Online Reputation Management Whitepaper By: Malcom Chakery At one time, reputation management was altogether a different process, one where companies were too heavily focused on the front-end of the buyer-seller relationship. This was a time when companies were committed to controlling their image, their message, their brand, and most importantly, their reputation. In fact, for many consumers, it appeared as if companies were taking a passive approach to how they interacted with their customer base. These were the days when companies controlled how customer complaints could be generated, received, and most importantly, how and when those customer complaints would be addressed and or resolved. Time was on the side of the company, but those times have surely changed. Today’s consumer has more readymade tools available, ones that allow them to take a more assertive role towards a company’s perceived lack of vigilance. In most cases, today’s consumers are more likely to refer to friends and family members about their unhappiness long before they even consider contacting the company directly. Ultimately, a number of changes have taken place and today’s companies are just now starting to understand the impact of these changes on their brand and their reputation. Consumer Actions in Today’s Marketplace • The internet has empowered consumers. • Mobile devices simplify how consumers share likes and dislikes. • Consumers rely upon the internet in order to secure time-sensitive information about new product introductions and company reputations. • Consumers also use the internet to research what other likeminded individuals think of the company and its products. • The internet is also a consumer’s main source for product reviews and consumer reports. • More and more of today’s customers are making purchases online and they are more likely to make those purchases with companies they trust. • Consumers define trust by how well they know the company’s brand and reputation. If that online brand and reputation is above reproach, then trust is sure to follow. Whether warranted or not, today’s consumer is much more likely to jump online and immediately make their voices heard through blogs, websites, forums and social media. In fact, the internet has empowered the mobile customer and given them the platform to impact, mold, and in some cases, destroy a company’s brand and reputation in real-time. This shift has fundamentally changed reputation management and given rise to a new reality that companies must now accept. Instead of trying to turn back time, companies must come up with new proactive online reputation management strategies. This involves amalgamating the information provided by customers and using it to better manage that company’s reputation. How Companies Approached Reputation Management in the Past Companies used to control how customers could issue complaints by controlling the process and means

1. www.chakery.com | 214.295.5550 | admin@chakery.com @chakery
At one time, reputation management was altogether a different process,
one where companies were too heavily focused on the front-end of the
buyer-seller relationship. This was a time when companies were committed
to controlling their image, their message, their brand, and most importantly,
their reputation. In fact, for many consumers, it appeared as if companies
were taking a passive approach to how they interacted with their customer
base.
These were the days when companies controlled how customer complaints
could be generated, received, and most importantly, how and when those
customer complaints would be addressed and or resolved. Time was on the
side of the company, but those times have surely changed. Today’s consumer
has more readymade tools available, ones that allow them to take a more
assertive role towards a company’s perceived lack of vigilance.
In most cases, today’s consumers are more likely to refer to
friends and family members about their unhappiness long
before they even consider contacting the company directly.
Ultimately, a number of changes have taken place and today’s
companies are just now starting to understand the impact of
these changes on their brand and their reputation.
web design • s eo • g raphic design
Online Reputation Management

