Negative reviews online about your brand are not just upsetting. They can have a long-lasting impact on your reputation, which, if left to spiral out of control, could be fatal. Managing your online reputation has never been so important, so we’re here to give you some advice for building a positive brand.
Monitoring your company’s online reputation should be a high priority for any business owner. The perception your audience has of your brand can impact how successful you are.
Why do online reviews about my business matter?
Customer reviews are incredibly influential; they shape the way other consumers view your brand. The rise in social media has given consumers an easy platform to share their reviews, experiences and most importantly judgements about your company online. These judgements then pose a strong influence on whether or not consumers decide to buy into your product/company or not.
So it’s inevitable that consumers will be actively reviewing your brand online. And by human nature, fellow consumers will be seeking out these reviews as a means to confirm your credibility and authenticity as a business. With the market saturated with competing brands, these reviews give consumers a reason for choosing your product, rather than your competitors.
How much of an impact do these reviews actually make?
- 78% of people research a product or brand online before making a purchase
- 90% of people trust recommendations from people they DON’T know.
- 80% of customers reverse their purchase after reading a negative review online.
- 75% of online users will click on negative search result rather than positive one if the prior ranks higher
Why is bad always stronger than good?
According to Roy F. Baumeister, a professor of social psychology, it is human nature for us to remember negative experiences in more detail over positive ones. He states, “Bad emotions and bad feedback have more impact than good ones. Bad impressions and bad stereotypes are quicker to form and are more resistant to disconfirmation than good ones.” (NYTimes)
Although it is unfortunate that people are more inclined to share their negative experiences, rather than their positive ones, negative reviews simply don’t happen by accident. Poor customer service for example will make any consumer want to rant about their ‘horror story’ to the world. So it is fundamental that you take preventable steps to avoid and combat negative reviews, as well as focus on cultivating positive ones.
How easy is it to remove negative reviews?
Removing negative reviews is incredibly difficult, and extremely time consuming. It can take months and sometimes years of negotiating with webmasters and search engines to agree that the content violates your company’s rights, such as copyright, trademark infringement, defamation and personal privacy.
Although not impossible, the lengthy process confirms that taking preventable steps to avoid negative reviews being published in the first place is definitely the way forward to building a good online reputation.
How can I cultivate good reviews?
Building a positive online brand takes time and patience, but here are some tips you should start implementing right away:
1) Promote your positive content
If a consumer can’t find the negative reviews, then they can’t influence their decisions. Be sure to include links to press releases in all email correspondence, as well as links to your social media pages and website so they don’t feel the need to Google your company name.
2) Keep creating positive content
The more positive content you have about your company, the more it will help to flood out the negative reviews. So regularly produce and publish content such as blogs, press releases and video content etc, then make sure you promote this content on all of your social media channels. Encourage people to engage with your content by asking them questions and get them to share it, retweet it, like it and follow it. The more engagement your content gets helps to build authenticity and increase its chances of ranking high in Google.
3) Request positive reviews from colleagues
Glassdoor is becoming a strong contender in consumer influence, so it’s time to embrace this platform. Ask your colleagues to leave positive feedback about what it is like working for your company, as this will also have a huge impact on your recruitment, as well as how consumers feel about your company.