An Online Reputation Management Checklist from InputKit

Word of mouth has always been a key factor in the success of businesses. This is especially true in the age of the web, where users can prove to be your best ambassadors as well as your worst detractors.

A good online reputation management checklist has become a must for your business to succeed. The growing use of online review platforms and social networks is a real challenge for organizations. The presence of these comments and reviews on the part of the users pushes them to constantly monitor the brand image that they broadcast on the web.

Download now : -> FREE FRENCH EBOOK 13 Online Review Response Templates (Positive and Negative)

For this purpose, according to the Proxima Centauri study, 96% of Internet users are influenced by the e-reputation of a brand during a purchase. With this in mind, it is crucial to optimize your e-reputation to maximize your acquisition of new leads as well as your customer retention.

However, knowing how to properly manage your online reputation can seem complex. After all, it takes just one click to share customer feedback, both positive and negative, around the world. In this context, how can you ensure the proper management of your online reputation?

To shed some light on the subject, here are six best practices to follow to improve your e-reputation, as well as six ways InputKit’s solution can help manage your online reputation with a good online reputation management checklist. Without further ado, let’s go!

What is online reputation?

Definition of online reputation

Online reputation, also known as e-reputation, is the result of perceptions related to your online presence. It includes two aspects: the brand image conveyed by the company and the content and comments related to the company published by its customers.

The company’s web content consists of articles, videos, images, and publications that shape the company’s digital identity. When managing your online reputation, keep in mind that this content is notably published on:

• Social networks;
• Online notification platforms;
• The search engines;
• Blogs and forums;
• The websites.

These publications will have a direct impact on your brand image and will influence the perception of Internet users towards your company. These emotions, feelings and perceptions of users towards your organization are at the heart of your e-reputation.

Their comments, feedback and online reviews will significantly influence your e-reputation. It is these online interactions that will determine your online reputation. In return, they will directly impact your customer acquisition and revenue. A good online reputation management checklist is therefore necessary for the success of your business.

Why should you have an online reputation management checklist?

Why do you need an online reputation management checklist? The answer is simple: your e-reputation is crucial to the success of your business!

As mentioned previously, your online presence greatly influences your acquisition of new customers. A company with a large number of positive reviews will be more recommended by search engines: this is a great way to be known for the quality of its services and to generate positive word of mouth. In the same vein, a good management of your e-reputation will show your prospects that you are a trustworthy company whose well-being of its customers is the priority.

When it comes to managing your online reputation, add to your checklist that responding to customer reviews is also a good way to show your customers that their feedback is heard and considered.

According to the Harvard Business Review, it costs 25 times more to acquire new customers than to retain your existing ones. In this sense, take the time to correct customer dissatisfactions to improve customer loyalty. This will help you avoid some scandals that could be generated by your disgruntled customers. This is a crucial step for improving your e-reputation.

Having a good reputation online is also important for motivating your employees at work. A company with a bad reputation will have to do more to gain the trust of its potential customers. As a result, your staff will have to redouble their efforts to convince your prospects to do business with your company. This lack of recognition, coupled with a lot of hard work, is likely to exhaust and demotivate your employees. Stand out as an employer: follow a good online reputation management checklist. Your employees will be proud to work for your organization!

What is a good online reputation management checklist?

Now that you know the importance of your e-reputation, it’s time to optimize its management. However, managing your e-reputation can be complex, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the concept of branding or digital marketing.

What is a good online reputation management checklist to follow to optimize the acquisition of new customers and the motivation of your existing teams? To help you, here are six best practices to follow to stand out on the web.

1. Keep an eye on the web for what is being said about your brand

One of the best points of our online reputation management checklist is to regularly observe what is being said about your business.

According to Semrush, 94% of consumers decide not to do business with a company after reading negative online reviews. In this regard, pay particular attention to your customers’ reviews, comments and feedback. This will help you identify some flaws in your customer experience while monitoring your e-reputation.