2. www.chakery.com | 214.295.5550 | admin@chakery.com @chakery
Consumer Actions in Today’s Marketplace
Whether warranted or not, today’s consumer is much more likely to jump
online and immediately make their voices heard through blogs, websites,
forums and social media. In fact, the internet has empowered the mobile
customer and given them the platform to impact, mold, and in some cases,
destroy a company’s brand and reputation in real-time.
This shift has fundamentally changed reputation management and given rise
to a new reality that companies must now accept. Instead of trying to turn
back time, companies must come up with new proactive online reputation
management strategies. This involves amalgamating the information provided
by customers and using it to better manage that company’s reputation.
How Companies Approached
Reputation Management in the Past
Companies used to control how customers could issue complaints by
controlling the process and means of expressing those grievances. Ultimately,
companies themselves controlled the medium. The company’s packaging
and branding may have included a service phone number, and or an address
to express their issues and grievances, but that didn’t guarantee customers
would receive a timely response. Even if they were able to immediately
return the product, there was still no guarantee the customer would get an
answer in time.
While on the surface this may have seemed to be proactive for companies,
in many ways it wasn’t. After all, the impetus was on the customer contacting
the company to find a solution and not the company having to, or needing to, respond in a timely manner. Ultimately, it
became somewhat inconvenient for a customer to go through the process of issuing a complaint.
It took time for customers to call and wait on the line. Extended wait times was common, and in many cases, it was
a strategy employed by companies in order to get customers to abandon pursuit. The idea was that customers would
eventually get tired of waiting for someone to come online and find a solution. Instead, they just gave up.
Calling the company and navigating through a series of telephone prompts, before finally being able to speak with
someone, was a laborious process. Sometimes the issues were resolved, and sometimes they weren’t. In many cases,
companies had little motivation to see those issues resolved because the thinking was that a single customer had minimal
impact on a company’s brand and reputation. So, what about consumer advocacy groups?
»» The internet has empowered consumers.
»» Mobile devices simplify how consumers
share likes and dislikes.
»» Consumers rely upon the internet in
order to secure time-sensitive information
about new product introductions and
company reputations.
»» Consumers also use the internet
to research what other likeminded
individuals think of the company and its
products.
»» The internet is also a consumer’s main
source for product reviews and consumer
reports.
»» More and more of today’s customers are
making purchases online and they are
more likely to make those purchases with
companies they trust.
»» Consumers define trust by how well
they know the company’s brand and
reputation. If that online brand and
reputation is above reproach, then trust is
sure to follow.
... today’s consumer is much more likely to
jump online and immediately make their
voices heard through blogs, websites, forums
and social media ...

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The Limited Reach of Consumer Advocacy Groups
Consumer advocacy groups weren’t a viable solution either. Granted, they offered a place to file grievances, but they
couldn’t guarantee that the company would respond in a timely manner. Companies could still take time to craft an answer
to a given complaint at a time and method of their choosing. Advocacy groups were sometimes able to get a resolution,
but only after the company had the time to assess the complaint, define its severity and craft a well-worded response. In
many instances, it became a cost-benefit analysis and assessment for companies; companies that didn’t see any benefit to
a response often paid lip service to customers by merely offering discounts on future purchases.
This third party consumer resource was limited in its reach and impact. Companies took their time assessing the severity
of the complaint and ultimately made a calculated decision on how to respond. It took time to resolve any outstanding
issues and that time always allowed companies to further entrench themselves in their market with a tailored message to
new customers.
Companies Dictated Their Brand to their
Market
All of this control allowed companies to focus on brand
management. With customers minimized in terms of their
influence, companies were free to continually inundate their
market with a well-crafted message. The process continued
unabated for years until consumers started to adopt the
internet and make their voices heard through their mobile
devices.
The marketing strategies these companies employed included
outbound strategies where they would inundate their target
audience with repetitive messaging and constant reminders of
the relevance of the company’s brand. It allowed companies to take a more assertive role with both existing and future
customers by conveying imagery and messaging that constantly reinforced the company’s brand and reputation.
With customer issues and complaints under control, companies had free reign to dictate and define their brand’s relevance
to customers. Conventional marketing strategies were still being used and a steady stream of messaging allowed companies
to convey a message that, at some times, was completely contradictory to the company’s record. In many ways, a company
with a subpar product offering was still able to convey a unique value proposition.
As the internet took hold, companies begrudgingly provided customers with the means of contacting them via the
company’s website or by email. However, it was simply another attempt at controlling the process and one that is no
longer viable in today’s marketplace.
With customer issues and complaints
under control, companies had free reign to
dictate and define their brand’s relevance to
customers...

