistently delighting your clients with exceptional service while also monitoring and addressing feedback posted publicly online can be both time-consuming and challenging. 

Handling these tasks manually can often lead to inefficiencies, making it essential to acquire and set up an integrated solution that automates reputation tracking and provides actionable insights. This is where a dedicated online reputation management tool like Synup becomes invaluable.

Synup is a comprehensive reputation platform that allows you to take control of your digital presence. Its reputation monitoring tool aggregates reviews from various sources such as Google, Facebook, and Trustpilot, alerting you to both positive and negative feedback in real time.

With Synup, you gain the ability to shape online conversations, develop a deeper understanding of your clients, and enhance your credibility—all of which can contribute to long-term growth. Book a demo today to learn more about the program.

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How to Manage Online Reputation: FAQs

How often should I monitor my online reputation? 

Reviews can arrive at any moment, and most clients anticipate receiving a response from you shortly after they submit their comments.

When you manage online reputation regularly, you will be able to detect and address issues promptly before they escalate. Quick responses will help you manage issues efficiently and prevent any damage to your reputation.

What can I do about negative reviews? 

There is no way to satisfy all your clients completely, so you should expect negative reviews just as much as you expect positive ones. When there is a positive review, you should address it politely and professionally.

Thank the clients for bringing your lapses to your attention and outline the steps you will or have taken to resolve the issue without becoming defensive. Reassure the client that the mistake will not occur again and offer to follow up if needed to ensure their long-term satisfaction.

How long does it take to enhance my online reputation? 

There is no exact timeline for potential improvement. Seeing improvement in your online reputation may take days, weeks, or even months. It all depends on various factors, particularly the volume of less-than-ideal reviews from clients.

Is it possible to remove every bad review about my brand from the internet?

Unfortunately, eradicating all unfavorable feedback from the internet is not achievable. While you can ask the site administrator to remove specific negative content, there is no guarantee that such requests will be honored in every instance. The permanence and reach of online content make it challenging to ensure that all negative reviews are erased.