In all honesty, I hadn't given it much thought.  Have you?  Reputation Management?  What does that even mean?  But then, I started doing business development for a new client specializing in the legal marketing industry and this happened.  MIND. BLOWN.  

Pay close attention my friends.  Anyone, I really mean EVERYONE, has an online presence that is precariously positive at best and potentially damning at worst.  We've all heard about people posting questionable tidbits to social media not realizing their privacy setting aren't set properly (I'm talking to you Trey Burke).  We also hear of celebrities having personal data hacked from their devices and cloud storage (we're looking at you Jennifer Lawrence).  

BUT did you know that on some review sites, one negative review or 1 star rating can take your 5 star rating all the way down to a 2 star!   In one click!  

OUCH!  ouch.  

Imagine a Michelin caliber restaurant going from 5 stars to 2 stars because a disgruntled past employee had a vendetta.  OR Imagine that your business name is similar to another business located in a different state but you are getting THEIR BAD REVIEWS on your listings.  

Here's the rub.

72% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

But wait!  Here's more bad news. 

90% of customers say buying decisions are influenced by online reviews.

AND then it gets worse. 

Mobile platform usage has surpassed desktop & laptop which means only the star ratings and very most recent reviews are being read on that teeny, tiny screen.  

So what can be done?  I've compiled 5 easy steps.  

• 1. Claim your listings:  Sounds simple enough and it is but it is SUPER time consuming.  
• 2. Submit corrections: Once you've claimed your listing, you may submit corrections for some sites.  Not all sites allow corrections and even better, some sites make you PAY to update the information.  (there is a special place in hell for these folks)
• 3. Resubmit corrections: Due to the gargantuan data chewing machines controlling the internet who think they are much smarter than you or I are, they will reload all the incorrect data back on the sites.  Seriously.  You will have to resubmit several times for the corrections to actually stick.  Plan on doing this for several months.  
• 4. Stay alert:  Keep track of what is being posted online and check back frequently.
• 5. Respond:  If you discover a negative review,  on most claimed sites you can respond to them and resolve the problem.  Your TOP PRIORITY should be to immediately take negative customers offline to discuss their concerns privately and directly. 

Another suggestion would be to encourage your happy customers to write positive reviews BUT be careful of being too solicitous.   Fake positives can be more damaging than a courteous and thoughtful response to a negative review.  See #5. 

For more information on professional reputation management or any marketing questions feel free to contact me here.