What is Reputation Marketing?

Social proof is the evidence consumers use to decide whether or not to purchase an item. Consumers have begun to change their purchasing behavior based upon what others think and say about a product or service. For many, online reviews are a trusted source to sway their opinion.

With concerns of online scams, or an overabundance of some services, yet a profound need for technology and digitalization in today’s day and age, consumers are often weary to buy or use a service without some form of evidence. Whether it be a t-shirt with a witty comment or the search for a contractor, consumers rely on evidence to make their decision and a trustworthy source to provide them with it. In pre-digital days, you would phone a neighbor, friend or family member for a good reference, but today, everyone wants instant gratification and this is available at our fingertips with the world wide web (does anyone still call it that?). Most people will research a company before deciding on whether or not they are worth their weight in gold. This research, more in depth than the FBI searching for Jimmy Hoffa, typically involves a search of the company or service provider’s name.

The evidence needs to start somewhere. Most consumers rely on online reviews and have begun to trust complete strangers with product and company reviews. When your mind begins to shift from marketing to reputation, a new window of opportunity opens.

What would happen if you were to search your own business’s name?

What is Reputation Marketing?

Reputation marketing is an emerging field that uses elements of brand marketing and reputation management, combining the two, to market your business, build your brand, increase sales and leads. You collect and boost positive brand content, like reviews and testimonials, to use your reputation as a promotional asset in marketing campaigns; you’re, literally, marketing your reputation.

You will be using what others have to say about you to promote you and/or your company. This could be anything from online reviews, consumer ratings, community awards,  social media mentions or even a customer testimonial recorded and shared on social media.

Reputation Management Vs. Reputation Marketing

Reputation Management is a well-known field in the industry yet we are seeing a shift from reputation management to reputation marketing. Reputation management finds a solution to the problem while reputation marketing focuses on a positive reputation before any problems arise. As an example, if someone gives a poor review about your company and it goes viral, reputation management would focus on fixing your reputation after the damage has been done. It’s still important to respond to negative reviews promptly and tactfully to effectively manage your reputation however, reputation marketing is more proactive. Reputation Marketing focuses on building and strengthening your brand’s reputation so if, or when, a problem arises it is only a small pebble of negativity in a sea of positivity.

How much does your Reputation Matter?

Consider these Stats:

• 97% of customers say reviews impact their buying decisions
• 90% of customers think reviews are more important than anything a salesperson says.
• Users are 74% more likely to contact a company with customer reviews on their website than a company that doesn’t display reviews.
• Having at least ten customer reviews increases search traffic by 15-20%.
• One study found that advertisements with reviews and user-generated content perform better: click-through rate (CTR) increased by 300% and cost-per-click (CPC) & cost-per-acquisition (CPA) both decreased by 50%.
• Customers are willing to spend 31% more on a business with excellent reviews.
• 92% of B2B buyers are more likely to purchase after reading a trusted review.
• 3.3 is the minimum star rating of a business consumers would engage with and only 13% of consumers will consider using a business that has a 1 or 2 star rating.
• 94% say an online review has convinced them to avoid a business.
• Four out of five consumers have changed their minds about a recommended purchase after reading negative online reviews.
• As many as 22% of customers can be lost when just one negative article is found by users considering buying their product. If three negative articles pop up in a search query, the potential for lost customers increases to 59.2%.
• 92% of consumers trust referrals from people they know.
• 65% of new business opportunities come from referrals and recommendations.
• 82% of small businesses claim referrals as their main source of new business.

Your online reputation is the most powerful marketing tool. Instead of  playing defense when your business gets a negative review, you’re utilize an offensive strategy by capitalizing on your positive reputation; an asset which drive sales leading to a strong impact on your business. Monitoring your reputation, actively getting referrals and promoting customer reviews & recommendations is the foundation of reputation marketing.

How Can You Begin to Market your Reputation?

1. Add customer reviews to your website; this can be individual written reviews entered in on your site or customer testimonials gathered from multiple platforms.
2. Use reviews, ratings and testimonials in advertisements.
3. Promote your reviews on social media.
4. Be sure to create profiles for your business on social media platforms.
5. Begin an email campaign promoting testimonials on your preferred platform.
6. Coming Soon: NuOp Reviews. Share your reviews & testimonials, written by vetted professionals through the platform or with consumers.

Conclusion

Reputaion matters, and people look for it when engaging with you for some reason or another. Would you trust someone with a massive sale if they have no reputation? Now everyone starts somewhere so sometimes this may be something that occurs, but most of the time the answer would be no! NuOp is a great tool that can help build your reputation both for new agents and professionals or well established vets.

Best part, its free! That's right you can start building your SEO, online presence, social proof, network, referrals, and much more all for free.  

What's stopping you? Come on by, we got you covered every step of the way.