Reputation Repair Strategies for Your Business

E-reputation or online reputation refers to the perception that Internet users have of a brand or company based on all the elements present on the Internet (website, blog, opinions, reviews, recommendations, etc.).

These days, almost everyone use search engines to obtain information before making a purchase decision and your e-reputation is likely to influence the potential buyer positively or negatively.

• What does your brand reflect on the web?
• What do your customers say about your offer?
• What are their opinions on the quality of your customer service?
• What is your positioning in relation to your competitors?

Here are a few tips to help you set up your e-Business Reputation management effectively.

E-Reputation Strategies for Your Business

The construction of your e-reputation depends on several factors:

• Consumers: they are the most important factors in building your online reputation. Through their reviews, word-of-mouth or through their comments on the web, they are able to boost or slow down your sales through the reputation they build around your brand. Their main tools are social networks, online sales sites and blogs. It is very important to monitor what is being said about your business and many companies use a community manager to manage their e-reputation;

• Your company: it can implement a strategy to produce quality content (articles, videos, e-mail, etc.) in order to give a positive image to consumers and prospects;
Influencers: these are people with a certain notoriety among Internet users. They may also be specialists in your field of activity. They are often followed by a large community that they influence through their opinions and recommendations.

How to manage your e-reputation

When you consider that 85% of consumers make purchases on the Internet and that 80% of them investigate before buying, managing your company’s image on the Internet is no longer an option but a necessity.

1. Communicate Frequently

Ongoing communication is essential to maintain a good e-reputation, it can be translated for example by the production of articles for blogs or relevant content to feed your pages on social networks. This will help maintain a positive image with consumers. It is possible to entrust this mission to a community manager within the company or to call upon a communication agency.
Either way, it is important to put in place communication rules or charters to avoid the publication of contradictory information about the company, which could considerably damage your reputation.

Another important aspect is to be receptive to the expectations of Internet users and respond to their various concerns. You must be alert to comments, whether positive or negative, and respond quickly. If a consumer is not satisfied with your offer and communicates his or her dissatisfaction, you must manage within minutes of the complaint through effective communication. This is why your team must be active on the web and maintain a permanent watch.

2. Some effective tools to manage your e-reputation

In addition to consulting the opinions on search engines, certain tools are very effective in ensuring your e-reputation:

• Google Alerts: this tool allows you to find out which site mentions your brand in its content or to find out what is being said about your company and its managers.

• Mention.net: this is a tool similar to Google Alerts. Very complete, it has the advantage of monitoring your web pages and your profiles on social networks. In addition, it allows you to keep an eye on your competitors.

• Hootsuite: specialized in social media management, it lets you know what is being said about you on Facebook or Twitter for example and offers you the possibility to interact directly with subscribers.

• Alerti: it combines the analysis of conversations about your company on websites and social networks, the impact of the quality of your products on consumers and notifications to keep you informed wherever you are.

• Owler: it’s a tool that allows you to find out your competitors’ e-reputations and compare yourself on different criteria.