How to Manage Brand Reputation | A Complete Guide

Have you ever been excited to buy something only to find bad reviews or a negative company image? Reputation management is one of the most overlooked concepts in modern marketing. Often, making or breaking your reputation can mean record-breaking performance or nothing at all. The question is, what is reputation management, and how can you use it to your advantage?

Key Takeaways

What reputation management really is,
How to take actionable steps towards reputation management, and
Where you can manage your brand’s reputation.

👀 No More than Meets the Eye

When it comes to reputation management, there’s more than meets the eye, but the meaning never changes. Quite simply, reputation management is the management of one’s reputation. Yes, read that one more time. In other words, it could even be considered a part of public relations. Some of the most successful brands have the best reputation management, and here’s how you can too.

🏃Getting Actionable

Start with the social media and eCommerce accounts you already have. Are people leaving comments on your Instagram posts? Are they leaving reviews in your online store? Locations like this are great places to look when starting out.

When someone leaves negative feedback, publicly respond asking what you could have done better. Consider offering a next-time discount, or even a full refund. Although it’s never fun to respond to negative feedback, reputation management also requires you to respond to positive feedback! Make sure you are having fun engaging with your customer base.

💻 Reputable Management Platforms

If you’re looking to get started today, below you will find a list of the best locations to carry out reputation management activities.

Google Business reviews

Google business reviews are often the first ones customers see (especially for physical locations). If you have google business, they appear on the side of search results under maps.

Yelp Reviews

Yelp is infamous for hosting customer reviews that are negative, but it can also be a good indicator of your true performance. Publicly offer discounts or fixes to customer problems through responses to reviews.

Amazon, eBay, other Ecommerce

Make sure to check the reviews of products periodically. Whenever a bad review comes in, see what you can do to help.

Clutch

Clutch is great for bigger or funded companies. It’s comprehensive and allows your customer to leave detailed reviews. Consider ending your client experience (before they review) with a small gift or on a positive note.

Angie’s List

Angie’s list is a great alternative review platform for local, in-person services. The platform has an ethos of trust, so be sure to build a good reputation if using this platform.

📄 In Conclusion

Reputation management can either make or break your brand, but it’s not just about bad reviews. It’s about the management of your public reputation as a whole, good and bad. Start with the social media and eCommerce accounts you already have, then work towards other platforms.

📽️ Watch the Full Video on Youtube

“Reputation management is exactly what it sounds like. It’s managing your digital reputation. That online reputation can either be a good one, or a bad one.”

Dick Polipnick

“Whether it’s bumping that 4 stars on yelp to 5 stars, or reaching out to negative reviews and fixing their issue.”

Dick Polipnick

“A good reputation manager fixes the issue, a great reputation manager improves the issue.”

Dick Polipnick

“You don’t want to deal with just the negative reviews. You want to do reputation management across the board. Ask what you can do to get your review from a 4 star to a 5 star.”

Dick Polipnick

About the Host

Dick Polipnick

Founder and Chief Growth Officer of Online Growth Systems

Dick Polipnick is the Founder of Online Growth Systems, a media company that helps big-name brands turn their e-commerce businesses to profit and advises high-growth, venture-backed startups.

The National Federation of Independent Business named him a top “Young Entrepreneur of the Year”, AdFed listed him on “32 Under 32”, and he’s been featured on and collaborated with Business.com, Nickelodeon Studios, World Wide Fund for Nature, Clean Energy Resource, and more.