Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Customer Centricity
• Transforming CX
• Online Reputation in Digital Marketing
• ORM & CX Are Inextricably Linked
• Online Reputation Management Examples
• Online Reputation Management Processes
• Types of Online Reputation Management
• Online Reputation Management Tools
• How Does Software for Reputation Management Operate?
• Insights into CX innovation
• The Bottom Line
• About Konnect

Introduction

Customer Experience (CX) has quickly overtaken all other factors in brand distinction as the most crucial one. According to Forrester’s 2018 Customer Experience Index, brands that want to stand out from the competition should emphasize customers’ emotions. This is because how an experience makes customers feel has a more significant impact on loyalty to a brand than the effectiveness of its products.

Value is the secret to achieving excellence in CX and sustainable growth. We frequently consider value one-sided: one person receives while another provides. Growth and innovation in the consumer experience may suffer as a result. Conversely, mutual value is advantageous to all parties when the benefits and gains to the client and the business outweigh the disadvantages. How to create mutual value? How can marketers profit from it? And what factors need to be considered to do so? This article goes into great detail on how you can use your ORM to enhance CX.

Customer-Centricity 

The Forrester’s Index’s brand performance reflects that, for every unpleasant experience, elite brands offered an average of 22 emotionally uplifting events; however, the bottom 5% of brands offered just two for every negative experience. In simple terms, brands are more conscious of how customers feel than how effective the product is.

We know a brand is more than just a logo or a face. When we think about a brand, we imagine numerous different things: from the service to the quality of the product. People are aware of their feelings towards a brand and their experience with it. For a customer, a brand is so much more than its logo, tagline, or color scheme, it is the emotional experience with the brand that drives loyalty to the brand. Here are some simple tips to help you improve your customer experience as a brand.

An intriguing Forrester research study revealed that firms that actively concentrate on their customer experience and build it competitively have considerably greater Returns on Investment (ROI) than those that focus solely on advertising. Understanding customers holistically enables brands to adapt to their requirements in multiple ways. But when does the customer experience (CX) begin? How can businesses determine which stage of the client journey requires the most focus?

CX starts the moment someone conducts an online search that identifies their need and represents the entire organization’s relationship with the consumer. A company’s ability to inspire confidence is a great way to address these demands, regardless of whether they start with the search results or depend on a combination of public-facing messaging, PR, and online reputation.

Digital marketers refer to a management solution that helps a company successfully manage its online image and reputation as online reputation management, or ORM. Given that it significantly improves the consumer experience, online brand reputation management has become vital for businesses in the digital age.

Transforming CX

Creating a better CX requires nuance and patience. Companies need to manage it systematically to succeed in the long run. According to McKinsey, more than 70% of senior executives identify CX as a top priority for the upcoming years. Organizations that efficiently structure and manage customer experience can see improvements in customer satisfaction by 20%, sales conversion by 15%, cost-to-serve by 30%, and employee engagement by 30%.

According to recent research with hundreds of customers across industries and regions, building aspiration and purpose, changing the business, and enabling transformation are the three areas in which firms drive successful CX. Integrating customer experience into the business and operational model is one of the most critical enablers for an effective CX transformation—and one of the biggest obstacles to increasing CX impact if not appropriately addressed.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to organizing the business and operating models for better CX; the task is easier said than done. Nonetheless, companies may start on the path to realizing the full value and potential of a superior CX by establishing explicit design principles for a CX-centric company. Accordingly, they must develop a CX-organization blueprint and rethink the operational model with customer journeys at its center.

Online Reputation Management In Digital Marketing

ORM combines SEO, digital marketing, and public relations tactics that brands can use to protect and uphold their online reputation. Positive news, statements, and images about the brand or company online can all benefit from ORM.

Reputation management services aim to control online searches for goods and services. Monitoring an individual’s or a brand’s online reputation is called the ORM process. This entails concentrating on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter, addressing potentially negative information, and leveraging consumer input to solve issues before they hamper the brand’s or person’s reputation.

Leveraging the brand’s online reputation and appearance is essential for expanding the business online. Reputation is crucial for any business. It can make or break a company, impacting how users see and purchase from a brand. Many people use review websites to learn more about a business or product before purchasing it or visiting it. No brand wants to receive negative reviews, as it will make it more difficult for people to trust and purchase its products. Therefore, business owners must ensure that they are effectively managing the brand’s online reputation.

