IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

THE STATE OF ONLINE 2020 THE STATE OF ONLINE REPUTATION 2 MANAGEMENT 2020 CONTENTS

Executive Summary 3 Foreword by Reputation.com 6 1 Most Companies at the Start of their ORM Journey 7 2 Importance of Trust in the Age of the Customer 10 3 Harnessing and Encouraging Customer Feedback, Ratings and Reviews 13 4 Responding to Reviews and Addressing Negative Feedback 18 5 Ownership of Online Reputation Management and CX Within the Organisation 22 6 Utilising Technology for Better VoC Programmes 27 Recommendations 30 Appendix – Business Respondent Profiles 31

ABOUT RESEARCH ABOUT REPUTATION.COM

London Research, set up by former Econsultancy research Reputation.com helps companies delight consumers director Linus Gregoriadis, is focused on producing at every touchpoint by helping them to Get Found, Get research-based content for B2B audiences. We are based Chosen, and Get Better. If you’re not proactively soliciting, in London, but our approach and outlook are very much consolidating, promoting, and acting on feedback at every international. We work predominantly, but not exclusively, stage of the journey, consumers will take their business with technology (martech) vendors and agencies elsewhere. That’s why we’re dedicated to building the seeking to tell a compelling story based on robust research only integrated SaaS platform that helps companies foster and insightful data points. lasting loyalty.

As part of Communitize Ltd, we work closely with our sister Your reputation is the pulse of your organisation, in today’s companies Digital Doughnut (a global community of more Feedback Economy, you need to have a 360-degree view than 1.5 million marketers) and Demand Exchange (a lead of your online to ensure you stay on top of the generation platform), both to syndicate our research and narrative and connect effectively with your customers. generate high-quality leads.

For more information, visit https://londonresearch.com For more information, visit https://www.reputation.com/

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Linus Gregoriadis Monica Savut Director, London Research Research and Content Specialist

Linus is an experienced digital marketing analyst who Monica is a research and content specialist with over 11 years spent more than a decade setting up and building the of extensive B2B research and content experience, and a research function at Econsultancy, a digital research and passion for data. Most recently, she oversaw the production training company now owned by Centaur Media. After of commercial research at Econsultancy, conceiving and leaving Econsultancy, where he oversaw the production of executing global research projects for some of the world’s hundreds of survey-based trends reports, buyers’ guides largest martech businesses. Over the years, she’s produced, and best practice guides, he launched ClickZ Intelligence contributed to and authored hundreds of research-based for B2B media company Contentive. London Research, reports and thought studies. Her work has been founded in 2017, is a sister company to Digital Doughnut, quoted in high-profile publications and reports, such as those the world’s largest community of marketers and digital published by the Federal Trade Commission, and she has professionals, and also to Demand Exchange, an advanced been interviewed by several media outlets and organisations, B2B lead generation platform. including the American Marketing Association.

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Executive Summary

The State of Online Reputation Management 2020 The research focuses on online reputation report, produced by London Research in partnership management (ORM), including the importance with Reputation.com, explores the extent to which of online reviews and the ability of companies to companies are actively managing their online respond quickly to feedback and complaints. But it reputation, with a focus on what ‘leaders’ are doing is clear that ORM cannot happen in isolation. The differently from their peers. report also looks at related themes such as customer experience (CX) and voice of customer (VoC) which As well as a global business survey of more than are crucial areas of focus in the context of building 500 companies, this research also draws extensively and maintaining the trust required for positive on consumer surveys carried out in the UK, US, sentiment. Australia and Germany. The report casts a spotlight on what consumers expect from , and the Below are some of the key highlights from this degree to which organisations are delivering against research. their expectations.

