How to Choose an Online Reputation Management Company [VIDEO]

PissedConsumer team had an opportunity to interview Nick Cuttonaro, the CEO of The Link Builders. Nick talks about brand reputation management, benefits of negative reviews, and gives tips on how to choose the right online reputation management company.

Best Tips to Choose the Right Online Reputation Management Company 

Please Tell Us a Few Words about Your Company

Nick: My name is Nick Cuttonaro. My company is The Link Builders. I am the founder and owner, and we've been in business since 2011. Started the company as a SEO agency and you can tell by the name of the business, The Link Builders, that our roots are tied within organic search and SEO. And in 2012, we really shifted our focus to brand and online reputation management, which is a focus of SEO but it's a little bit more involved, where instead of just ranking a single site for a single keyword, we are now looking to optimize and help our clients control page one of Google for their brand names, and modified branded search terms.

What Makes Your Company Different from Other Digital Agencies?

Nick: We like to think of ourselves as a small, but mighty agency. Small enough to give really personalized attention to clients, yet large enough to tackle bigger projects, work with larger companies. And these companies are doing business in the millions, tens of millions if not greater, if it's a financial services company, you know, with revenues over a hundred million dollars. It really depends on the client, you know, as far as their pathway to monetization, but for us, our sweet spot is working directly with CEOs and their C-level executive teams, financial service companies, and we like supplement brands as well. We're very tied into the health and wellness vertical.

What Are the Top Criteria When Choosing a Brand Reputation Management Company?

Nick: So, as a reputation management agency owner, we're specialists. Like this is a niche within a niche. And there are other digital agencies who sell reputation management services, but they're also selling PPC, landing page development, copywriting, etc. I live and breathe, eat, sleep online reputation management. So what I'm about to share is coming from the right person. That I can can assure you.  

When you're looking for a reputation management provider, make sure that they specialize in exactly that. Uh, you may be faced with negative reviews or a complaint about your product, service, or organization. And as I share this with you now in the year 2019, I saw a world 10 years ago on Google where it would be dangerous if you didn't have a grip on your results, your, for your name, for your brand name...

Are There Any Hidden Risks, Dangers, Issues When Choosing a Reputation Management Agency?

Nick: Things happen within businesses. You can't please everyone. If you try doing that, you'll please nobody. But one thing is for sure, if you have people who work for you, team members, they can say anything they want about you at any time. Yeah, there are many sites online that you can voice your opinion and that, you know,that's totally cool. PissedConsumer is one of those sites.

So as a word of caution for for everyone out there, just know that you need to be at the top of your game as a business serving your customers, serving your team members, serving the market, so that you don't put yourself in an uncomfortable situation where it could be a competitor writing something, you know, about your brand, about your product, service, or about you as a leader, team members, clients, customers. Um, but just know that when those issues happen that it's a time to maybe look at your organization from within. What are your weak points? What can be improved?

Being a Reputation Management Expert, What Suggestions Could You Give to Business Owners? How Can They Improve to Make Their Customers Happier?

Nick: Here's the long and short of it, like it could be a wake-up call. Maybe you did screw up, maybe, maybe it's a time to make things right. So it's not always necessarily you know, to make your business crumble, but it could also be a wake-up call to work with a reputation management agency that can market your reputation, amplify your message, and attract the clients, customers, and team members that you want in your organization.

So if you find yourself in a spot, whether it's a positive review or a negative review on PissedConsumer, let's assume it's a negative review, right? You have two options. Uh, one, you can work with PissedConsumer. The team there is great. They're understanding. They work with businesses all around the world. If you've been unfairly targeted, like, hey, it's now time to figure out, like, what's going on and they're experts, they can help.

Aside from that what else can you do? You can look into suppression, right? You could potentially suppress the result. I mean, that's an option. And to do that, if it's not your core competency as an organization, I would without a doubt recommend reaching out to myself and a firm like mine that specializes in that exact focus. So, how would you go about suppression? Editorials, features, blog posts, even, even paid search to drown out the negative, amplify the positive. Uh, you want interviews, YouTube videos, and a social presence online that matches your presence offline.

What Do People Think about PissedConsumer?

Nick: So when it comes to PissedConsumer, if you're a C-level executive, naturally there's a lot of fear, right? Like you don't want to be up on that site. Like it sounds negative because it could be negative, right? And, and here's what you need to understand, as a business owner, as a C-level executive, most, if not all of the people that you deal with, are not going to go to the Internet sharing like wonderful stories about you. It just ... That's just not how we're wired like as human beings.

If you are an executive, perhaps it's time to just take note and maybe focus on putting a program in place to attract and collect positive reviews. So, as far as working with PissedConsumer, like, just because you're scared doesn't mean you should turn a blind eye to it. In fact, you can shift a negative to a positive very, very, very quickly. PissedConsumer does allow for positive review collection, if you're open-minded and forward-thinking and want to change the situation in your favor. It's completely possible.