What Is Reputation Management and Why Does Your Company Need It?

Did you know that 90 percent of consumers will read online reviews before visiting a particular business? Do you want to ensure that the reviews people are reading about your St. Louis business are positive? If so, you may want to start taking online reputation management more seriously. What is reputation management, though? Why does it matter, and why should you hire a professional to help you with it? Read on to get answers to all of these questions.

What Is Reputation Management?

Online reputation management (sometimes referred to as ORM) is all about controlling the online narrative surrounding your business.

A big part of your online reputation is the reviews you receive from past customers. However, it’s not just your business’s reviews that people pay attention to. They also take into account the way you respond to those reviews.

Consumers will take note of the impression you make when you engage with current and potential customers, as well as the steps you take to counteract trends that may cause people to develop unfavorable opinions about your business.

Why Does It Matter?

There are lots of reasons why you need to make your online reputation a priority. The following are some of the most pressing reasons to keep in mind:

First Stop, the Internet

These days, the internet is the first place people go when they’re looking for a particular business. If you don’t have a good reputation online, there’s a good chance people are going to find out about it before they visit your business.

It’s best to assume that people are going to see your online reviews before they see your store in-person, so it’s a good idea to make sure those reviews reflect well on your business.

Increase Profits

There’s a connection between positive online reviews and company profits, too.

In fact, the results of a recent Harvard study showed that, for every one-star increase a restaurant received in their Yelp rating, they saw their revenue increase by 5-9 percent.

If you want your business to earn more money (and who doesn’t want that), you need to pay attention to what people are saying about you online.

Enhance Your Credibility

People associate a positive online reputation with credibility and trustworthiness.

If someone sees online that the reviews for your business are generally positive, they’re going to be more interested in buying what you’re selling and may be more inclined to choose your business over one of your competitors.

Improve Search Engine Rankings

The better your online reviews are and the more positive things people have to say about your business, the better your search engine rankings are likely to be.

When your search engine rankings improve, it’s easier for people to find your business online. This, in turn, can lead to more traffic (both online and in-person) and increases in sales.

Improve Local SEO

Positive online reviews (and a good overall online reputation) are especially important for smaller, local businesses.

Many small businesses have struggled to keep up in the digital age and separate themselves from their competition. With a positive online reputation, though, your business will be more likely to show up in local search results and local online directories.

This can help you attract more local customers, as well as people who are visiting your city and want to experience the best that it has to offer.

Attract Better Employees

In addition to attracting more customers to your business, a good online reputation management strategy can also help you attract better employees.

People who are searching for jobs often look online to see what people have to say about a particular business. If they see that your company is beloved by your customers, they may be more interested in working for you.

The more people you have vying for positions within your company, the more choices you’ll have and the easier it’ll be for you to find high-quality workers to help you continue growing and improving your business.

Why Hire an Online Reputation Management Company?

Clearly, managing your online reputation is important. Where do you begin when it comes to improving your reputation, though?

If you’re totally lost when it comes to managing your reputation, you may want to work with an online reputation management agency.

These businesses bring a lot to the table for your St. Louis business, including the following benefits:

Save Time

As a business owner, you don’t have a lot of spare time on your hands. There’s also a very good chance that you don’t have the bandwidth needed to learn the best tactics for managing your online reputation.

If you don’t have the time to master these skills, you’re better off outsourcing it to someone who does. This will free you up to focus on other aspects of your business, but you’ll get to enjoy peace of mind knowing the job is being handled.

Work with Experts

When you hire an agency to help you manage your online reputation, you get to work with industry experts. These people know all the best strategies to use to improve your reputation and help you stop negative patterns before they damage your business for good.

Cover All Your Bases

Reputation management experts can also help you ensure you’re covering all your bases. They’ll leave no stone unturned and will help you to improve your reputation and the impression you give off on all online platforms, from review sites to social media.

Start Managing Your Online Reputation Today

As you can see, good reputation management practices are essential if you want to improve your brand image and ensure people see your business in a positive light.

Now that you have an answer to the question “what is reputation management?” do you want to enjoy the benefits it has to offer? Do you not have time to come up with your own strategy? If so, we can help at Studio C5.

We’re dedicated to helping St. Louis businesses improve their online reputation, boost their SEO, and expand their reach.

If these sound like things you could use help with, contact us today to learn more about our services.

Also, consider our free Local SEO Health Audit report as it includes a reputation management assessment amongst other beneficial data to help you optimize your domain to help your business grow!