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A New Reality for Today’s Marketplace
Nowadays companies can ill-afford to be passive. They can no longer afford to sit back and wait for a customer to voice
their displeasure. The impetus for change has been thrust upon companies by a market where the consumer dictates the
terms, dictates response times, and dictates the relevance and impact of likes and dislikes.
It’s no longer a question of waiting for customers
to contact companies to discuss issues; today’s
consumers are empowered to voice their opinions
and they have far too many outlets to express
themselves than to waste their own time calling to
advise a company of their displeasure. In fact, the first
thought that comes to a customer’s mind is sharing
what they’ve learnt with friends and family members.
Instead of trying to find a solution, they turn to those
individuals closest to them.
Sharing via mobile devices is easy, immediate and allows consumers to constantly stay in touch with others. In this case, it’s
less about the product or service and more about having yet another excuse to stay in touch by sending a text message,
tweet and or social media update.
This new reality has given rise to an entirely different approach to reputation and brand management, one where
companies must be proactive instead of reactive, responsive instead of passive, and most importantly, respectful instead
of indifferent.
This change has come from the mobile customer, one who is able to define their satisfaction and displeasure in real-time
by immediately sharing how they feel, what they want, and how they want it. So, what must companies do moving forward
in order to better manage and participate in this new medium?
First, companies must become active participants in managing their search engine results pages (SERPs). Second, companies
need an all-encompassing strategy that simplifies how they identify their target audience online. Third, companies must
be willing to engage these customers online and work with them to find reasonable solutions to outstanding issues.
Fourth, employing contact analytics, and even speech analytics, allows companies to analyze the raw data emerging from
customer interactions such as calls, emails, social media, twitter and online forums. Fifth, companies must adopt a social
media strategy tailored to their target audience’s social media platform of choice. Finally, the company must have an all-
encompassing online strategy that provides a cohesive message through its website, its blogs and its chosen social media
platform.
... the first thought that comes to a
customer’s mind is sharing what they’ve
experienced with friends and family
members...

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1. Understanding the Impact of Your Company’s
Search Engine Results Page (SERP)
A company’s SERP refers to those initial five to ten results that come up
on searches when the company’s name, and or its products and services,
are entered as a search term. However, relying solely upon the company’s
name, and the results that initially come up, is not a fair assessment of the
company’s true online reputation. After all, it’s fairly easy for a company to
“buy” favorable results for a chosen keyword and or keyword-phrase by
making sure the first couple of results are either advertisements or links that
direct consumers to the company’s website.
Instead, companies must be creative and search for potential problems by
using search terms such as “fraud”, “lied to”, “bad”, “poor quality”, “scam”
and or “dishonest” when searching their company online.
Consumers are more likely to use these aforementioned search terms when trying to get a true indication of a company’s
online reputation. It’s a common practice to combine these keywords alongside a company’s name in online searches. The
goal is to gain insight into the other side of the proverbial coin; an upset customer with a story to tell is a powerful one
indeed. It becomes an even bigger problem if that search result leads to an entire page of disparaging comments from
disgruntled former customers.
2. Identifying Your Target Audience Online
Managing a company’s reputation online begins and ends with a thorough understanding of that company’s target audience,
or better yet, its market segment. This involves defining separate customer segments, where these customer segments
gather and express themselves online, and most importantly, what preferences they have with respect to how and when
they share information.
The everyday consumer will share information via their mobile devices on popular social media sites like Facebook,
whereas a professional business customer will post issues and concerns on professional forums and websites like LinkedIn.
One shares their information instantaneously, while the other takes their time and posts information when they can.
3. Engaging Customers Online: Finding Workable Solutions
It’s one thing to understand how and when customers voice their concerns and displeasure, but it’s something else entirely
to be proactive and find solutions. Managing a company’s online reputation involves becoming an active participant with
Managing a company’s reputation
online begins and ends with a thorough
understanding of that company’s target
audience...
»» Today’s consumers love sharing anything
and everything.
»» Sharing likes and dislikes about a given
product or service is just another excuse
to stay in touch with friends and family
members.
»» Consumers are more likely to trust
the opinions of friends and likeminded
individuals than merely relying upon the
messaging provided by a nondescript,
faceless corporation.