Most companies need to improve • Just under half (46%) of client-side respondents describe the way they their approach to ORM manage their reputation online as ‘basic’, while a further 5% say their approach is ‘non-existent’. On average, companies only score themselves There is a huge opportunity for companies 6.5 out of 10 for their online reputation. to reap the benefits of a more strategic approach to managing their online • Leaders are three and a half times more likely than their mainstream . Organisations can gain a peers to say they have a strong online reputation that delivers tangible competitive advantage and gain tangible commercial value (46% vs. 13%). commercial value by taking steps to prioritise ORM. • Companies are most likely to measure the impact of a positive online reputation in terms of increased (59%) and better conversion rates (57%). Just under half (46%) of companies say they quantify its impact through better marketing ROI.

Companies prioritise • Third-party review sites are the resource consumers are most likely to when it comes to building their name as an important influence on product choices. However, only 9% reputation online of businesses see these sites as the key area for defining their online reputation. Many businesses are predominantly focused on social properties such as • Reviews are more widely trusted than other sources of information, such as Twitter and when it comes to social media, news and customer services. In the US, for example, nearly half anticipating and addressing reputational of consumers have a ‘high’ degree of trust in reviews (47%, against only 17% issues. However, a more strategic for social media). and holistic approach to reputation management is necessary to ensure organisations are deriving full value from their activities.

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Tapping into the power of ratings and • On average, four in five consumers state that ratings and reviews are ‘very’ reviews is a winning formula or ‘quite’ important when they’re looking for information about a company’s products or services. They are considered to be much more important than Ratings and reviews are a critical part of and information provided by sales reps. the purchase experience and the most trusted form of social proof. Ensuring that • Leaders are significantly more likely than their mainstream peers to customer feedback is effectively harnessed use a range of online reputation management tactics, such as tracking and fed back throughout the business is rating scores (43% vs. 28%), publicising positive ratings (46% vs. 21%) and a key step in building a credible business repurposing customer feedback (32% vs. 22%). and enhancing commercial performance. However, progress to date has been slow • The most popular channels organisations are using to actively encourage as there is a significant gap between what reviews are social media (60%), (55%) and email (50%). However, leaders are doing to bolster their online only 12% of consumers claim they left a review after being prompted by reputation management strategy and the social media, compared to 39% for emails and 26% for websites. tactics employed by their mainstream peers.

Responding to customer ratings and • Almost half of consumers globally (47%) report that receiving a response reviews boosts revenues and tangibly from the company results in a major impact on their level of satisfaction. impacts the bottom line Additionally, 46% report a response majorly increases their likelihood to make a repeat purchase. Neglecting ratings and reviews can have a The findings of this research highlight detrimental effect in terms of long-term customer loyalty. that companies cannot afford to ignore the impact of ratings and reviews. When • While negative reviews make customers less likely to make a purchase, companies take the time to respond to taking the time to respond actually reduces the impact; 64% of consumers customer queries, this results in an uplift in globally say they would be less likely to be turned off from making a customer satisfaction and the likelihood of purchase if the brand responded to a negative review. a repeat purchase. Responding to feedback also boosts the perception of the brand.

Companies could be investing more • Given the strong ROI, companies are in a good position to justify further in reputation management, given the investment, but currently, only 27% have allocated resources specifically to opportunity to reap tangible benefits monitoring and managing online reputation, while just under half (46%) are and strong returns planning to ramp up investment in 2020.

Given that ORM leaders have gained • The greatest challenge to managing reputation is time and resources, significant returns from customer feedback according to over a third (37%) of respondents. initiatives, businesses could be losing out on quick wins by neglecting the importance • Two-thirds (67%) of businesses do not have a specific department for of online reputation. managing reputation; of these, 35% do not plan to put one in place in the future.

Reputation management technology • While social media management platforms are in widespread use (75%), is being under-utilised only a minority of businesses are leveraging voice of customer and SEO tools (42% each). Few organisations are taking an integrated approach to reputation management • Systems developed in-house are still in common use, with a third (33%) of technology, indicating they have gaps in businesses leveraging them for reputation management. This may well be their capabilities and are not maximising holding back data sharing and efficiency. efficiency. • Most companies have no software in place to monitor and manage customer complaints and queries coming through third-party review websites (57%).

