I am not certain who first said “What other people think of you is none of your business,” but it is a piece of wisdom I wholeheartedly subscribe to in my personal life. I strive to ignore gossip about me, am not willing participant in mudslinging, and never allow someone else’s truth about me define my own.
By: Jennifer Calise
I am not certain who first said “What other people think of you is none of your business,” but it is a piece of wisdom I wholeheartedly subscribe to in my personal life. I strive to ignore gossip about me, am not willing participant in mudslinging, and never allow someone else’s truth about me define my own.
That being said, as a CMO and brand builder, I realize that what other people think of your brand or business IS your business. In fact, it is so powerful if you disregard it, it may COST you your business.
What astounds me is that companies will spent months and millions of dollars crafting brands and marketing campaigns, and then hesitate to invest in ensuring their online reviews are up to par. I often wonder is the media in which they come in a Google result not tangible or “real enough” to drive home the impact? Are marketing professionals failing to set aside budgets for reputation management because digital reviews are just THAT – online and not tangible to all of our senses?
To help create an understanding of just how powerful online reviews, let’s use a multi-dimensional scenario to make the power of online review more real. Consider this:
79% of consumers place equal weight on both online reviews and personal recommendations. That means whatever search result appears to a consumer is as powerful as someone standing in your store and whispering in a potential customer’s ear, “Don’t purchase that. This place is not reputable.”
Imagine a brick-and-mortar store full of people shouting negative things about your store or products as individuals make their way to the register. That angry mob in the store? That’s Google, Bing, and all other search engines. This is exactly what is happening if you have negative reviews about your company online.
Perhaps the other issue that leaves online reputation lacking the respect it deserves is we believe that not everyone will see it, or a small portion of the population is vulnerable to being swayed. This is simply not so. The reality is 85% of consumers use the internet for research before making a purchasing decision. To bring this back to the store example, imagine all of your customers on any given day – now remove 85% of them. That is what your negative review can cost your business.
Lastly, think of your own behavior (again, let’s use offline examples). You are in a grocery store selecting apples. Another shopper comes up to you and comments that there was just a significant amount of moldy fruit removed from the pile. And, oh yes, they had seen quite a few worms crawling out of the apples. Now, you have not seen the mold or the worms first-hand, but are you really willing to roll the dice and buy those apples, or is the suggestion by a fellow consumer enough to have you considering another fruit? Think of how much that insight, or review, changes your own behavior. Your fellow shopper’s name? Google.
Marketing visionaries and savvy business professionals realize that their businesses may be doing fine or even well with negative public feedback. However, there are undeniably countless lost opportunities that cannot be counted because of those unfavorable reviews.
Want to grow your business? Google yourself. If you see anything negative, make a firm commitment to restore your reputation. I assure you that in six months your business will likely be in a whole new place and have a lot more customers eating apples again.
fishbat is an online marketing company that offers services in online reputation management, social media, SEO, and digital ads to increase brand awareness. Connect with our team through our Contact Page or call us at 855-347-4228.
Contact New York Social Media Agency fishbat for information about reputation management services.