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a company’s online customers. It means perusing those online forums,
websites and social media platforms in order to engage customers and
discuss their concerns.
There are essentially three benefits of engaging customers in this manner.
First, it shows other potential customers that your company is proactive
in conflict resolution. Second, it provides the impetus to reinitiate contact
with an upset customer and hopefully find a long-term viable solution.
Finally, it provides your company with historical data on the types of
problems customers are encountering.
4. Adopting Contact Analytics and Voice Analytics
Tracking data is critical to understanding the main concerns and or issues customers have. Today’s contact analytics and
voice analytics software platforms allow companies to compile voice of customer data on all issues customer-related. First,
companies are able to define the main issues by tracking specific words and or phrases most often written by customers
online. This allows companies to further anticipate potential problems by tracking these same words and phrases in real-
time. In essence, companies can adapt strategies that provide immediate notification any time these phrases or words
emerge.
Speech analytics is similar. The data comes directly from customers once they are engaged and on a call with a customer
service representative. Companies can use contact and speech analytics in combination with one another in order to
identify potential issues and confront them head-on. For instance, a company could use contact analytics with respect to
its incoming emails in order to be better prepared when those same customers are on the phone. Tracking both results
in real-time allows companies to assume an assertive role with respect to customer retention.
5. Adopting the Right Social Media Strategy Tailored to Your Market, Industry and
Customers
Perhaps the single most important aspect of adopting the right online reputation management strategy is to focus on
incorporating the right social media strategy. In this case, there is an inherent difference between a business-to-consumer
(B2C) market, a business-to-government (B2G) market, and a business-to-business (B2B) market. For instance, the B2B
market is one where business professionals interact solely with other business professionals in the same market or industry.
Consumer markets are best serviced by Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter. Professional businesses are best serviced by
LinkedIn and other social media forums focused on a specific industry or market segment. Industry trade publications
and online trade magazines allow business professionals in specific industries to share information and concerns about a
company’s latest product or service introduction.
Perhaps the single most important aspect of adopting
the right online reputation management strategy is to
focus on incorporating the right social media strategy...
Benefits of Engaging Customers:
»» I. It demonstrates how proactive your
company is.
»» II. It provides an opportunity to improve
the current relationship while helping to
find a long-term solution.
»» III. It provides your company with data on
customer issues.

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Adopting the right social media strategy is paramount to success. However, it’s not simply about having a presence on
social media. It’s not simply about having a webpage or resource on social media. Instead, it’s about providing engaging
content and or video to these social media platforms while tracking likes and dislikes in order to gauge customer interest.
Ultimately, it has to be seen as a continuous feedback loop, one where customers provide a company with all the
information it needs to tailor its social media strategy. Afterwards, that information is then fed back into the process in
order to make sure those same customer sources are receiving newly updated content, the kind of content that addresses
those customer concerns and issues that were expressed just hours or days before.
6. One All-Encompassing Online Strategy
All of this information is useless unless the company is able to put it to good use. This involves coming up with a continually-
updating, all-encompassing online strategy, one that builds a cohesive marketing and online reputation strategy through
the company’s website, its blogs and its social media platform. Included in this is the company’s offline and online public
relations initiatives.
The focus must be on amalgamating all the information from the company’s online resources and then tailoring a message
that specifically addresses the most common themes emerging from online engagement. For instance, if a company were
to introduce a product that was poorly received online, then it should tailor its response across its entire online platform.
First, the company would engage those customers who are unsatisfied and work with them to find a reasonable solution.
Second, the company would monitor incoming calls and online engagement with contact and speech analytics in order
to anticipate and identify emerging customer
trends and issues. Third, the company would
further solidify its message through its social
media platforms by providing customers with the
opportunity to register complaints. Fourth, the
company would then produce engaging content
that addresses these issues. This content would
then be posted on the company’s website, its
blog and under its press release section. That
same content would then be promoted on
the company’s social media platform of choice.
It’s about fully engaging the company’s target
audience.
It’s about fully engaging the company’s
target audience.

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The reputation and brand management strategies of the past must remain
in the past. They have little to no impact on today’s mobile customer.
Companies must come to terms with the fact that they can no longer dictate
or define their reputation or brand. Their customers are doing that at this
very moment. It is essential that companies adopt a more proactive approach
to online management, one that takes advantage of all the tools available and
one that simplifies how companies find, sell and keep customers.
The best companies don’t fight the obvious. They take
the information directly from their customers in order to
improve their online presence. This is the same philosophy
the best companies use when designing their websites.
Instead of relying upon intuition, and or letting someone’s
ego get in the way of a better website design, the best
companies simply use the feedback provided by customers
in order to upgrade their website’s layout.
Of course, this doesn’t involve actually asking each and every
customer coming to the company’s website for their opinion.
Today’s companies don’t need to do that. Instead, they use heat signature software that tracks a visitor’s cursor as they
navigate the website. Studies have shown that a visitor’s cursor follows a natural path of their eyes. Where the visitor looks
the cursor from the mouse is sure to follow.
Companies that have the best website rely upon real-time feedback from customers and simple tools like Google’s
Analytics and Webmaster Tools. The idea behind improving an individual’s online experience is to simply go with what
the customer is doing and then take that feedback to improve the website.
The same rule applies in online reputation management.
The best companies ... take the
information directly from their customers
in order to improve their online presence.