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Methodology

The State of Online Reputation Management 2020 There is a further breakdown of respondent report is based on separate surveys of businesses profiles in the appendix of this report, including by and consumers. geography, company size (annual revenue), business sector and seniority within the business. There were more than 500 respondents (503) to our business survey which was carried out in December Our consumer survey, carried out in January 2020, 2019 and January 2020. This survey was publicised was focused on four markets: the UK, the US, by London Research, its sister company Digital Germany and Australia. The number of respondents Doughnut and associated LinkedIn groups. for each country was 1,000. The consumer survey was carried out using a London Research consumer The analysis within the report predominantly focuses panel partner, with a nationally representative on the data from in-company marketers, including selection of respondents in each country. those working for supply-side companies (mainly agencies) focused on their own marketing activities This report contains some charts where this rather than their clients' (301 in total). In charts consumer survey data is broken out by country, comparing client-side and agency findings, agency and others where the data is combined. Where the respondents include those focused on their clients' consumer survey data is combined, the sample size marketing activities (202 in total). is 4,000.

This research also contains an analysis of what online reputation management ‘leaders’ are doing differently from their peers. Leaders refer to those companies that classify their approach to online reputation management as ‘advanced’, while ‘mainstream’ companies refer to all the other companies surveyed (see Figure 1).

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Foreword by Reputation.com

In today’s Feedback Economy, feedback is Companies have a lot to gain by prioritising online everywhere and readily available, and it’s the driving reputation and CX management. Responding to force behind all purchasing decisions. As consumers customer ratings and reviews boosts revenues and now have an active role in shaping a brand’s tangibly impacts the bottom line. For example, reputation, reputation management is foundational 47% of consumers report that receiving a response to a sound growth strategy. It enables brands to from the company has a major impact on their keep a pulse on what people are saying about them satisfaction, and 46% say a response increases online and make targeted operational and customer their likelihood to make a repeat purchase. Yet experience improvements to better serve their our findings reveal that two-thirds of businesses audience. don’t have a specific department for managing reputation and 35% of those don’t plan to put one We recently released The State of Online Reputation in place. What’s more, very few organisations have Management 2020 report, which we produced in an integrated approach to reputation management partnership with London Research. We surveyed technology, making it difficult to analyse data for more than 500 companies and combined our deep, meaningful insights. findings with consumer surveys from the UK, US, Germany and Australia to find out the impact of Ultimately, to leverage the full value of customer proactive online reputation management with feedback data that exists in the wild, organisations respect to the customer journey, consumer trust and must have a single source of truth that pulls in data long-term business success. across all customer touchpoints. This integration is key to getting a 360-degree view of the customer’s Our findings confirm what we already knew: perceptions about a brand. A platform such as reputation management is absolutely critical to Reputation.com can apply AI and machine learning business success. Additionally, to build and maintain techniques to uncover predictive and prescriptive consumer trust and positive sentiment, online insights that enable businesses to re-imagine CX and reputation management must work hand in hand meet the ever-evolving expectations of consumers. with effective customer experience management and a proactive effort to tune into the voice of Anthony Gaskell the customer and take action. If businesses build Managing Director EMEA, Reputation.com a rock-solid reputation, consumers will trust them and are more likely to purchase their products or services. And if they provide a great customer experience while they’re interacting with a brand at every touchpoint along the customer journey, they’ll become brand advocates that help others trust a brand and choose it over competitors.

Anthony Gaskell Managing Director EMEA, Reputation.com

Anthony Gaskell helps businesses implement efficient online reputation management (ORM) strategy using the patented technology of Reputation.com, the leading ORM platform. The platform helps businesses capture and enlist the voice of the customer to deliver an exceptional customer experience and drive better business performance. He supports leading worldwide companies from 77 industries to drive more revenues by putting them in of their online reputation. Anthony helped found Reputation.com’s European operations and progressed to the Managing Director role.

