It doesn’t matter if you’re a mega business with 300 stores or an independent store just starting out. Here’s the thing: reputation matters; ultimately, no matter your size, your reputation connects with customers. Reputation is what will sway people to cross or avoid your threshold. Knowing that it’s a smart idea to research the average online reputation management cost — your success could depend on it.
Deciding when to outsource is usually dictated, at least partially, by budget. But there’s no denying the need for some degree of online monitoring and management. Did you know that 3 in 4 customers left an online review in the past year?
In this guide, we’ll help you decipher whether or not reputation management services are within your budget. We’ll provide a definition of what they involve, how they work, the benefits of investing, and — of course — typical costs. Keep your eyes out for some sneaky tips on boosting your online reputation manually, too. Give us five minutes to get you up to speed!
What Is Online Reputation Management?
Online reputation management is software, a tool, or an expert-offered service. It monitors your online presence to measure the number of positive versus negative interactions and sentiments toward your business. This means factoring in things like online reviews, negative content on blogs or third-party sites, and even social media posts.
You can find AI-based reputation management tools that run automatically online. But, equally, this is a job that could take the form of a full-time role. For manually conducted online reputation management, there’s a greater focus on action and proactive engagement. You’ll have more carefully tailored output, not just automated adjustments and analysis.
As such, reputation management for small businesses is just as crucial as for large companies. There’s a vast spectrum of different offerings, starting at modest monthly subscriptions to full salaries. And considering three out of five customers avoid using businesses with a negative review or two, it’s clearly worthwhile investing. A positive reputation can make all the difference for your business’ success.
How Much Does Online Reputation Management Cost?
Answering the question of “How much does online reputation management cost?” depends on what format you choose. If you opt for a full-time reputation manager, the cost will inevitably be higher. Reputation management careers can earn anything from a $60,000 to a $180,000 salary! As such, this is mostly an option for the big bucks companies.
Equally, you could work with a freelancer or agency-style management companies. These typically charge a flat rate per project or an hourly fee — usually upwards of $40 an hour.
If you want to cut costs, reputation management software is the best option. You won’t get the guaranteed actions of a human manager. However, you will get to automate some actions and the efficiency of a low-cost, 24/7 reputation supervisor.
You can find reputation management subscriptions for as little as $100 monthly. Everyone starts from somewhere, and this could be your lucky break.
In short, online reputation management costs as much as you let it. Here’s a summary of the cost of reputation management for each option:
- Software subscription: $100+ a month
- A freelancer or agency: $40+ an hour
- A full-time reputation manager: $60,000 to $180,000 a year
3 Benefits of Managing Your Reputation
It’s easy to learn the benefits of strategies like search engine optimization; the results are clear — you get more traffic. Learning why you should manage your reputation can be trickier. Well, you know the gist of why you should care (e.g., more money), but spotting the smaller wins can be difficult.
Let’s break things down together. These are the top three benefits of managing your reputation.
1. You Build A Closer Knit Customer Base
While you spend all those extra hours engaging with customers and potential customers on social media, you gradually build a community. Isn’t that beautiful?
This close-knit customer base eventually translates to more sales. Congratulations; you’ve reached the point of better brand authority.
2. You Increase Sales
With those better connections at the tip of your fingers, it’s no surprise that your sales will increase. You’ve established better credibility, meaning more people feel enticed enough to click that book or buy button.
And, of course, sales lead to that aforementioned benefit of boosted profit.
3. You Facilitate Growth
Not only does a better reputation facilitate profit growth, but it also facilitates growth in terms of business scalability. A better reputation could lead to press coverage or sponsorships, leading to chain developments and expansions.
6 Ways To Boost Your Reputation
Are you ready to rocket your reputation to new heights? Don’t rely on online reputation management services online; you can make many of these changes yourself. Here’s some quick food for thought if you want to learn how to improve your online reputation.
- Encourage positive reviews by creating positive experiences and verbally adding timely requests for feedback. For example, “I’m so glad to hear you liked our service — would you mind leaving us a review on Google?”
- Prompt customers with private feedback forms after engagements to provide a channel for non-public venting.
- Be an active presence online and in your digital community, be that a forum for your city or industry pages.
- Actually, engage on social media and respond to comments.
- Respond to all reviews (yes, even the bad ones). Make review management a priority.
- Finally, always respond and act on feedback. The more customers feel valued, heard, and respected, the better your reputation will be.
Beambox: Managing Reputation With WiFi
Did you know you could manage your reputation through something as simple as your WiFi? The thing about the internet is that everyone wants it. It doesn’t matter whether you’re at a cinema, restaurant, shopping mall, or bar.
This gives you valuable leverage as a business, and that’s where captive portals come in. These portals sync with your existing network. When customers click to join, they are taken to a barricading webpage form.
Through this form, you can invite reviews and feedback or even request social media engagement. The choice is yours; captive portals are fully customizable.
Since reputation is feedback and engagement-driven, this gives you huge steering potential. By harnessing your WiFi, you can transform your business’s online reputation.
Here at Beambox, we offer just that. With an all-in-one WiFi marketing platform, we provide customizable portals for flexible use by businesses like yours.
Start your Beambox free trial today and reduce what you need to spend on your online reputation management cost!
FAQ
Are you rushing off already? Firstly, hold fire, because we’ve got a secret way to use your WiFi as a tool to manage your reputation. But before we get to this expert-level hack, let’s review the basics.
Can you answer all of these FAQ? Let’s consolidate what you’ve learned about reputation management so far.
What is online reputation management?
Online reputation management is about monitoring the amount of positive versus negative sentiment towards your business online and taking action.
This can be done using specialist software, which is available at a monthly subscription cost. Alternatively, you might wish to pay a freelancer or agency. Or you could even invest in a full-time reputation manager.
Why should you invest in online reputation management?
Reputation management can make or break your business. Customers are much more likely to interact with businesses with a positive online reputation. It’s a no-brainer when deciding between good and bad reviews. Digitally spread stereotypes and assumptions really stick.
Investing in management for your company’s reputation is a way to boost your chance for success.
What does online reputation management cost?
Choosing management software can cost as little as $100 a month. If you invest in an agency or freelancer to manually manage your business’ reputation, budget upwards of $40 an hour. To really splurge, you could hire a full-time reputation manager for anywhere between $60,000 and $180,000.
