Online Reputation Repercussions of

Managing It By Hook or By Crook

When Samsung paid people to criticise HTC’s products, little would the former have realised that it is inviting trouble.

Much to everyone’s surprise the mobile phone giant paid a heavy price for what they call astroturfing, a popular under-the-counter online reputation management technique.

Samsung was fined, plain and simple. Ironically, what the company did came out

in the wash for obvious reasons, but there are many others who engage in such activities.

With instances like these becoming a common scene, it is obvious for others, especially those who go the white-hat way, to ask if it makes sense to manage online reputation at any cost.

Going Overboard (and Killing It)

Thanks, We are

glad you liked

the food here.

Thanks, We are glad you liked the food here. You may see

some negative reviews online. But they are false. You

can ask anyone. We only serve fresh and

delicious food

Which of the two would you want to see as a response when you write a review for some restaurant that you ate at, say last week? Well, we all know the answer, but let’s find out what’s wrong with the second one:

It’s OVER-promotional It’s sure to drive you away It shows the restaurant’s

desperation It may make the matters worse if

the restaurant already has some negative reviews

Some companies are no different than this restaurant that we are talking of as an example.

Supressing the Voice of the Customers (and Digging

Their Own Grave) It is funny how some companies have found a unique way of dealing with

reputation woes – making sure there are none, by eliminating the source, i.e. the customers. Yes, you may not believe it, but there are companies that don’t let the customers speak. Why they would do that, you may wonder.

Or so they think. When the customers are not allowed to voice their opinions, they turn to review sites. And when they pour their heart out, they make even the biggest of the companies bite dust – they have that power – after all, customers are (were, will be) the kings, remember?

No Reviews = No need to push down the negative ones

Attempting Review Removal

(and Falling Flat) Companies display what is commonly referred to as confirmation bias. For starters, they like to think they can get the negative reviews removed. Why companies try to get the negative reviews off the search results in the first

place, you may think. They always look for a shortcut, simple. They know what they need to do is to push down the negative reviews and make

way for the positive ones, but that takes time, something they believe they are always running out of. So, they choose the easy way out.

Or so they think. They fall in a trap – one that they are never able to come out of. The reviews, still there, continue to damage their reputation.

Losing Cool (Losing Customers – once and

for all)

Pathetic Products.Cheaters. Didn’t evengive my money back.

I think what they needis a shrink. Their customer service

department just is fullof retards.

Had a horribleexperience. What do

you guys think you aredoing? Shut up shop for

heaven’s sake.

Continue…

Let’s say these reviews are posted by your customers. Be honest; did you just kill them in your head? Did you?

If you did, you are no different from companies that forget the customers have every right to vent out their anger, shout and say bad things.

But the companies, well, they need to stay calm, even when they are pushed to the limit.

Yes, at times, the customers may say something that is completely intolerable, but then there are other ways of dealing with it, lawsuits included.

That being said, there are companies that mistakenly treat themselves at par with the customers and think that it is okay to lose cool.

It is not, period. Customers don’t like it when someone talks back.

Painting a Rosy Picture(and Raising Suspicion)

Here’s a short story:

Mary went to Tom’s restaurant.

Ate a pizza and left.

Tom’s restaurant’s billboard now says

‘ Mary's favorite pizza.’

Tom didn’t ask Mary if she liked

the pizza

In short, Tom didn’t collect any feedback from Mary and tried to trick other customers into believing that Mary liked the pizza.

Maybe she did, but who knows? Some companies are Tom. They are of the opinion that some things are better left unsaid.

That’s their way of dealing with website reputation woes – telling everyone that all’s well.

They don’t realise that feedback is for their own good and can in fact, help them handle reputation issues really fast.

After all, it is feedback that leads to corrective measures, which in turn, lay the foundation for almost every reputation management strategy.

Companies that do not value customer feedback often find themselves in the public eye.

Going Legal at the Drop of a Hat

(and Drawing Flak) Companies, when libeled, have the option of submitting legal take-down requests. Agreed and understood; but, what if they seek legal intervention every now and then?

Yes, there’s no harm in playing safe and not responding to customer reviews in an agitated manner, but that doesn’t mean it is okay to drag them to court for something that is not an attempt to libel in the first place.

Customers get back at such companies, i.e. companies that think going legal is the best way, damaging the latter’s reputation beyond repair.

Publishing Content Left, Right and Centre (and Making the

Matters Worse) First things first; positive content is what is needed

to push down the negative results. Fair enough. But, some companies take it way too

seriously, not that they should not, but when they submit content to just about any site, they often land in soup.

Perhaps what they don’t know is that content does help in case of online reputation, but only when submitted to authoritative websites.

That’s because these are the sites that pave way for brand promotion. However, content submission to every other site creates an impression that the companies are trying too hard – and that’s not a good thing, at least not in the eyes of the customers.

Using Spam Bots (and Putting the Final Nail in

the Coffin) With reputation management taking the centre

stage, companies are leaving no stone unturned to look good online.

However, some of them go that extra mile (hope you get the sarcasm!) and use spam bots.

These are the same companies that vanish into thin air. Poof!

And then there are companies that play it smart and do not think twice before resorting to denial-of-service attacks, continuing their journey on the path to self-destruction.

A Quick Recap

Online reputation, if damaged, can affect your bottom line like anything. But that doesn’t mean, it can be fixed any which way you want – yes, you can take

control, but virtually screaming at your customers is fatal and so is filing a lawsuit against them, when there is no need to.

The idea is to calm down the agitated customers, see what can be done to satisfy them and ensure that in the future, they don’t find any reason to complain.

However, if you see them as rebels and try to stop them, well, they are going to fight back.

And boy oh boy, they can fight. They have their ammo ready, word-of-mouth included.

A Way Out

If you list down the top 10 things that are better left to experts, website reputation management is sure to feature among the first 5.

Simply put, don’t take the matters into your hands because chances are that if you do so, the situation is going to take a turn for the worse. Let the experts (read: professional online reputation managers) step in.

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