OUR buying habits have changed of late and we want everything to be presented instantly. We no more want to go to market and instead, just place orders online for everything we require. Online is the biggest marketplace now and hundreds of thousands of products and services are transacted online. Plenty of online sites using tools like search engine optimisation have been launched in recent past. These sites match companies with intending buyers using internet-based sources and platforms like search engine, social media etc. Therefore, these sites are can respond immediately after communication with the parties. If they fail to do so or respond late, it will affect reputation of the online sites. It is at this point the question of reputation management comes into picture.
The term reputation management can be defined based on three aspects. Firstly, building a sound relationship with new businesses and keeping cordial relationship with the existing ones. Secondly, maintaining a superior image in customers' minds and thirdly, quick recovery of image if or when lost.
Maintaining reputation for online business is quite difficult as there is hardly any opportunity for the parties to meet or sit together. So, the online businesses should design their reputation management strategies that may help develop a sound reputation management system.
What can be a prospective strategy? Since online business organisations have to maintain reputation through online media as there is no possibility of direct interaction between the parties, they need to set perfect strategies which are mentioned below:
n Online media can make arrangement for blogs to be updated regularly.
n Hire people to prepare good reviews on the website and present the same in a persuasive way.
n Create syndication with similar types of organisations and share links, articles and blogs with the parties.
n Create page using the official name of the organisation in social media like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. Interaction between the parties in social media is quite easy and clients can also post their review concurrently.
n Have video presentation incorporating all the good prospects and offers and upload it using the public platforms like YouTube.
n Although a powerful platform, online businesses should avoid Wikipedia as any modification, if required, is quite complex here.
n Sometimes negative reviews may bring home some good results as controversial reviews will drive more people to search for that particular website and it may eventually act as a google influential ranking factor.
n Online businesses should have a call centre facility using which they can have verbal contacts with various clients and offer their services.
n Organisations related to online businesses may also introduce a live chat box from where they can communicate with the clients live.
n Other ideas, such as clan up the negative review or present review in a graphic manner indicating the percentage of positive and negative reviews, can also be applied.
The success of online businesses depends heavily on reputation management. Besides, web visibility may help achieve long-term goal and proper reputation management will improve the online business organisation's footmarks on the world of web.
Sk. Shamim Iqbal
R&D Division, FSIBL
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