ORM: The Indispensable Exercise
Online Reputation Management (ORM) today sits at the front seat when it comes to the digital marketing space. For the unversed, ORM is essentially about ensuring that a brand’s positive image is upheld and sustained in the online world. It is a set of activities that need to be done cohesively to ensure that a brand’s values, perception, and position are reflected in the right manner. If there is any negativity around the brand, it needs to be countered to restore the positive repute of the brand.
Experts do not see ORM as a one-time activity but a constant effort where the brand custodians have to regularly indulge in sustained efforts to monitor, assess, and actively put efforts into ensuring the brand’s true image and position are maintained in a positive light on online channels. The channels could comprise owned (websites, apps, social media channels), earned (news sites, forums, review sites, etc.), and paid media (online ads).
The major activities that encompass the ORM process are:
-SEO – This aims to improve the SERPs of the brand by using techniques to boost the brand’s website or app search results
-Social Media - It is about creating and posting content on social media that builds engagement between the brand and its target audience
-Digital PR – This is about getting online publications to cover the brand in a positive light
-Paid Ads – Though not primarily ORM-focused, this activity helps drive more traffic to the brand’s assets online with certain CTAs like boosting engagement or followers, or even getting downloads and leads
And other efforts like soliciting content from influencers or their sites/social media channels, managing reviews, and discussion forums.
Crisis management is also an important aspect of ORM as, during a crisis, the probability of the brand’s positive image taking a hit is higher, especially if the crisis is relevant to the brand or its industry. While the aforementioned activities will still be used in a crisis management scenario, the focus on certain activities like digital PR or managing reviews may increase depending upon the intensity of the crisis.
Gauging its Importance
When most of the transactions are carried out online, it is very important to ensure that the brand is presentable. Maintaining a reputation is equally important while starting a new business. Here is why you must include ORM in your marketing plans:
➡️ Helps increase brand awareness
When brands respond to customer queries or are involved in online conversations, it is visible to multiple other customers as well as prospective customers. It assists brands in instilling a “feel good factor” in the customers' minds. These customers are those who the brands help become spokespeople for the brand. They talk among other prospective customers, spreading the word about the brand in a positive way
➡️ Helps improve and maintain brand image
When brands engage with their customers and prospects on online platforms, it demonstrates that they not only care about selling their products and services but are also ready to help the customer post the purchase. It also helps in ensuring that brands effectively utilise the products/ services, which in turn aids in overall customer satisfaction
➡️ Boosts sales
90 per cent of consumers make the effort to thoroughly scrutinise online reviews before going ahead with purchases. Ensuring that all existing clients are satisfied and happy with the product, reflects the brand in a manner that aids in enforcing these products in the prospect’s minds. This, in turn, helps improve sales
➡️ Makes brands more relevant
Having an online presence is all about the amount of traction a brand gets. When a brand is involved in a conversation with its customers and prospects, it just increases the number of online conversations regarding the brand. The higher the number of conversations they have, the better the chances are that their social efforts will be reflected on people’s social feeds. This portrays the brand as more “trendy” and relevant.
Having positive interactions with customers increases the number of conversations pertaining to the brand on online platforms. This increase in the number of positive conversations makes the brand more visible on feeds, portraying the brand as active and "trendy."
➡️ Builds trust in customers
When customers and prospects see the brand responding to each and every query possible and resolving consumer issues, it forms a sense of belonging in their minds. It conveys a sense of care to them, instilling confidence in the products/ services. It makes them feel that if they were ever to face an issue regarding the brand, the brand would be ready to resolve the issue
➡️ Attract fresh talent
Having multiple conversations on social platforms helps in improving the traction the brand receives. These conversations, being public, are noticed by everyone. Besides just prospects, it also helps in portraying a positive image to other prospective employees. Seeing how the brand responds to its customers in a positive manner speaks volumes about the company and its work ethics. This can help attract fresh talent to be a part of the company.
➡️ Differentiate from the competition
With markets across all sectors becoming saturated with competitors, it is important for brands to differentiate themselves in the market. Responding or communicating with customers aids in differentiating the brand as one that cares for its customers
Mapping ORM's evolution
Initially, the process of reputation management' involved making the brand as visible as possible that involved engaging in PR activities. With the emergence of the internet, it has become necessary to make the brand as visible as possible on online channels, and that too in a positive light. This was the natal stage of ORM and involved activities ranging from page optimisation to backtracking. At this stage, brands were only involved in improving brand image through visibility without attaching much importance to customer satisfaction.
With changing trends, it has become important for brands to not just promote themselves but listen to their customers’ voices. With the internet becoming more accessible than ever before, the number of online conversations has skyrocketed. With the brand receiving so many conversations, it has become crucial for them to listen to, interact with, and engage with these conversations to manage their reputation from the customers’ point of view.
Recent ORM practices don't only involve having a framework to respond to online queries but also having a framework to make changes to completely eradicate customer pain points. It involves listening to the brand’s customers' voices and understanding their preferences and needs to better develop and improve the brand’s products/ services that align with their consumers’ pain points.
It is critical to place the customer at the centre of the business. In terms of brand differentiation, customer experience is more essential in today’s world and sometimes even outscores product cost.
Customer experiences are closely related to online reputation management (ORM) for the brand. Online reputation management is a great solution for organisations of all sizes to learn and affect customer experiences by aligning their business with the demands of customers.
