A reputation x article describes reputation management as the following:
Here is our definition of reputation management:
Reputation management is the effort to influence what and how people think of a brand or person.
The above definition covers what reputation management is at its core. But of course, there is much more to it. In this section, we’ll build out this nascent definition of reputation management by explaining seven critical aspects:
1. Reputation management happens mostly online
You cannot control what a person thinks. But you can control what they see, which in turn shapes the way they think.
A vast amount of communication happens online. We meet friends, we solve disagreements, we discover new businesses, and we read the news. We even spend our leisure time online. It’s inevitable, therefore, that reputation management happens mostly in the online space; in fact, the terms reputation management and online reputation management are now virtually synonymous.
So reputation management happens online because that’s where the majority of our communication happens. But there’s another reason as well, in the online world one doesn’t focus on changing minds individually, instead arbiters of reputation like Google, Yelp, online publications and YouTube are often targeted.
2. Reputation affects sales and marketing
Reputation management as a practice resides within the wide world of sales and marketing. Why? Because what people think of a brand influences everything about that brand. It’s nearly impossible to sell a product to a clientele that doesn’t trust or believe in your brand.
With a good reputation management plan, you can clear the way for positive messages to have the maximum effect. The better your reputation, the better your conversion rate.
3. Online reputation is essential for a business’s survival
We’re not overstating the case when we write that reputation management is essential for a company’s survival. Enron vanished in the wake of corruption and the ensuing public relations backlash. Other giants like BP, Wells Fargo, and United Airlines have been able to withstand reputation blowups, but not without serious costs.
These are all examples of how the emergence of online communication platforms has made reputation more delicate. Whereas before people who had a bad experience with a business may have only told a few close friends, now they have the ability to publish their views online, where they can reach thousands, even millions of people. These days, a single badly handled situation can quickly plunge a company into bankruptcy.