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1 Most Companies at the Start of their ORM Journey

Online reputation management (ORM) is about Our global survey of businesses has found that most controlling and influencing what is said about your companies are only at the beginning of their ORM brand, products and services on digital properties. journey, or have not yet even started. Just under To a certain degree, if you can get the customer half (46%) of client-side respondents describe their experience right, then positive word of mouth in the approach to managing their reputation online as form of recommendations, high rating scores and ‘basic’, while a further 5% say it is ‘non-existent’ complimentary reviews will follow. (Figure 1).

But the reality even for the strongest brands is At the other end of the spectrum, 15% of company that their online reputation needs to be nurtured respondents say their approach is ‘advanced’. These and managed. Customers need to be listened to, organisations are classified as ‘leaders’ for the feedback needs to be addressed, and positive purposes of this research, and it is no surprise to see sentiment needs to be amplified. that they are reaping the commercial benefits.

BUSINESSES 15% Advanced – we/they have a well-defined strategy for this, and a clear understanding of the ROI Leaders 8% Only 15% of companies FIGURE 1 describe their approach How advanced is to online reputation your company's 34% management as Intermediate – we/they have a strategy with clear (or your clients') roles, responsibilities and processes 'advanced'. approach to 30% managing its (or their) reputation 46% online? Basic – we/they keep an eye on reviews and monitor social media, but it’s ad hoc 53%

5% Non-existent – we/they don’t do anything l Company respondents 9% l Agency respondents

londonresearch.com UK: +44 (0)207 193 4600 US: +1 415-463-7044 © London Research 2020 SECTION 1 THE STATE OF ONLINE REPUTATION MOST COMPANIES AT THE START 8 MANAGEMENT 2020 OF THEIR ORM JOURNEY

ORM leaders are three and a half times more likely than their mainstream peers to say they have a strong online reputation that delivers tangible commercial value (46% vs. 13%).

Leaders are three and a half times more likely than their mainstream peers to say they have a strong online reputation that delivers tangible commercial value (46% vs. 13%, Figure 2). Figure 2 also shows other significant differences between leaders and mainstream companies across a range of statements relating to good practice in areas relating to ORM, and these will be referenced throughout this report.

It is evident that most companies need to raise the bar when it comes to their online reputation. On average, companies only score themselves 6.5 out of 10 for their online reputation (Figure 3), a very mediocre score.

BUSINESSES We use insights and feedback from reviews to improve 57% CLIENT-SIDE RESPONDENTS our products and services 36%

We have processes in place to manage customer 54% complaints and questions coming via online review sites 21% Across a range of areas FIGURE 2 relating to good practice We benchmark our customer experience against 46% Proportion of competitors 15% in ORM, there are respondents significant differences 'strongly' agreeing We have a strong online reputation that delivers tangible 46% between leaders and commercial value 13% with the following mainstream companies. statements We routinely report ratings and customer sentiment to 45% relating to their our leadership team 24% organisation's 43% We actively monitor reviews and respond to them online reputation 33% management We get a strong return on investment from voice of 42% customer initiatives 11%

38% We benchmark our online reputation against competitors 12% l Leaders 25% We use AI to automate extraction of insights from l Mainstream feedback 3%

londonresearch.com UK: +44 (0)207 193 4600 US: +1 415-463-7044 © London Research 2020 SECTION 1 THE STATE OF ONLINE REPUTATION MOST COMPANIES AT THE START 9 MANAGEMENT 2020 OF THEIR ORM JOURNEY

BUSINESSES 0 0% 2%

1 1% 2% On average, companies 2 4% FIGURE 3 6% only score themselves 6.5 On a scale of 0-10, out of 10 for their online 3 3% how would you rate 6% reputation. the online reputation 4 8% of your business (or 6% your clients), 0 being 5 15% terrible and 10 being 14% 6 14% excellent? 14%

7 20% Averages: 23% 6.5 (client-side); 8 17% 6.1 (agencies) 14%

9 14% 9% l Company respondents 10 4% l Agency respondents 4%

This research shows that ORM investment of budget and resources is worth it because it pays commercial dividends. As can be seen in Figure 4, the majority of responding companies say they measure the impact of a positive online reputation in terms of increased sales (59%) and better conversion rates (57%). Furthermore, just under half (46%) of companies say they quantify its impact through better marketing ROI.

