A lot of business owners decide to manage the reputation and image of their brands by themselves. However, when they do that, they often tend to end up leaving the company vulnerable to the Internet, and what consumers are saying about the brand online. However, if a company decides to take more charge of its digital identity, it’s important to do so as soon as possible, because the reputation of a company is how the general public thinks about the brand. Given the fact that the Internet tends to have a big effect on the way that people think, it’s important for companies to take digital reputation into consideration.
Importance
At every stage of the buying journey, from brand awareness to consideration, making a purchasing decision, and even long-term brand loyalty, the reputation of a company is incredibly important. These days, most consumers tend to have a lot of information at the tip of their fingers, which means they’re easily able to look up any information that they might need about a company before making any sort of purchasing decision. In fact, over 90% of customers have stated that they are a lot more likely to make a purchasing decision with a company, as long as the company has received positive reviews from other customers. On the other hand, over 80% of customers have stated that they are going to be a lot less likely to do business with a brand that’s received negative reviews. However, it’s important for companies to remember that both positive and negative reviews don’t suddenly show up for people that want to see more reviews. These reviews can show up whenever a potential customer looks up the company on a search engine when they are trying to find the company’s website or a specific solution from that business. If the search engine results show those potential customers any negative articles, videos, comments, or even posts on social media platforms, they might decide against purchasing from that company.
Improvements
There are a few strategies companies can always rely on if they want to improve their brand or reputation, specifically in digital spaces. That means, companies have to make sure that anyone that they engage with is able to show off the company in a positive manner because this can have a direct impact on the company’s credibility and reputation. More specifically, companies have to be mindful of the individuals and other businesses that they work with and ensure that their values and standards are similar to the company’s own ones. Another way that companies can improve their brand reputation online is by keeping an eye on what people are saying in digital spaces on a regular basis through social listening platforms. By keeping track of comments and mentions, companies get an opportunity to respond to both positive and negative comments that will improve their reputation at the end of the day.