ORM entails responding to and replacing unfavorable material about the brand uploaded on social media because it could damage its reputation. To further help the business flourish, brands can use customer reviews to address and solve problems before they hamper the brand’s reputation. 

Another essential component of ORM is responding to consumers honestly, enthusiastically, and in accordance with company principles. The ideal strategy to carry out these duties and improve the brand’s online reputation is ORM. 

ORM can play a crucial role in improving businesses’ customer experience. Using ORM tools and techniques, companies can monitor and manage their online presence, engage with their customers, and address any issues or concerns they may have. 

Here are some ways in which ORM can enable CX improvement:

Listening To Customer Feedback

ORM tools allow businesses to monitor what customers are saying about them online. By keeping an ear to the ground and listening to customer feedback, businesses can identify areas for improvement and respond to any negative comments or complaints. This demonstrates that the business is responsive and cares about its customers, which can help to build trust and loyalty.

Managing Online Reviews

Online reviews are a critical component of the customer journey and can have a significant impact on a business’s reputation. By responding to reviews (both positive and negative) and addressing any concerns or issues, businesses can show customers that they are committed to providing a high level of service. ORM tools allow businesses to monitor and manage their reviews across various platforms, such as Google, Yelp, and social media.

Providing Timely and Helpful Support

ORM tools can help businesses identify customer issues and respond promptly. Using chatbots, automated email responses, or social media messaging, businesses can provide customers with quick and helpful support, which can enhance the overall CX.

Creating A Positive Online Presence

ORM tools can help businesses to create a positive online presence by promoting positive reviews, generating social media content, and engaging with customers regularly. By doing so, businesses can build brand awareness, improve their online reputation, and create a loyal customer base.

In conclusion, ORM can enable businesses to improve their CX by providing them with the tools and techniques to listen to customer feedback, manage online reviews, provide timely support, and create a positive online presence. By leveraging the power of ORM, businesses can create a better CX, which can lead to increased loyalty, higher customer retention, and more revenue over the long term.

ORM & CX Are Inextricably Linked

CX encompasses all interactions between a company and its customers. The CX process begins long before the business interacts with a customer and ends long after the transaction has taken place. Every CX touchpoint is affected by ORM, altering brand perception at every point of the interaction.

Considering the multiple departments involved in optimizing CX, it is essential to collect feedback before, during, and after all customer touchpoints. The data used in this process helps to develop a 360-degree customer view driven by data. Whether it is surveys or other feedback channels, such as reviews or social media posts, ORM surveys and feedback channels are major components of ORM strategies. They lead to better CX.
Using ORM strategies is an efficient way of accomplishing CX goals, which include the following:

• Take advantage of valuable trust-building opportunities to share the customers’ positive experiences. The right ORM tools will ensure that happy customers share their great CX stories with the world.
• Recognize trends and resolve complaints quickly. CX dashboards provide real-time monitoring that can be used to identify current problems and resolve them proactively.    
• Make it easier to locate the brand so that prospects and customers can find it. A good search engine optimization strategy will make the site appear on top of search engine results. Moreover, it ensures that the online listings are accurate and feature recent reviews, high ratings, and accurate contact details, so consumers can make an instant decision about the business.
• Analyze customer sentiment from all angles. At every stage of the customer journey, ORM platforms gather and analyze feedback from all sources. The company can use it to gain insights into customer behavior and create better customer experiences.

To improve CX across the organization, ORM platforms provide a mechanism for analyzing and sharing results across departments.

Online Reputation Management Examples

The following are some real-life success stories of effective ORM Campaigns:

Starbucks

Customers are treated as royalty by well-known companies such as Barista and Starbucks. They go above and beyond to satisfy their customers, ensuring that they are satisfied enough to return and become devoted patrons. This consequently boosts the customer’s lifetime value. If service is delayed at Barista or Starbucks, a free drink coupon is provided for the subsequent visit.

Nevertheless, Starbucks did experience an online outcry due to its racial insensitivity. The outcry began after a video of the incident gained widespread popularity on social media. However, the large coffee company quickly acted upon the outcry and shut down the physical outlets that required racial prejudice education.

Nike

Nike has created a Twitter support crew to rapidly respond to customer problems. The web platforms provide fantastic opportunities to give clients prompt service. Social media has given everyone a platform to speak up or speak out. Brands must interact with the public and reply to their questions and comments. This aids in relationship development and branding development. Brands must ensure they promptly respond to complaints in the event of poor reviews. This is essential as, in today’s age, brand success depends on how well the brand responds to negative feedback.

