What is Reputation Management?
Reputation management is the practice of shaping public perception of your company’s brand (usually online). Unfortunately for businesses, human thinking has evolved in a way to respond to negativity more readily than positivity. This “negativity bias” results in more clicks and views of bad news (such as poor reviews for a company) than good news. What does that mean for you and your business?
Overcoming Negativity Bias With Online Marketing
Human brains recall negative memories much more vividly than positive ones. As online marketers, we strive to create a positive message associated with your company’s brand, though the science seems to suggest that a negative message would get more search traffic. So, how can and do we use negativity bias to portray a positive image of your company?
Focus on the Positive
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Instead of focusing on negative reviews, think about how you provide value to the community through your company. Many of our clients are service-based companies, and a negative review isn’t always reflective of the reality of the experience for both parties. Instead, these reviews tend to promote a one-sided description of an exchange. Focusing on and developing positive reviews and the many great experiences your customers have had will do more to enhance your company’s reputation than “getting rid of” or publicly contradicting a poor review.
Real-Time Marketing
Another great way to overcome negativity bias is to respond quickly and effectively to any instances of negativity in your business. Potential customers appreciate a business that is willing to admit to and fix their mistakes. When your company approaches a lousy situation and brings a positive outcome out of it, that does wonders for your brand’s image.
Positive to Negative: A Ratio
Since a single negative review impacts a business much more than a single positive review due to negativity bias, you need more positive reviews than negative reviews to balance the perception of your brand. Some studies have suggested that it takes at least five positive reviews to counteract a negative review. At the same time, other research claims that you need at least forty positive reviews to counteract a single negative review. That’s where we come in.
Effective Web Solutions’ Review Doctor App
One of the best ways to combat negativity bias when it comes to your company’s online presence is to actively engage in reputation management, which incorporates all of the above strategies. Katie Richards, our in-house reputation management expert, says that our Review Doctor app is a “unique opportunity to approach and solve negative customer experiences before those experiences result in a negative online review.”
How Review Doctor Works
Our app helps our clients promote their positive reviews while having the opportunity to respond to a negative review before it affects your company’s brand and web presence. Review Doctor allows you to respond directly to unhappy customers before they make their opinions public. You cannot erase negative reviews, but you can reduce the number of them and change the way you respond to them, all while improving your brand’s reputation.
More High-Quality Reviews
We have over a decade of experience in internet marketing, and our experience shows us that positive reviews can quickly outweigh negative reviews. Our reputation management team gets your company more high-quality reviews, which translates into a higher customer conversion rate. The higher your star-rating on sites such as Google, Yelp, and Angie’s List, the more likely you are to have potential customers click on your business’s website or call your office for an appointment.
How To Get Started With Reputation Management at Effective Web Solutions
If you’re ready to boost your company’s presence online and improve the number of positive reviews on Yelp, Google, and elsewhere, contact us today by filling out our contact form or giving us a call. We can’t wait to work with you!