He mentions that the advantages of a company monitoring their repuattion online are many and varied, and include nipping bad PR in the bud, Customer likes and dislikes about your company, features to include in your next launch, ways to improve customer service, complaints about your competition and opportunities to move in.

The first step of his 7 step process is, in my opinion, the most important; Perform an honest self-analysis. This means that the current issue you are facing is most likely because of something you or your company did, or a weakness in your company’s processes. Once you can figure out why this happened (without blaming the consumer/customer), the closer you will be to making sure this type of problem with your online reputation does not happen again.

Also, part of step 5, Strategize Responses, is very important, and is often not your first instinct; Offer a genuine apology. In general, people who post negatively online are at their wits end and feel they have no other way to reach people at the company, and they just want to be heard. To be told by a personable company representative that they understand why they are upset, and are offered a genuine apology, you can quickly turn a hostile person into an asset to the company. Once they feel understood, they can often suggest ways this type of problem can be avoided in the future, since they have the best understanding of being a consumer of the company product. An employee of the company understandably does not have the same views of the company and its products, so the consumer viewpoint is extremely valuable.

“The heart of your Anthillz profile is a series of testimonials and reviews written by colleagues you trust. Their words paint a rich picture of who you are and what it’s like to work with you.”

This begs the question ‘What about the people who have something bad to say about you?’ For outside researchers, this type of information can be more useful than just positive praise.

ReputationManagementFirm.com is owned and operated by website marketing company, Brick Marketing.  Brick Marketing has over 12 years of internet marketing experience.

It’s important that you know what is being said online that can affect your reputation. There are countless blogs, web pages, and forums on the internet on which conversations are being carried out that can affect your online reputation, and you should be a part of those conversations. The first thing you need to know is where those conversations are taking place, and the Online Reputation blog will give you insight into how to find those places. Once you know where to go online, you will be much more prepared to protect your online reputation.