As we shall see in the next section, a good online reputation is vital for promoting consumer trust. Without this trust, many consumers will seek an alternative or delay their purchase.

BUSINESSES 59% Increased sales 57%

57% Better conversion rates Companies are most 38% FIGURE 4 likely to measure the How do you (or your 46% impact of a positive Better marketing ROI clients) measure the 33% online reputation in impact of a positive terms of increased sales 29% online reputation Cheaper cost per acquisition and better conversion 26% on commercial rates. performance? 23% Shorter buying cycle 14%

13% Higher average order value 15%

12% None of the above 15% l Company respondents 4% Other l 3% Agency respondents

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2 Importance of Trust in the Age of the Customer

In today’s world of super-connected and highly consumers said brand trust was a deciding factor discerning consumers, trust is a prized asset earned in their product choices. Monitoring and managing through a consistently good customer experience. brand reputation are clearly highly important in this Post-truth politics, corporate scandals and the challenging new world – and this is evident from our rise of mean authenticity is now being survey responses. questioned in all walks of life – and brand reputation is very much under the microscope too. This research shows that ‘building trust with consumers’ is the most commonly-cited driver of With trust at a premium, companies seen as online reputation management for companies. Just genuinely caring about their customers and under two-thirds (64%) of business respondents say transparent in how they do business have a growing this is a key reason to actively manage their online commercial advantage. reputations. These organisations typically recognise that trust is a prerequisite for key commercial and To be successful, businesses must not only have financial drivers such as customer acquisition, integrity, but also be aware of – and responsive retention and conversion, marketing ROI, and to – the issues consumers care about. Edelman’s efficiencyFigure ( 5). 2019 Trust Barometer1 found 64% of customers are now ‘belief-driven buyers’ that tend to choose, switch, avoid or a brand based on its stand on societal issues. More than four in five (81%)

BUSINESSES 64% Build trust with consumers 60%

48% Generate more customers Building trust with 57% FIGURE 5 consumers is the most What are the 41% commonly-cited driver Improve customer retention key drivers for 32% of online reputation your company's management. (or your clients') Increase competitive advantage through 36% differentiation 30% online reputation management 28% Improve conversion rates activities? 32%

19% Boost marketing ROI 27%

6% Reduce costs 12% l Company respondents 3% Other l 3% Agency respondents

londonresearch.com UK: +44 (0)207 193 4600 US: +1 415-463-7044 © London Research 2020 1 https://www.edelman.com/sites/g/files/aatuss191/files/2019-06/2019_edelman_trust_barometer_special_report_in_brands_we_trust.pdf SECTION 2 THE STATE OF ONLINE REPUTATION IMPORTANCE OF TRUST IN 11 MANAGEMENT 2020 THE AGE OF THE CUSTOMER

ORM leaders are more than three times as likely as their mainstream peers to benchmark their customer experience and online reputation against competitors (46% vs. 15% and 38% vs. 12%, respectively).

Businesses are also widely aware of the competitive All this means consumers are increasingly leaning advantages that reputation management can bring. towards reviews from their peers for guidance on As was seen in Figure 2, leaders are more than product selection. Across three of four markets three times as likely as their mainstream peers to featured in Figure 6, reviews are the information benchmark their customer experience and online source in which consumers are most likely to say reputation against competitors (46% vs. 15% and they have a ‘high’ level of trust. Only in Germany 38% vs. 12%, respectively). does a separate source – news – have a better standing (28% vs. 26% for reviews). The fragility of trust and importance of validation In the US, reviews are especially widely appreciated, This battle for trust has resulted in the rise of third- gaining a high degree of trust from nearly half (47%) party validation of how well a business delivers of consumers. for consumers, including on product quality and customer experience.

At the same time, the source of this validation is changing. Traditional, top-down information flow from the media – whether editorial or – no longer washes with many buyers. Former Unilever Chief Marketing Officer Keith Weed, a leader in efforts to address erosion of trust in the media, has warned that advertising is increasingly being ‘blocked and skipped’ as consumers become ever more cynical about what they are being told2.

