Reputation Management Process

A product's actual quality matters less than whether consumers believe it's effective, which is why reputation management has expanded well beyond its original public relations roots into a continuous, always-on discipline. This guide covers the three-step process brands use to manage reputation: observation and monitoring, building a response plan, and responding professionally to what comes in.

Why reputation management matters more than ever

Brand reputation builds gradually through comments, discussions, press coverage, and reviews left across forums and websites, which means the information available about a brand online has to stay favorable on an ongoing basis, not just during a crisis. Reputation management today exists in two forms, offline and online, but the online side now dominates given how much interaction happens on social media and the open internet.

1. Observation and monitoring

Monitoring comes before any reaction. Listening to what customers and the public actually think about a brand, its management, and its products is the foundation every other reputation management activity builds on, since correcting a misperception first requires knowing it exists.

2. Build a response plan

Monitoring alone isn't sufficient. Once perception has been tracked, a brand needs an actual plan for responding, including a designated person or team responsible for reviewing comments and determining which ones require a direct reply versus which can be left alone.

3. Respond professionally and consistently

Negative reviews and comments are inevitable, and how a brand handles them matters more than the fact that they exist. Sentiment needs to stay out of the response: customers need to feel heard and see that a resolution is genuinely underway. Positive comments deserve a response too, even if a simple expression of gratitude is often enough. Because so much human interaction now happens online, a brand needs an active presence to engage in real time, and that presence needs to be measured, not just maintained, so the effect of engagement on actual reputation can be tracked over time.

FAQ

What are the steps in the reputation management process?

Observation and monitoring of public perception, building a response plan with clear ownership, and responding to both negative and positive feedback professionally and consistently.

What's the difference between offline and online reputation management?

Offline reputation management covers traditional PR and word-of-mouth; online reputation management covers social media, reviews, and web content, and now represents the larger share of the discipline given how much interaction happens online.

How should a brand respond to negative reviews?

Without defensiveness or emotion, acknowledging the complaint directly, showing the customer they've been heard, and communicating that a resolution is in progress.

Work with a PR agency that manages reputation proactively

Virgo PR builds ongoing reputation management programs, not just crisis response. Talk to Virgo PR about your next campaign.