In order to follow this advice from our online reputation management checklist, regularly search your company on your social networks. Observe your influence and take your reputation into account to improve it when needed. On Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Facebook and Google My Company, be sure to answer negative questions, comments and reviews to avoid bad branding. At the same time, be sure to read and respond to customer reviews on your various review platforms. This will show your prospects that you are trustworthy and will greatly increase your e-reputation. Keep this advice in mind when following our online reputation management checklist!

On blogs and forums, like Reddit, Tumblr or Quora, also ensure your good reputation through discussions related to your business. Write down the points underlined by users to evaluate the quality of your customer experience, then respond to negative reviews to rectify the situation. This could even allow you to turn some detractors into promoters of your brand.

In terms of research, do you also want to compete? If so, Google Alerts is a potentially beneficial tool. With this Google feature, you can receive a Google email alert as soon as new results are displayed in the search engine for a given topic. For example, you could do what’s said about your brand by creating an alert for your company name. It’s a simple and effective tool for managing your online reputation. Keep this in mind when following our online reputation management checklist!

Finally, another advice from our online reputation management checklist is to observe how your employees feel about your organizational culture and working conditions. To do this, visit job websites such as Glassdoor, Ratemyemployer, CareerBliss and, JobAdviser regularly to observe the anonymous comments of your former employees. This exercise will allow you to create a better employee experience and competitive advantages that will ensure the retention of your future talents. Your brand image is also influenced by the discourse of individuals who have worked for you, don’t forget!

2. Invite your satisfied customers to leave you a positive review online

Of course, online reviews play a crucial role in your clients’ decision-making. Did you know that according to The Power of Reviews, 95% of customers read reviews online before purchasing a product or service? So take every opportunity to get positive reviews by asking your satisfied customers to leave reviews after their positive experience. This will show Internet users that your company is trustworthy.

Follow our online reputation management checklist: invite your satisfied customers to leave a positive review at the right time. Here are a few examples:

• Following a purchase/service, send a customer satisfaction survey at the right time, one to two hours after the experience. If your client is satisfied, offer them to leave a positive review online to attest to the quality of your services. A solution such as InputKit can allow you to automate the sending of these surveys and invitations to simplify your processes. Keep this in mind when following our online reputation management checklist!
• On your website, in some cases, it may be relevant to invite users to leave you a positive review with a pop-up. Link the pop-up to your online review platform, such as your Google My Business account, and then thank your customer for the time they took. This is a good point to remember from our online reputation management checklist.
• On your social networks, it is possible to invite your current clients to leave you a positive review. For example, when someone makes a comment about a colleague’s success or the quality of your services, respond in a playful way. Show your appreciation and seize this opportunity to direct the individual to your online review platform. Your good customer reviews will turn into positive online reviews!
• In your monthly newsletter, feel free to offer your customers a positive online review. Highlight how much their feedback is appreciated and then direct them to a call to action with your notification platform link. This is a good strategy to improve your e-reputation, which in turn could contribute to the acquisition of new customers.

3. Respond to comments about your business

An important advice from our online reputation management checklist is to respond to customer reviews and feedback about your business. Whether negative or positive, these feedbacks have a significant impact on your e-reputation.

A company with many positive reviews will be prioritized in the first results of the search engines. The appearance in the first results of search engines has many advantages, including a greater awareness and a feeling of confidence on the part of potential customers. In addition, this positive feedback will also motivate your employees to give the best of themselves, which will go a long way to improving the customer experience. That’s why a good online reputation management checklist is an asset for the success of your business!

On the other hand, an organization with a bad e-reputation will be less advantaged by search engines and will have to make more efforts to be noticed by its prospects. If you don’t follow a good online reputation management checklist, it can cause you to lose a good number of potential customers, but will also significantly undermine the motivation of your staff. An employee who has to work harder to gain recognition from clients is at high risk of being exhausted and unmotivated. Ultimately, a bad reputation could even lead to your employees’ resignation.

How to improve your e-reputation? First, respond to online feedback! In this way, you thank your satisfied customers and encourage them to return to your company. This is a great way to retain them while encouraging them to share your good services with those around them.

