The Internet has become a new reality in which businesses operate. Previously, companies started with the offline market and only then went online. Today, the opposite often happens, and some businesses do not operate offline at all.
Opinions about companies and products are now also formed online. According to a study by Bright Local , 91% of consumers say that positive online reviews influence their decision to buy a product or order a service from a brand, and 15% do not trust companies that have no reviews.
Colleagues from the ORM agency Sidorin Lab told us how a brand’s online reputation is formed, why it needs to be managed, even if you have a small business, and shared recommendations.
Why Online Reputation Matters for Business
Online reputation is a comprehensive image administration directors email lists of a company on the Internet, which is formed on the basis of:
- customer reviews;
- ratings on marketplaces;
- mentions in social networks and media;
- media content about the company.
A positive reputation does not form on its own ; it needs to be worked on using ORM (Online Reputation Management).
Who needs ORM :
- for both small and medium-sized pay attention to everything visual businesses, as well as large businesses;
- both startups and mature projects;
- both companies and individuals;
- both marketers and HR specialists.
How Online Reputation Affects Brand Trust
The importance of online reputation is well illustrated whatsapp data by the concept of ZMOT (Zero Moment of Truth), which shows how the process of choosing products has changed with the advent of the Internet.
Previously, a person who needed to buy something went directly to a store or for a service. Now there is an intermediate link: a preliminary search for information about the product on the Internet. The consumer first reads reviews and overviews, watches videos, asks for recommendations and compares brands.
It turns out that before buying, the consumer forms an opinion about a number of brands based on their reputation on the Internet. After buying, he shares his impressions on the Internet, thus influencing the choice of others.
For example, like this: the image shows one of the most popular review sites in the Russian Federation in the category “Business and consumer services – Other”, with a monthly audience of more than 30 (!) million visitors.