Working with online reputation - how not to spoil it?
In the last year there is a clear trend to work with reputation for businesses of all sizes, including for paid services of budgetary institutions. This speaks to how important reviews and ratings have become in the lives of businesses and people in general. Some managers believe that in order to form a positive image of the organization its employees are enough to perform their job duties well. Undoubtedly, the quality of goods, works and services is the cornerstone of a positive reputation. However, effective work in this direction involves the use of other ways.
The psychology of purchasing decisions changes from month to month, but the turning point, when the influence of reputation work on business success has increased, can be considered the time of epidemiological restrictions - the spring of 2020. Since that March, orders, purchases have increasingly been made online. The decision to buy remotely was often made not on the basis of one's own experience, but after studying reviews, customer impressions, because it was impossible to get to the point of sale physically and examine, try out the product or service yourself.
How Ratings and Reputation Affect Profits
Customers see reviews online:
On "review" sites;
on social networks;
on mapping services (Yandex Maps, 2GIS, Google Maps);
on marketplaces;
app stores;
on specialized sites and forums
As a rule, the review is accompanied by an assessment, which affects the final rating of the company or product on the site. The higher the rating, the more likely it is that, all other things being equal, the customer will choose an offer with a higher rating.
In 2020, the Harvard Business School and other respected social media agencies conducted a study with interesting data on the impact of a company's image on its bottom line. It turned out that:
Each star rating boosts sales by 9 percent;
3 out of 4 consumers trust a company if there are positive online reviews about it;
85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations;
60% of consumers say negative reviews have caused them to give up contacting a company or buying a product;
49% of consumers expect to see at least a four-star rating before they contact a company or buy a product.
Companies as it relates to reputation work can be divided into several groups (at a particular point in time):
1. There is negativity about the institution online.
2. There are no reviews of the institution on the Internet.
3. There are positive reviews of the institution on the Internet, but they are few
4. There are quite a few online reviews of the institution, most of them positive or neutral
How can I improve my online reputation?
The first thing to do is to determine if your institution belongs to one of the four classification groups above.
You belong to the first group: you have to work with the negative - to clarify the details of the order procedures that the client did not like, to deal with each negative review and give an official response on behalf of the organization. If within a few weeks you have not received information about the details of the order from the complainant, you can send a request to the support service of the site where the review was posted to remove it as slander, for lack of evidence that such an incident took place.
You belong to the second group: you should start the process of working with reviews and reputation - ask loyal customers to write their opinions, and register company cards on "otzovik.com, irecommend.ru, market.yandex.ru, etc.).
You belong to the third group: use stimulating activities aimed at increasing the number of reviews. This could be "gift-for-review" promotions, posting printed materials asking for feedback on purchases, etc.
You're in the fourth group: keep it up! Continue to track reviews and steadily build up the number of positive reviews.
If you follow these simple rules, you'll have success with your reputation. And the result in the form of increased profits will not be long in coming.
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