Why You Need a Reputation Management Plan

Just about every business is familiar with the notion of putting together a marketing plan. But do you have a reputation management plan, too?

If you don’t, you should. According to Entrepreneur Magazine, 83% of all companies will face a reputation crisis in the next 5 years. Yet most companies don’t have a proactive strategy in place for keeping their good name.

Instead, most companies respond only when a crisis hits.

Other companies acknowledge the need for some planning, but mistakenly think that it’s enough to lump reputation management in with the marketing plan.

Reputation Management is Not Marketing

Reputation management shares some functions with marketing. Both spheres require a great deal of content creation, for example.

The difference is much the same as the difference between marketing and PR. One is meant to generate leads and sales. The other positions your company as trustworthy.

What a Reputation Management Plan Should Include

A reputation management plan should include some of the following elements.

Monitoring. How will you monitor your online reputation? Which tools will you use to get a complete picture of how you appear in search results? How will you spot problems?

Positive news opportunities. How will you generate positive news and photographs for your company? Can you sponsor events? Donate to charity? You can’t combat bad news with good news if there is no good news to report.

Problem points. What kinds of legitimate complaints has your company faced in the past? What sorts of improvements can you make to prevent those problems from appearing in the future?

Management. Do you have the manpower to manage your own reputation, especially when things go wrong? Or will you need the help of an online reputation management company? This includes creating a much broader web presence than the one which your marketing plan may require, and includes seeking out and removing detrimental information wherever and whenever it appears. It also includes an understanding of when it may be appropriate to offer a response.

What’s Your Plan?

A reputation management plan doesn’t have to be a long document. But you do need one. Craft your plan as soon as possible so you can be ready for tomorrow’s reputation challenges.