Carving an impactful ORM strategy
The easiest method to manage and mitigate the effects of unfavourable and negative reviews is to set in place an online reputation management plan before it's too late. Remember that if brands can't maintain their online presence positively, they become their own worst enemies.
The following are six strategies to assist you with improving your online reputation management:
1️⃣ Increase the product's digital visibility
If you want to develop a powerful online presence for your company, forget about the brand and concentrate on the product. Yes, it is your product that buyers desire; thus, sell your product and your brand will develop on its own
2️⃣ Keep an eye on your social media accounts
Having several social media profiles for your business and products will enable you to manage your online reputation only if they are kept up to date on a regular basis in order to gain an organic following
3️⃣ Respond to online reviews
According to the 2022 Local Consumer Review Survey, 67 per cent of consumers will consider posting a review if they have a good experience, while 40 per cent will consider leaving a review if they have a poor one. This demonstrates the significance of reviews in sustaining an online reputation. Encourage your satisfied consumers to talk about your company and provide reviews on various social media channels
4️⃣ Avoid online arguments
No matter who is correct or who began the fight, it is critical to recognise that engaging in an online debate harms your brand's image and is perceived as unprofessional
5️⃣ Make meaningful changes
Sometimes, errors can be unavoidable. As a result, they cannot be avoided but may be dealt with effectively. So, if your brand makes a mistake, it is critical to recognise it and sincerely apologise to individuals who have been harmed
6️⃣ Incorporate technology
Using tools that aid in improving your ORM efforts by fetching data from multiple channels allows you to take action against this data in an effective and timely manner. This will help you better allocate your time and resources, increasing productivity
Catalysing ORM's growth
The Jio Revolution along with smartphones becoming so affordable has resulted in over 800Mn Indians being online today with over 550 Mn Indians on social media. This has led to people turning to digital for the easiest tasks and social has become the simplest conversation media for everyone. It just takes a blink of an eye to type a few words on that 'Write something here' box on Facebook, tag companies and one can create a sensation of a magnitude that one desires.
Customers believe that if they speak on social media, their voice is heard faster on issues which were not otherwise attended proactively. They have tasted success via this route in the past and are cognizant of the fact that the brand is as strong as the customers believe it to be. They are split by choice and they understand that in today’s age when they speak not only the brand listens, but their voice is also heard by millions of others thereby building love, affinity and hate for the brand. In today’s age are truly cognizant of the fact that the 'Customer is the king'.
We are in the era of customer experience where consumers increasingly demand comfort in ways to interact with companies and are vocal more than ever. Just that the way they speak has changed to online mediums i.e. nowadays word of mouth is different “it's moved online”. On the other hand, if you don’t comfort them or don’t listen to them they are very quick on feeling ignored and they leave because there is competition welcoming them with open arms.
The online rendezvous with brands which was a reality earlier only in the tier 1 cities is now prevalent in 2 & 3 tier cities and also.
Today, a 140-character post by a common man has the power to wipe out market caps. Literally, just one tweet at the right time and place, by anyone with very few followers, can create its own momentum and bring a brand to its knees overnight. All the dollars spent on marketing will go down the drain.
It is not an unknown fact that Identifying, understanding, and resolving customer issues fast go a long way. So, when conversations have moved online then ideally ORM should not take a back seat on the marketing table. We must remember the fact that more often people when they are happy to tell you and when unhappy tell others, which in today’s time and age is not only word of mouth but social. In fact, social is the new word of mouth. Hence, having a great ORM practice is extremely important and has direct implications on your brand equity
Enabling the consideration set for ORM
One of the earlier surveys done by BW-DDB on ORM found that 71 per cent of marketers believe that ORM is still in nascent stages in India and & 74 per cent of SMEs and MSMEs believe ORM to be 'non-indispensable' & yet to become a priority. This is evident in our client interactions where most understand the importance of the same by the inertia and intent to implement is clearly lacking. Also, ORM adoption isn’t about the size of the company but is about realising its importance of it. Even the very small local businesses do it very effectively and some of the largest conglomerates with multimillion-dollar turnovers have not even embarked on the journey.
Our earlier survey also found out that:
Marketers are unaware or do not understand ORM, but a decent percentage of brands lack initiative till the time they are hit by a crisis. No qualified numbers are available for this domain but ORM is growing rapidly and it is just a matter of 2-3 years before most organisations will have an ORM practice.
Making the best use
Online reputation management is a blessing for brands which realise its importance. Else, in the past, brands could never speak and influence customers so easily nor could get consumer insights so easily without doing tedious surveys etc.
A brand which recognises the opportunity will not only use it for solving customer issues but also for product/brand communication development. Product managers across the world have always struggled to know what the market wants but now customers' voices can be served on a platter with the analysis that listening and social analytics tools offer which can be used as strategies to strengthen the market receptiveness about your product and can be one of the inputs in carving a clear path towards what market wants to be included in your product road map. Today, social analytics equals the voice of customers. This holds good not only for your own product but also to do a dipstick and market sentiment analysis about not only individual competitors but also the whole industry.
As important as social media is, equally important is identifying how to harness and decipher it. ORM is the tool that enables marketers to make sense of the wild jungle of social media, allowing for better engagement with consumers. ORM is definitely a consumer-centric activity and is one of the important things that a brand can embark on, as it provides a direct viewpoint into what consumers are perceiving about brands. It is for this reason that it has become a staple in the marketers’ playbook.
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