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CONSUMERS 47% 34% Reviews 34% 26% In three of the four FIGURE 6 29% markets examined, 25% Proportion News reviews are the of consumers 24% information source in 28% describing the which consumers are level of trust 24% most likely to say they 17% they have in the Sales representative/customer services have a ‘high’ level of trust. following sources of 18% 18% information relating to a company, its 17% 15% products or its Social media services as 'high' 13% 12% l US 18% l UK 14% Advertising l Australia 12% l Germany 9%

Brands are behind the curve in recognising Businesses are more closely focused on customer importance of reviews testimonials and social media coverage when it comes to managing their reputations online. Review websites are now a go-to resource for many consumers, when it comes to finding out more about products and services. Yet Figure 7 shows how many businesses have yet to realise the significant role third-party reviews are now playing in determining competitive performance.

A quarter of consumers describe comments on third-party review sites as the most important factor in their product choices (25%). However, only 9% of businesses see these sites as the most important factor in defining their online reputation.

28% Testimonials from customers FIGURE 7 24% What is most 20% Social media coverage (generally) important for 4% Only 9% of businesses defining your online 15% see third-party review Ratings scores reputation? 19% sites as a key factor for 12% (BUSINESSES) News coverage defining their online 9% reputation. 9% What is most Comments on third-party review sites important to you 25% 4% when you are Facebook posts / comments deciding on whether 4% 3% to buy something Comments on company’s own website from a company? 6% 1% (CONSUMERS) Twitter posts / comments 2%

1% coverage 2% l Businesses 7% Other l Consumers 6%

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3 Harnessing and Encouraging Customer Feedback, Ratings and Reviews

The accelerating shifts in customer behaviour have acknowledging they’re very important. Ratings and led to the emergence of a diverse, heterogenous reviews rank above feedback and recommendations consumer base. Successfully attracting and retaining from friends and family, and are considered to them requires an in-depth understanding of brand be significantly more important than website perception and the impact ratings and reviews testimonials and information provided by sales reps. can have on business performance. Empowered by social media and the digital devices at their Figure 9 shows that the impact of consumer ratings disposal, today’s consumers are increasingly relying and reviews on purchase decisions is not limited to on customer feedback throughout their decision a particular type of product or service. On average, journey. around three-quarters of consumers in the UK, Australia and the US say they have a ‘very’ or ‘quite’ Our research shows that on average, four in five important role in helping them decide to buy or consumers consider ratings and reviews to be choose a range of products and services. German ‘very’ or ‘quite’ important when they are looking consumers are less likely to assign the same level of for information about a company’s products or importance (64% compared to an average of 77% services (Figure 8). They are particularly influential across the other three regions). in the US, with nine in ten (88%) of those surveyed

CONSUMERS 88% 84% Ratings and reviews 83% 76% 82% On average, four in five 82% FIGURE 8 Friends and family consumers consider Proportion of 81% 81% ratings and reviews consumers rating the to be 'very' or 'quite' 64% following as 'very' 64% important when looking Testimonials on company’s website or 'quite' important 58% for information about a when looking for 64% company's products or information about a 68% services. Sales rep or customer service (call or store/branch visit) 63% company’s products 72% or services 59% 58% 55% News and sites 55% 49% l US l UK 48% 45% l Australia Social media 47% l Germany 37%

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ORM leaders are 54% more likely to track ratings scores (43% vs. 28%) and more than twice as likely to publicise positive ratings (46% vs. 21%).

