What is a Reputation Analysis and Why It Matters for Modern Businesses

Reputation analysis is a complete evaluation and monitoring process for customer feedback, social media mentions, and review sites, i.e., all content that in some way relates to the company or its products. 

Conducting this activity is not just a recommendation; it's a powerful tool that puts you in the driver's seat of your brand's perception. It provides a panoramic view of how your customers perceive your brand, helping you understand whether they recommend it to their friends and colleagues or warn them to deal with you. This proactive approach empowers you to identify areas you need to work on, ensuring you're always ahead of the game.

Your customers can find issues in your product or service that you did not even notice, and they will be reasonable. To ensure trouble doesn't catch you off guard, conduct a customer feedback analysis—in other words, it's about hearing and listening to your customers. It's not just about finding issues; it's about making your customers feel heard and understood and that their feedback is valuable to you.

How to Conduct a Reputation Analysis

Search engine results analysis

Whether we like it or not, Google is the number one place where most users look for information. Brand reputation monitoring should include analyzing Google results to identify harmful or misleading content circulating online. The main challenge is that you must check all relevant search queries for which customers can find information about your company. 

It is typical when negative feedback on a review platform or social media ranks higher than your site or site with positive reviews because the same Facebook or PissedConsumer looks more authoritative in the eyes of Google due to its size and traffic. In that case, users will likely click on them first. And they are unlikely to visit your website if they encounter negative content. This underscores the importance of managing your online reputation and ensuring positive content ranks higher in search engine results.

Expert advice to save time and effort: prioritize the first page of the search engines. Only 0.44% of users go to the second page of Google. 

Online Review Analysis

Review platforms are websites that you must check through reputation analysis. According to the study, only 20% of consumers trust reviews posted on company websites. Feedback on review platforms is a typical example of user-generated content (UGC) that recently has an increasingly high value in the eyes of both potential users and search engines, and the tendency will only grow.

The main question is which review platforms you should consider and which you can oversee. A good starting point is big review platforms, such as PissedConsumer, Trust Pilot, and Sitejabeer, which millions of users visit monthly.

The second cluster of review sites you should pay attention to are industry-specific resources such as Tripadvisor in the tourism business domain and Zomato for the food and beverage industry. Identifying and monitoring such platforms is crucial for maintaining a positive reputation in your specific industry.  And, of course, if you use marketplaces to offer your products or services, such as Amazon or Airbnb, they must be one of the crucial places to implement in your reputation analysis.

Receiving negative reviews is not a hopeless situation. PissedConsumer offers numerous solutions for businesses to transform a one-star review into a positive 5-star review and even convert an unhappy customer into a loyal supporter of your brand.

Social Media Monitoring

An online reputation analysis must include a complete picture of the brand precedence of the company, shaped in social media. Brand precedence refers to your brand's overall perception and reputation in the market. Many companies neglect social media monitoring and don't consider what people say about them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or how often they mention the brand in stories or posts. Sure, an angry post by a distraught user can get lost in the information flow, and no one will pay attention to it. On the other hand, the same post can go viral and spread among millions of users, causing irreparable damage to a company's online reputation.

Consumers are more forgiving when making mistakes, but ignoring their perspective is unacceptable. Unlike review sites, social networks require companies to respond more quickly. If you neglect a negative signal today, responding tomorrow could be too late. It's about understanding the urgency and importance of responding to social media signals and the significant impact it can have on your brand's reputation. Setting up regular brand reputation monitoring on social media is the key to avoiding such situations, developing brand awareness, and building a community around the company.

Surveys

An old but gold approach to gathering information for customer feedback analysis is a survey. Today, you have a vast arsenal of options for conducting surveys. The most straightforward and most accessible is Google Forms. You can distribute the survey through various channels, such as email, put a banner on your website, and engage users in social media. 

A properly constructed survey can help you identify trends and joint problems and provide actionable data to improve your offerings, customer service, and business performance. The most challenging part is to create a set of questions that will be understandable for surveyed users to give clear and valuable information for you. 

For example, you might ask customers to rate their satisfaction on a scale, comment on what they liked or didn't like, and suggest improvements. However, be careful with open-ended questions. Make users put less effort into thinking about the answer. They are already spending their time helping you. A good marketing technique is to reward consumers for sharing their opinions. For example, it could be a discount coupon or some unique offer.

With a database of millions of users, PissedConsumer conducts various surveys and marketing research. Whether you want to gain insights into customer preferences, market trends, or product feedback, our custom surveys allow you to make data-driven decisions and stay ahead of the competition.

Reputation Analysis Benefits

Objective assessment of strengths and weaknesses

Online reputation analysis allows businesses to gain valuable insights into areas where they excel and, on the contrary - need improvement. Based on this knowledge, companies can fine-tune their products or services and boost overall customer experience, ultimately leading to enhanced competitiveness.

Improved customer satisfaction and retention 

Reputation analysis helps businesses gauge customer satisfaction and identify customer experience issues. By identifying patterns of dissatisfaction, companies can quickly address the problems and make necessary improvements. This proactive approach can lead to increased loyalty, higher customer retention rates, and long-term success for the business.