Yelp

Once, Yelp located a disgruntled client who left a lengthy one-star review. They responded to the customer’s complaint and accepted responsibility for all errors. Since then, it has become customary for Yelp to diligently pursue every review they receive, especially those that express disapproval. Timely responses will demonstrate concern for the customers and aid in building a long-lasting relationship.

After reading the aforementioned cases, one might assume that these are all enormous corporations with sizable PR departments to handle these problems. However, even a large crew would find it impossible to track and analyze millions of evaluations and comments. Today, most firms evaluate and manage their online reputations using social media automation technologies such as social listening. The best feature of automation technologies is that they accomplish much more than just monitoring reviews and sending out notifications.

Online Reputation Management Process

We know that providing excellent customer service is the easiest approach to boosting retention. However, what about after the sale? Organizations need a plan if they want to keep in touch with clients after they make a purchase to increase engagement:

Priorities First

Gratitude is always appreciated. Giving the customers a sincere ‘thank you’ creates another opportunity for them to interact with the brand.

Ask For Opinions

Customer feedback is essential for generating new and repeat business, and one will typically receive it if the brand takes the time to ask for it. This consistent flow of evaluations also offers an additional advantage. The quantity and quality of reviews are factors used by Google and other search engines to rank websites (SEO).

Analyze the Data

On social feeds and review websites, potential customers, current customers, and former customers post a lot of feedback, comments, and mentions. Online reputation management techniques are used by businesses to arrange the data and obtain practical insights. Using these insights, brands can enhance the customer experience, resulting in more satisfied clients, a more appealing web presence, and better search engine rankings.

Track the Progress

According to a Harvard Business Review Analytic Services study, over half of all organizations surveyed said it was ‘very tough’ to link CX to commercial success. However, organizations are moving beyond this straightforward assessment, frequently using a limited sample size of customers.

Today, businesses may assess the overall level of client satisfaction across their entire customer base, thanks to ORM technologies. This measure should be used in conjunction with internal survey findings to enable comparisons between different periods, campaigns, locations, or distribution methods. Google and Facebook, for instance, can produce different findings from their own internal surveys. Future customers would see the former; therefore, CX experts should consider these ratings while planning their strategy.

Types Of Online Reputation Management

Here are a few significant reputation management services you should include to enhance CX:

Review Generation Campaigns

Review generation is a way to attract new business by showcasing the great response of previous customers to the services. People often rely on reviews to verify quality—movie reviews, product ratings, job candidate testimonials, music album reviews, et cetera. Companies are not an exception. In fact, according to a study by Fan & Fuel, 97% of consumers think that customer reviews influence their purchasing decisions. People frequently take what they read or hear about content produced by brands with a grain of salt. Customers are aware that companies primarily advertise the benefits of their goods and services, leaving out any flaws or issues.

Social Media Marketing

An entity’s positive online presence is frequently ensured by effectively managing audience communications and sentiment on social media. A social profile can seriously damage one’s reputation if it is not properly monitored and managed. Internet users frequently visit the social media pages of the companies they do business with. The presence of user-generated negative comments, unwanted posts, and unfavorable reviews on a company’s page can turn what was once a valuable resource for the community into a rampant, occasionally viral environment that hinders business growth and brand loyalty.

A proactive social media management plan is essential, and having a presence on social media is a key factor in a company’s success.

Search Engine Optimization

The technique of influencing top search engine rankings through the promotion and optimization of websites, content, and other media is known as search optimization. In reputation management, the SEO component aims to saturate search results with selected media content to suppress any unfavorable information that the individual or company wants to get rid of.

A strategy for managing an online reputation should have SEO as its main objective. A reputation restoration strategy that does not place a strong emphasis on search engine optimization will fall well short of producing the desired outcome. The premise is that the person or company is convinced that the information displayed on the first (and maybe second) page of the search engine is significant for how the public perceives them.

It is crucial to comprehend all the variables involved in managing the entire first page of search results and to have the tools and means necessary to put that information into practice. However, most SEO and reputation management service providers today, have a limited understanding of the science and lack the tools necessary to be successful. Alternatively, brands are unwilling to invest the time, effort, and technological expertise necessary to deliver the results for their clients.

Using SEO tools is essential in this age. Hundreds of ranking factors and variables can be simultaneously generated for any search query to sort and present the set of results a user sees.

