Brands that crushed their Online Reputation Management Strategy in 2023
Shefali Mathur
Your customer does not buy your product but a whole experience.
Your reputation (both online and offline) and its management are crucial. This involves being authentic, communicative, and a problem solver. However, terrible customer service is synonymous with most consumer brands, making it even worse if you have a ‘rep’ to ‘protect’. Even though we live in the golden age of digital light, most brands still need quality customer support and ORM services.
As per a 2022 McKinsey report, modern companies struggle to bring their systems up to speed, train and retain their customer experience and support team. They are now moving towards automation to simplify their journey, but only some names have their ORM and customer support strategy on point, right from the pat.
Here are some brands that are an inspiration when it comes to a stellar ORM strategy.
Patagonia
Nobody has the time for a terrible customer experience, especially not your customers. They are involved in the product they purchase from you today and how your brand makes them feel about you. They want to side with an organisation with aligning values, and any dereliction from that can make them switch.
Patagonia is the perfect example of a value-centric brand. A sports brand with a cause, it creates products keeping in mind the environment and has a superb following of nature and outdoor enthusiasts.
Patagonia’s online reputation management strategy is multifaceted and encompasses various aspects of its online presence, including social media, customer reviews, and search engine results.
The company prioritises transparency, authenticity, and responsiveness to maintain a positive online reputation and foster trust among its customers and stakeholders.
Vital elements of Patagonia’s online reputation management strategy include:
Transparency and Authenticity: Patagonia actively engages with its customers and stakeholders on social media platforms, encouraging open and honest conversations. They regularly share updates on their sustainability initiatives, social responsibility efforts, and product developments, demonstrating transparency and authenticity in their operations.
Proactive Reputation Monitoring: Patagonia employs reputation monitoring tools and techniques to track online mentions, reviews, and sentiments related to its brand. This proactive approach allows them to identify potential issues early on and address them promptly.
Customer Review Management: Patagonia actively encourages customer reviews on their website and third-party platforms, providing a platform for customers to share their experiences and feedback. They respond to positive and negative reviews promptly and professionally, addressing concerns and demonstrating a commitment to customer satisfaction.
Community Engagement and Storytelling: Patagonia engages with online communities and influencers in the outdoor and environmental spheres. They share compelling stories about their products, initiatives, and customers, fostering a positive association with their brand.
Zomato
Zomato’s customer support strategy has been successful in helping them to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction.
The brand’s strategy is centred on providing users with a seamless and efficient experience. They have implemented several initiatives to achieve this, including:
Multi-channel support: Zomato offers support through various channels, including email, phone, and in-app chat. This allows users to reach out to them in the way that is most convenient for them.
Quick response times: Zomato prioritises short response times, aiming to resolve issues within 24 hours. They also have a dedicated team of experts who can handle complex cases.
Strong Social Media Presence: While this may seem more efficient for marketing purposes, Zomato tends to resolve common (and sometimes humorous queries) via its popular social media handle with witty quips and relatable memes.
Proactive communication: Zomato proactively communicates with users about their orders, including sending updates on delivery status and notifying them of any issues.
Self-service options: Zomato provides many self-service options, such as a FAQ page and a knowledge base. This allows users to resolve many issues on their own.
Customer feedback: Zomato values customer feedback and uses it to improve its support offerings. They regularly collect feedback through surveys and social media interactions.
In addition to these general principles, Zomato has several specific initiatives to support its different customer segments. For example, they have a dedicated team of support agents fluent in multiple languages to cater to their international user base.
They also have a unique support channel for restaurants to help them with any issues they may encounter.
Netflix
The company has a dedicated team of ORM professionals who monitor online conversations about Netflix and respond to negative comments and reviews. Netflix also invests in social media advertising and public relations to promote its positive brand image.
Here are some of the specific tactics that Netflix uses to manage its online reputation:
Monitor online conversations: Netflix uses various tools to monitor online conversations about the company, including social media, news websites, and forums. This allows the company to identify potential issues early on and address them before they escalate.
In one such instance, seven years ago, Netflix listened AND REALLY LISTENED. The OTT platform’s users would talk about falling asleep during their favourite shows, only to realise they missed a couple of shows.
Enter — the Netflix Socks.
Netflix socks deployed an accelerometer to identify when the wearer has fallen asleep, sending a signal to the TV to pause the show automatically. This ensured that they didn’t wake up to find themselves two episodes ahead of where they originally left off.
Netflix socks raked impressive engagement on X (formerly Twitter) and even won the Shorty Award! While these socks are no longer in business, it is a fun example of the power of social listening.
Respond to negative comments and reviews: Netflix has a dedicated team of customer service representatives who respond to negative comments and reviews on social media, review sites, and other platforms. The team strives to respond to all negative comments within 24 hours.
Invest in social media as well as offline advertising: Netflix invests in social media advertising to promote its positive brand image. The company’s social media ads often feature user-generated content, such as favourable reviews and testimonials. However, offline advertising often takes the cake and builds the brand’s reputation as the one to be reckoned with.
