Online Reputation Management

Here's a term that's been thrown around a lot these days. In fact, when I mention to anyone that my company helps with Online Reputation Management, they inevitably quiz me on the topic. What is it? How does it work?

Online Reputation Management is the practice of understanding the buzz about a product, person, or even an offline company. An online reputation is just as often good as it is bad. In fact, true online reputation management is essentially public relations in the digital world of instant communications.

There are lots of similarities to the standard tenets of Public Relations, but many phenomenon have been amplified. "It's been said" and many have learned first hand that one positive comment made from one person to another may impact a sale in a positive way. Offline, that may translate to a 1 to 1 ratio. Online, if the information is "shared" through social media etc., it may create a 4:1 ratio (4 sales to every 1 positive comment) as a result of a "viral spread." The dangerous part is the amplification of the negative feedback loop.

In the offline world, the basic marketing principle is that for every one negative comment, it takes somewhere between 9 and 20 positive comments to overtake that one negative comment. Online, the research is still a bit fuzzy, but it seems like that's been amplified to about 90. It's tough to tell when someone specifically doesn't buy as a result of a negative comment or a poor rating.

Not all ratings and negative comments are created equal. I recently wrote about how other factors can affect negative experiences. Since then, Ive had a few other experiences that have colored my suggestions on the matter. I needed to dispose of an old freezer. I know that freon is a bit of a bio hazard, so I was anticipating a little online research to figure out the best way to dispose of it safely. I searched for "appliances (myhometown) tx" and the result was (of course) a Google map with a list of locations near me. I'd heard of a few, but also noticed that there were 11 reviews for a company I'd seen, but never dealt with before. I read the first 5 star rating and felt good about it. I read the next listing- a one star listed and thought "what an idiot" I also kinda didn't believe that it was true. The next one was a 5 star rating and seemed genuine etc... The point is, people are not idiots and if you're going to rant and rave like a lunatic, it's unlikely you'll actually have a negative impact unless your comment drags down an average star rating. Seriously? Do you NEED to use all caps to get your point across? All Caps=lunatic in my book of online etiquette.

I got into an interesting dialogue with the folks over at advanced appliances and even had to convey the unhappy news that they lost their wonderful domain name and had a few negative comments. They were truly interested in repairing the damage that may have been done. In their case, my suggestion was to find the negative results, see if they can figure out who the customers were, and call and apologize and maybe even give them some money back or something like that. Importantly, I also suggested that they not ask them to remove the negative comment. I suggest not bringing it up at all. Just call because it's raining and you're in the habit of calling previous customers who had complained and you're catching up. the chance is good that they'll either try to remove their comment or may report that the company cared enough to call. Notice, I did NOT say they should lie about where they found the complaint. The customer will know- it's just more important to be genuine about your concern for the customer and their happiness. Everyone screws up sometimes. People realize that and I think it's far better to respond, attempt to repair and leave the negative comment alone.

Other negative experiences have a far better chance of damaging companies when the complaints are well thought out, true, and based on a situation that a customer service Representative has absolutely no ability to control. Small local companies can just be genuine, try harder and try to do more good than bad. Large companies are still not nearly careful enough about their business practices especially in a down economy. They simply haven't adapted and are wondering why their shareholder value has been eroding. I got an e-mail from Brinks Home Security a few days ago to announce their name change to Broadview Security. I can say honestly that I still don't really care why they changed their name. I read the e-mail and figured out it was as a result of what they called their "spin off last fall as a separate publicly traded company." OK really? I don't see any value there as a customer. I liked being a "Brinks" customer. That yard sign was the only reason I'd signed up with them in the first place. In fact, I realized that I hadn't actually been using my alarm very much. Actually- I had reviewed this bill last August and nearly cancelled then.

It may seem fairly obvious where this story is going, but lets just say that the "customer loyalty" guy I spoke to wasn't at all concerned that I don't appreciate a contract that automatically renews for a year at a time. You see- last August, I was thinking about completely eliminating my "home" phone and going cell phone only like most of my high tech friends. My security system was preventing me for doing that. When I explained the situation, the very nice customer loyalty person I'd spoken with told me she'd give me free service for three months while they finished working out their online monitoring technology. I thought that sounded pretty good. Then, in December or January, I realized that my bills had resumed and when I called to learn about this wonderful new technology, I was told it would cost me a bunch of money OR I could sign a new three year contract. Yikes. Come on people really? Apparently they just want customers regardless of the "cost." This very nice customer loyalty person tricked me into an automatic renewal for another year. I'm sure they would say that they were clear about it, but I'm STILL not interested in being their customer. In this case, it's probably a customer service issue. It would have been nice if he'd just said, "Oh wow I can see how it would seem that way. It looks like you got kinda hosed." I wouldn't have minded if he'd even said something like, "We're a pretty big company and sometimes our policies may seem a little strange, but it's a pretty common business practice." Pretty much anything that showed that he cared about the way I felt like I'd been treated.

I truly wish that companies were able to understand that their customers are people and people want to enjoy things, try new products, feel safe, find good services, and all the other things that go along with being a consumer. Most people I know don't want to be tricked or treated poorly. If you're concerned about what to do or what not to do regarding your online reputation, my best advice is to be human first. Then figure out ways to communicate that policy to your customers. It's just the right thing to do.