If you want to know more about improving customer satisfaction, read our article How to improve customer Service: 9 strategies to identify and resolve issues.

Competitive benchmarking

By analyzing their online reputations, businesses can compare their performance with competitors. Thus, reputation analysis helps them identify the areas where they are lagging and where they can gain a competitive edge. This information contributes to making strategic decisions and stands out in a crowded marketplace.

Crisis management and reputational damage control

By monitoring and analyzing clients' feedback and sentiment, сompanies can take proactive measures to handle problems, reduce reputational harm, and develop strategies to regain trust and repair their reputation.

Data-driven decision

Analyzing data about a business's online reputation can provide valuable information for making important decisions. By examining the insights gained from reputation analysis, a company can better plan marketing strategies, improve customer service, develop products, and overall plan for success. By understanding how the target audience perceives a brand, a business can make changes to meet their expectations, increase brand value, and achieve long-term growth.

Top 5 Mistakes Companies Make Conducting Online Reputation Analysis

We always recommend turning to professionals when it comes to online reputation. However, if you perform a reputation analysis, our experts have compiled the most common mistakes you should avoid.

Ignoring or selective considering of reviews

When conducting online reputation analysis, companies should avoid selectively ignoring reviews. Even if a review seems fake, treat it as if it came from an actual customer because many potential consumers consider both reviews and the company's responses. Trustmary says customer churn can increase by 15% if you do not respond to feedback.

Blind trust in automated tools

While automated tools can help collect and analyze online data, relying solely on these tools without human involvement can be a mistake. Automated brand reputation monitoring tools may miss nuances, context, and sentiment that require human interpretation. Therefore, combining automated analysis with human review is crucial to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the situation and to make informed decisions based on the insights gathered.

Failing to consider multiple platforms and channels

Some companies focus only on one feedback channel and oversee all others. This approach can lead to incomplete data and a distorted company reputation perception. Monitor a brand's reputation on various sources, such as social media, review websites, forums, and blogs, even if they may seem unimportant to your audience.

Overlooking competitor analysis

Another mistake to avoid is analyzing the company's online reputation without considering the importance of competitors. Understanding how customers perceive competitors and how they manage their online reputation provides valuable insights for benchmarking and strategic decision-making.

Not using the results of the analysis

Companies need to take action based on customer feedback analysis insights. Simply analyzing the data is insufficient to improve the company's products, services, and overall customer experience. Acting on the issues identified is necessary to ensure that the analysis is a valuable use of time and money. The analysis alone doesn’t solve reputation problems - it's only a tool to identify areas that need improvement.

Reputational Analysis is a Key to Effective Reputation Management 

If you aim to build a strong company reputation that will work for you, not against you, then reputation analysis should become a regular activity. However, more is needed to simply check that everything is in order occasionally.

Keep Your Reputation Alive and Well 

Continuous Monitoring

Keep an eye on your online footprint to catch it, and squash it early. The basic tools you can use are Google Alerts and Mention. 

Engaging with Feedback 

Always respond in a timely and professional manner to customer feedback, whether it is positive or negative. Thank customers for positive reviews and respond to all of the negative ones. The aim is to show review authors and customers looking for your company's reviews that you are a solid and responsible company and customers are safe with you, even if something goes wrong.

Listen to your Customers

Don't neglect to analyze customer feedback. It's a bottomless source of valuable insights you can leverage to improve your business.

Promoting Positive Content

Take an active role in spreading positive content to balance out any negative backlash. SEO reputation management is a crucial tenant in online reputation management. A proper SEO strategy and a well-developed blog will not only become a reliable shield against unwanted content in the first search results. Still, they will also help attract more potential customers from organic search. 

Examples of Successful Reputation Management

United Airlines

In 2017, United Airlines faced a PR disaster when they forcibly removed an overbooked passenger from a flight. The incident went viral, sparking outrage. Initially, The CEO responded defensively, but the company issued a public apology and implemented measures to prevent similar incidents. This case illustrates the importance of timely and appropriate reputation and Crisis Management responses.

Johnson & Johnson

In 1982, Johnson & Johnson faced a crisis when Tylenol capsules were tampered with cyanide, leading to several deaths. The company responded immediately with a large recall and tamper-resistant packaging, restoring faith in their product. It became an early example of effective Crisis Management.

Chipotle

Chipotle faced a series of foodborne illness outbreaks in 2015, resulting in lousy coverage. The brand shut down stores for a day to train employees on food safety, implemented new protocols, and launched a PR campaign to rebuild consumer trust. This case is a critical study in addressing core issues and maintaining honest customer relationships.

Final Word

Reputation analysis is an integral part of effective reputation management, and it should be performed regularly and daily for some channels. Use various software solutions to simplify and automate this task. Always take a holistic approach to analysis—monitor different feedback channels. When identifying risks to reputation, don't tackle them all at once. Prioritize them and address each one step by step. 

By implementing these strategies and continuously monitoring your online reputation, you can build and maintain a positive image that attracts and retains customers. If you need professional assistance, contact our reputation management experts.