Online Reputation Management Tools

CX refers to the experience a brand offers to its customers during their entire relationship with a product or service. A negative experience might cause the brand to lose customers, while a positive experience can increase sales, build brand loyalty, and more. One of the key factors influencing client loyalty is CX. Giving the target audience a flawless user experience will improve brand preference.

It is difficult to monitor and enhance CX without cutting-edge solutions that automate operations and streamline how brands receive and engage with customer feedback. To boost client loyalty through worthwhile interactions and reduce expenses by minimizing customer turnover, methods such as CX management solutions can help. Following are some of the most prolific tools available on the market that can help you enhance your CX most efficiently:

• Konnect Insights
• Zendesk
• Salesforce
• Freshdesk
• SysAid
• Zoho Desk
• Podium
• HubSpot Service Hub
• Maropost
• Salesmate

How Does Software for Reputation Management Operate?

Software used for online reputation management, or ORM, scours social networking sites and review sites for mentions of particular businesses. It notifies the owner of the business via email or text when it discovers new reviews with a lot of traction. The majority of solutions offer a central dashboard where one can read and respond to evaluations without leaving the program.

Brands can keep an eye on words, phrases, or even competitors that are also using the same tools. Using reputation marketing tools that contact potential customers and ask for reviews will also help collect more customer reviews.

Business leaders can monitor consumer sentiment and take action to lower reputational risks by minimizing unfavorable opinions and highlighting positive feedback.

Insights Into CX Innovation

Every person longs to feel individual and unique and that their demands are being satisfied, specifically in terms of their comfort and enjoyment. Thus, importance, scalability, and relevance are essential. Brands may greatly reduce the likelihood of a disappointed consumer by keeping this objective at the center of their customer experience.

• Be Consistent
  Asking the wrong questions might make it frustrating and ineffective to communicate directly with the customer base regarding features and products. Solution providers must shift their perspectives and consider how they might appeal to the sensibilities of their clients. As a business, you should be engrossed in their world to instantly deliver the services they desire.

Be sure to track, monitor, and pay attention to what is happening in the customers’ space. This is an excellent approach to remaining on top of CX and customer feedback. A corporation can employ priceless data sources to provide target marketing and customer support, including insights into how the competitors’ efforts are being received, themes that are currently popular among the target audience, and general sentiment analysis based on ads.

Every business focuses on developing an omnichannel presence, where brands can find themselves posting and active on all digital channels. Maintaining a dynamic community with clients by being constant and frequent in your participation encourages personal engagement from customers. Consistency communicates to customers that there is a forum on which they can voice their opinions and be heard.

• Fixing A Problem
  Sometimes things can go wrong, and that’s okay. However, fixing the customer’s problems should not be the only end goal- how enjoyable, swift, and reliable the solution is, also dictates the likelihood of the customer deciding to give the company a second chance.
• Specific Consideration
  A smart CX strategy adjusts the CX depending on the situation and overall attitude of their customers. To increase business growth, evaluate and consider how well a product or service was received before further customizing your offerings and marketing plan.

A good insight tool can accelerate the process of providing exceptional customer service by streamlining many analytical channels.

• Easy And Fast
  Providing quick and easy solutions will enable brands to save the customer’s time, which is typically limited, by removing obstacles from encounters. Provide a quick, one-click experience as opposed to the time-consuming, multi-processing, and complex solutions of the past.

The Bottom Line

When the customer has a positive experience with the brand, it leaves a good impression. Go one step further by giving consideration to client feedback and developing a system of rewards for winning their trust and loyalty.

In conclusion, ORM can enable businesses to improve their CX by providing the tools and techniques to listen to customer feedback, manage online reviews, provide timely support, and create a positive online presence. By leveraging the power of ORM, businesses can create a better customer experience, leading to increased loyalty, higher customer retention, and greater profitability over the long term.

This can be made possible using the appropriate ORM tactics, which improve the customer experience. ORM aids in recognizing unfavorable reactions and dealing with the underlying problems. This creates the possibility of enhancing the customer experience.

About Konnect Insights

Konnect Insights is a ground-breaking platform that connects contemporary brands with intelligent technology for business intelligence as a comprehensive solution for customer experience management. Our industry white papers are carefully crafted pieces of thought leadership and aim to inform, amuse, and educate the public. We are determined to keep you in the lead at all times with valuable customer satisfaction and online reputation management insights.