Traditionally, reputation management meant scanning magazines and newspapers for relevant content. However, things have changed rapidly over the last decade or so. After the internet meltdown in year 2000, companies devised new strategies to bring back traffic and gain consumer confidence. Today, marketing and selling on the web has become a big business globally. People now shop, socialize and do business online. This has lead to a need for online brand reputation management, which constitutes a major section of any intenet marketing initiative.
People think that a small business does not need brand management or they are able to maintain their brand reputation simply by monitoring websites like Twitter and other blogs. People constantly communicate online, sometimes with you and sometimes about you. One must ensure proper monitoring of the web for effective keywords and company business name. There must be processes in place, which sends an alert message when someone posts a negative feedback or comment about the company. Immediate response and pre-determined remedial action is required for such negative publicity so that things do not get out of control online and the company is able to prove that its customer service is effective. (more…)