If you are facing customer dissatisfaction, this is also a good opportunity to correct the situation. In addition, you may notice some flaws in your customer experience to improve it. This will show your dissatisfied customers that their satisfaction is at the center of your priorities.

You want to answer your online comments, but don’t know how to do it? To help you, here are some easy tips from our online reputation management checklist for responding to your customers’ feedback.

How to respond to positive feedback

While this may seem trivial, it is important to take the time to respond to  positive feedback from your satisfied customers. After all, these promoters of your brand ensure the success of your business. In addition to sharing the reputation of your organization, they generate positive word of mouth that improves your customer acquisition.

Here are eight key steps from our online reputation management checklist to successfully respond to positive feedback:

1. Personalize your answer with the name of the author of the comment, the service or product mentioned, as well as the point of sale to give a human touch to your interaction.
2. Thank the customer for their time in writing the comment.
3. Tell him that you are happy to know that they’re satisfied with your services.
4. Highlight the particularly positive points raised in the comment to draw the attention of Internet users to these elements.
5. Respond to the comment while maintaining a calm, warm and professional tone.
6. Write a short message to avoid confusion from the author of the comment or other users.
7. Suggest the author of the review to invite other satisfied customers to leave a positive review or comment on your online review platforms or their social networks.
8. Invite the author of the comment to stay in touch with your company with a newsletter to find out about your upcoming promotions and events.

How to respond to negative comments

Of course, it is crucial to respond to negative comments about your business. This is an opportunity to correct your customer dissatisfaction  to convince your dissatisfied customers to give you a second chance. In addition, by doing so, you may even be able to turn some of your detractors into promoters of your brand, which will contribute significantly to your customer retention. This is a key element from our online reputation management checklist that will help you improve your e-reputation!

Are you worried about making things worse? Don’t worry: here’s an easy eleven-steps guide to responding to your dissatisfied customers:

1. First, validate if the comment is from a real customer of your company. If it is a malicious person, a competitor or spam, proceed to delete the online comment.
2. Respond to the comment quickly, ideally in less than 24 hours.
3. Thank the author of the comment for the time he has dedicated to writing this online review.
4. Apologize to the customer for the negative experience they had with your business.
5. Emphasize that this comment will be used to improve your customer experience.
6. Use a sincere, professional, and empathetic tone to show the customer and Internet users that you are well-intentioned.
7. Inquire about the source of customer dissatisfaction if it is not mentioned in the comment.
8. In order not to attract the eyes of Internet users, offer the customer to solve the situation with a more private medium, such as the telephone, by email or by appointment.
9. Avoid contradicting or invalidating the customer’s comments and emotions. Be empathetic and clear up misunderstandings as quickly as possible.
10. Be proactive: provide the client with relevant solutions related to the problem experienced.
11. If you manage to resolve customer dissatisfaction, invite the user to change their negative comment to a positive review. You could even offer to write a comment about the positive correction of the situation to show your prospects that customer satisfaction is at the heart of your priorities. This is great advice from our online reputation management checklist.

4. Manage your web platforms in a positive way

Want to promote a positive brand image? To achieve this, we offer you to show your clients and prospects your qualities as a company, but also as human beings. But how do we get there?

On your various web platforms, highlight your social implications as well as your employees. A warm and united team photo will make your leads want to visit your company. Also, why not take the opportunity to highlight the successes of your staff? Make “Employee Success” posts where you promote your employees for their qualities as human beings. This will motivate your teams while showing your prospects how proud you are of your team!

5. Build a network of ambassadors with your managers

Another advice from our online reputation management checklist is to use your managers’ social platforms as a tactic to humanize your organization. They will act as an ambassador for your company, which will be beneficial for your e-reputation!

They play a particularly important role in your organization. In that sense, make sure their platforms represent the culture of your brand. For example, plan publications that they can then publish on their behalf via their social networks. Sharing blog articles, product demonstrations, more fun publications: a multitude of options are available to you!

