Because of the advances in digital technology, it has never been easier to reach a global market. These days, there are many companies heavily reliant on the internet to do business, and this doesn’t come without its problems. Lots of companies do not have the authority and online presence on the most important search engines like Google and Yahoo. For management teams that are desperately trying to find solutions, here are several tips to help safeguard business interests in the international digital marketplace.
Online Reputation Management
Online Reputation Management (ORM) is a proactive strategy that directs the marketing of an enterprise’s online image. This is done by using a constant stream of positive content, to reinforce trust and create a number of methods for customers to deliver feedback. By doing a fast Google search, it is extremely easy for a company to ascertain whether it needs ORM. If there are too many ‘negative’ links and unrelated results that have nothing to do with your company, then it is likely that you need ORM.
Establish your business on the Web
The whole idea of Online Reputation Management is to create a business entity with a legitimate website to attract visitors. To attain this important goal, there is a need to produce content that is both regularly updated and useful to the people it is aimed at. It is so easy in the digital age that we live in for negative information to spiral out of control. ORM will reduce the odds against the likeness of negative content being seen by potential clients, and scaring them off.
Managing online image
There are rules that if followed, can help a company’s online profile. These are:
Make it easy for customers to contact you and be 100 per cent transparent in your dealings
- To be up to date is paramount, so it is vital that contact information is accurate
- Social media sites like Twitter and Facebook have never been more important and are a ‘must have’ presence for any firm wishing to compete in the online market
- The content of your site must be relevant to your visitor profile and provide accurate and entertaining information. It should also be consistent over a period of time.
- Results are useless unless they are regularly accessed
Research shows that customers trust reviews left by the general public, so these must be encouraged. There is no substitute for content that is of the finest quality.
The development of a highly trained, efficient and friendly customer service team goes a long way to dampen any negative comments at the source. If a visitor goes away from an online store satisfied by his customer service experience, he is highly unlikely to give a bad review. Customer service teams can turn negatives into positives, and their value is priceless.
There is a difference between ORM and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). SEO is focused on keeping a website or content as high up the rankings as possible, but ORM is the way to manipulate how customers view a business’s online image. It is fantastic to have a website that is optimised perfectly, but in real terms, this is meaningless if there are lots of negative reviews. In the vice-versa situation, it is not good to have many glowing reviews if your web in difficult to find.
Businesses these days must strive to reach a balance between SEO and ORM. Having a fabulous online reputation is a very efficient platform to convey your brand message, but this can only be fully achieved by attention to detail.