During the release of its popular series Wednesday, Netflix launched outdoor billboards to spread the buzz. Alongside its marketing efforts, it also sealed its position as the face of brand-new and fresh content people can check out. A+ for the effort!
Engage with public relations: Netflix has a team that works with journalists and bloggers to promote the company’s positive stories and deal with negative incidents
Does not delete negative feedback or comments: Being a major OTT platform, it takes effort to keep in touch with the positive and negative reviews. Many brands tend to delete negative comments only to fuel the fire. However, Netflix chooses to keep them intact.
Amazon
Amazon has a straightforward policy regarding managing its online reputation management. The mega marketplace is all about ‘customer is right’. As a consumer, I have raised tickets regarding refund processes nine times out of 10 and received full payback, no questions asked.
That’s a neat way to keep your customers happy and have a solid online reputation.
Of course, this is not always the case, and Amazon does pinpoint situations where refunds and other complaints are dealt with precision.
By implementing a comprehensive, data-driven, and transparent ORM strategy, Amazon has maintained a positive online reputation and fostered trust among its customers and stakeholders.
Amazon’s ORM strategy is constantly evolving: The company is always looking for new ways to improve its reputation management efforts.
For instance, Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit allows customers to report counterfeit products they have purchased easily. This tool is part of Amazon’s ongoing effort to combat counterfeiting and protect its customers.
ORM strategy is integrated into its overall business strategy: Reputation management is not just an afterthought for Amazon. The company considers ORM an integral part of its overall business strategy.
Amazon’s commitment to customer satisfaction is crucial to its ORM strategy. The company has a customer-obsession culture, which means it always seeks ways to improve its products and services. This commitment to customer satisfaction is reflected in its ORM efforts, which focus on resolving customer issues quickly and efficiently.
Data-driven: Amazon uses data to track its reputation and identify areas where it can improve. The company also uses data to inform its ORM decisions. For instance, the company tracks customer reviews and sentiments to identify trends and patterns. This data allows Amazon to make informed decisions about its ORM efforts.
An ORM approach with a global taste: Amazon is a global company, and its ORM strategy must be able to address customers’ needs in all markets. The company has a global team of ORM professionals who are based all over the world. This team monitors online conversations and addresses customer issues in all markets. This global approach ensures that Amazon’s ORM strategy is effective in all regions.
Spotify
Spotify heavily depends on its community-based approach to customer support and brand strategy. Since it relies on two essential stakeholders — the musician and the user (the listener), the platform needs to invest twice the effort to ensure its messaging and support service reaches the right folks at the right time.
The following characteristics of Spotify make it the ORM maverick.
Focused on building relationships with artists: The company understands that artists and labels are key stakeholders in its success, and it works to develop positive relationships with them through various initiatives, such as providing them with tools and resources to promote their music on Spotify.
Also focused on building relationships with its users: The company actively engages with its users on social media, responds to their feedback, and works to resolve their issues quickly and efficiently. This helps to build trust and loyalty among its users.
Spotify’s ORM strategy is data-driven: The company uses data to track its reputation and identify areas to improve. For example, it tracks the listening patterns of its users, the number of songs played more often than others and the sentiments that follow this playlist.
Spotify Rewind is an excellent example of customer sentiment and analysis regarding musical taste.
This active engagement with online communities and influencers also helps Spotify:
Build relationships with key influencers: By engaging with influencers in the music and streaming spheres, Spotify can build relationships with these individuals and leverage their influence to promote their brand and services.
Gain insights into user feedback: By interacting with online communities, Spotify can gain valuable insights into user feedback and identify areas where they can improve their services.
Shape the online conversation: By actively participating in online conversations about music and streaming, Spotify can help shape the narrative and ensure its brand is represented positively.
Ready to Crush Your ORM Strategy in 2024?
Your online reputation can make or break your business, so it’s crucial to have a solid ORM strategy in place.
If you’re ready to take your ORM strategy to the next level, here are a few key takeaways from our favourite brands:
- Be proactive: Don’t wait for negative reviews to come to you. Monitor your online presence and address potential issues before they escalate.
- Be transparent: Be honest and open with your customers about your products and services. Address any concerns they may have promptly and professionally.
- Be responsive: Respond to customer reviews, comments, and questions promptly. Show your customers that you care about their feedback.
- Be consistent: Maintain a consistent brand image across all your online channels. This will help to build trust with your customers.
- Be authentic: Don’t try to be something you’re not. Customers can spot a fake from a mile away.
- Be data-driven: Use data to track your online reputation and identify areas to improve.
- Be committed: ORM is an ongoing process. Be prepared to invest time and resources into your ORM strategy.
While you know the tricks to unlock your ORM superpower, Locobuzz can help you automate it and raise it to the next level.
Locobuzz’s unified platform gives you a holistic view of your brand mentions, customer sentiment analysis, and more.
The best part? You don’t have to toggle between various platforms — Locobuzz works with varied platforms like Instagram, Google My Business, and Facebook, to name a few, allowing you to receive an average data set concerning your brand reputation online.