You may even encourage them to share your upcoming webinars to increase your online visibility and number of leads!

6. Share your positive reviews on your digital platforms (website, social media, etc.)

Use your positive feedback to promote a good brand. When posting online, highlight some positive comments and reviews on your social networks. On your website, using a solution like InputKit, set up on your homepage a showcase of positive reviews from satisfied customers. Follow our online reputation management checklist : it will attest to your qualities as a company and will demonstrate to your leads that you’re trustworthy. This is a must for acquiring new customers!

How can InputKit help you with your online reputation management checklist?

Running out of time to respond to customer reviews? Want to simplify your processes after reading our online reputation management checklist? If this is your case, InputKit’s web reputation management and enhancement solution is what you need.

1. Automated satisfaction surveys to optimize your practices

Our fully automated and personalized satisfaction surveys are sent at the right time, one to two hours after the experience. Our response rate of 49% by email and 57% by SMS will allow you to gather valuable information to improve your customer experience. In this way, you will be able to optimize your offer of services and products based on the real needs of your customers. This is a great way to show your customers that their opinions matter to you.

2. An invitation to your online reviews for a better e-reputation

Following a satisfaction survey, you can automatically invite your satisfied customers to leave you a positive review online. This will greatly increase your number of positive reviews, which in turn will impact your visibility on the search engines. This strategy is a must to improve your e-reputation.

3. Real-time information for greater responsiveness

Worried about not responding to all your online reviews? InputKit also has a real-time notification system to allow you to respond to users as quickly as possible. Thanks to its centralized management and its filter for non-responded reviews, you can easily respond to all your customers.

4. Save time with artificial intelligence

Our integrated Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution allows you to respond to your customers’ online feedback and feedback in a fully automated and personalized way. These valuable tools will save you several hours of work, in addition to automating certain tasks in your online reputation management checklist. This is an essential asset for spreading a good brand image and improving your e-reputation.

5. Track your reputation through centralized performance indicators in a dashboard

Finally, thanks to InputKit, you will also be able to track the development of your company’s reputation using your performance indicators linked to your reputation. On your dashboard, follow these indicators to ensure your organization’s online reputation:

• Your Net Promoter Score (NPS), to find out if your company has ambassadors and generates a positive word of mouth.
• Your Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), to know the quality of your customer experience and improve it accordingly.
• Your Customer Effort Score (CES), to analyze the simplicity of your customer journey and improve it to generate a better e-reputation.
• Your average online review score, to ensure your reviews are positive and maximize your online visibility.

Don’t forget: regularly monitor your performance indicators to adapt to your customers’ specific needs. A quality customer experience will retain your existing customer base and generate positive word of mouth that will facilitate your customer acquisition. Definitely, InputKit will allow you to optimize your processes with our solution and our online reputation management checklist!

While managing your reputation online can be complex, follow our online reputation management checklist to deliver a good brand image.

Regularly monitor what people say about you on the web through social networks, blogs, forums, websites, online review platforms and job sites to analyze the impact of your presence on these media. Invite your satisfied customers to leave positive reviews on your online platforms to show your leads that you are a trustworthy company as well as to increase your visibility on search engines. Be sure to always respond to comments from users, both positive and negative, so that they know that their satisfaction is at the center of your priorities. Finally, promote a positive brand image of your company by highlighting your organizational culture, your employees, your social involvement, and by including your staff in your digital marketing.

Remember: InputKit can help you simplify your online reputation management checklist with its solution.

Several features make InputKit a solution that will simplify your online reputation management checklist. Automated satisfaction surveys and automated invitations to leave positive reviews are two things that will make your life easier. In addition, the non-responded reviews filter and the responses to the reviews, composed thanks to artificial intelligence, will save you several hours of management. Finally, our dashboard with centralized performance indicators will allow you to quickly and efficiently track your online reputation. These assets will allow you to devote your time to improving and optimizing your customer experience according to your customers’ concrete needs.

Interested in our solution? Plan a free, customized demo with our e-reputation experts now!