The business world can be a fickle place. With the click of a button, you can go from being the hottest viral sensation to having no one talking about you at all or — worse yet — talking negatively about you.
It can be extremely frustrating for a business that’s currently looking to scale, or even simply keep its customers happy to have its reputation tarnished. With reputation management, businesses can regain a more positive foothold with the public and continue to build their business and keep customers satisfied.
What is Reputation Management?
Reputation management, or reputation marketing, is the process of monitoring and improving your company’s or brand’s online reputation. It differs from traditional brand management in that it focuses on public perception rather than marketing efforts alone.
Brand management can include advertising campaigns, events, sponsorships, and more — all things that impact the image of a company but don’t necessarily affect its reputation with customers.
There are two types of reputation that companies and solo entrepreneurs need to take into consideration: capability reputation and character reputation. With capability reputations, people may like you, as a person, but the faith in your capabilities to provide a service or the quality of your product remains in question. With character reputation, the opposite is true; your product may pass muster, but your character is the problem.
Scott Bartnick, CEO of Otter PR, leads a team of reputation management specialists who have helped businesses and brands who have seen their online reputation tarnished redeem themselves. “We get the business back on track with online reviews, removing negative articles and links and creating positive buzz through our proprietary methodology,” Bartnick explains.
Negative reputations online can stop a business from scaling dead in its tracks, harming future job prospects and sales, as well as destroying new opportunities. Online reputations are important to consumers, with 84% of consumers trusting online reviews as much as they would a recommendation from a friend.
“A good reputation is one of the most valuable assets a company can have to attract new customers and retain the customers you have already earned,” Bartnick says.
Otter PR’s Approach to Reputation Management
Bartnick and his team of media professionals at Otter PR have constructed a specific approach to how they manage and repair clients’ reputations, utilizing a combination of techniques to remove and suppress negative links while creating and promoting positive links for clients. Through establishing high-authority feature articles and positive media for clients, they have mastered the art of crafting a positive online reputation.
In this age of “cancel culture,” reputation management has become more important than ever. Whatever one may think about the merits of cancel culture, the fact remains that businesses — as well as solo entities like entrepreneurs and thought leaders — need to be prepared for the potential impact it could have on their ventures.
Otter PR keeps its fingers on the pulse of cultural trends and trending topics so it can best lead its clients down the path of positive feedback. They also have a solid plan in place for clients who need it the most, whether their negative reputations are warranted or not.
“An effective crisis plan will map out what communication is required, staff members need to be involved, and what channels will be utilized,” explains Bartnick.
Businesses that want to grow and prosper must be concerned with online reputation management. Those that take the time to cultivate a positive reputation will find themselves in an influential position, ready to rise to the top of their industries.
With the assistance of a robust reputation management plan, businesses needn’t worry about the devastating effects of negative reviews. They can carry on with the business of being awesome at what they do.