Across all regions, purchase decisions for holidays However, Figure 11 shows a significant variance and retail products are most likely to be influenced between leaders and their mainstream peers when it by ratings and reviews. On average, nearly three in comes to online reputation management tactics. five (57%) consumers ‘always’ or ‘regularly’ check reviews when purchasing in these two categories, Leaders are nearly twice as likely as their compared to only a third (34%) for clothing products mainstream peers to actively manage their business (Figure 10). listings on third-party sites (57% vs. 31%). Including accurate business information and keeping track Maximising the value of customer feedback of ratings and reviews is the first step towards improving business perception. A comprehensive strategy for effectively harnessing customer feedback is crucial because of the visibility Rating scores are particularly important in building of comments, reviews and ratings to prospects, credibility and there’s evidence that leading especially within search results, and the impact this organisations are utilising them to their advantage. can have on commercial performance (as discussed They’re 54% more likely to track ratings scores (43% in Section 1). vs. 28%) and more than twice as likely to publicise positive ratings (46% vs. 21%).

CONSUMERS 77% Holidays (including package holidays, rentals, hotels) 83% 80% 71% 84% On average, 77% of Retail products (e.g. electronics / DIY) 83% FIGURE 9 80% consumers in the UK, 71% Proportion of Australia and the US say 86% consumers rating consumer ratings and Car 80% 83% consumer ratings 64% reviews have a ‘very’ or and reviews as ‘very’ 78% ‘quite’ important role in or ‘quite’ important Restaurants 80% helping them decide to 78% in deciding to buy or 62% buy or choose a range of choose the following 84% products and services. Healthcare 79% types of products 78% and services 69% 81% Financial services (e.g. insurance or mortgage) 79% 75% l US 64% l UK 64% l Australia Clothing 60% 54% l Germany 50%

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CONSUMERS 54% Holidays (including package holidays, rentals, hotels) 65% 57% 52% 66% Across all regions, Retail products (e.g. electronics / DIY) 59% FIGURE 10 55% purchase decisions 47% Proportion of for holidays and retail 66% respondents ‘always’ products are most likely Car 59% 57% or ‘regularly’ 41% to be influenced by checking reviews 53% ratings and reviews. when they are buying Restaurants 51% 48% the following types 36% of products and 53% Financial services (e.g. insurance or mortgage) 49% services 48% 36% 55% Healthcare 46% 44% l US 38% l UK 41% l Australia Clothing 35% 30% l Germany 28%

In order to get the full value from existing reviews, Actively encouraging reviews: from bold step to it’s essential to repurpose customer feedback. necessity Featuring positive reviews on the company’s website provides compelling content that can improve Successful organisations typically have a robust organic search results and provide the social feedback system in place, actively encouraging proof prospective customers are looking for. Even reviews, tying them to sales data and feeding among leaders, less than a third (32% vs. 22% of information gleaned from negative reviews back mainstream organisations) repurpose customer into the business. Prompting reviews post-purchase, feedback by it on their website. An even usually through targeted emails, is a commonly used lower proportion of organisations are using tactic that allows businesses to gain timely feedback paid ads to promote positive reviews, but leaders are from real customers. more than twice as likely to do so (19% vs. 8%).

BUSINESSES 57% CLIENT-SIDE RESPONDENTS We actively manage our business listings on third- party sites (e.g. Google) 31% There's a significant gap FIGURE 11 We publicise positive ratings (e.g. scores, number of 46% between leaders and Proportion of stars, NPS, customer satisfaction) 21% their mainstream peers respondents when it comes to online ‘strongly’ agreeing We track our ratings scores (e.g. Google, Trustpilot, 43% reputation management with the following TripAdvisor) 28% tactics. statements relating to their 36% organisation’s We proactively encourage ratings and reviews 26% online reputation management We repurpose customer feedback and publish it on 32% our website 22%

We undertake paid ads on Google to promote 19% l Leaders positive reviews / sentiment 8% l Mainstream

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BUSINESSES Social media 60% 71%

Website 55% 60% The most popular Email 50% FIGURE 12 48% channels businesses Which channels do are using to proactively Digital display advertising 31% you (or your clients) 31% encourage ratings and use to proactively reviews are social media, In-store / verbally 24% encourage ratings 20% websites and email. and reviews? Direct mail 24% 16%

Print-out / paper 10% 11%

SMS 9% 12%

Kiosk 3% 4%

Wi-Fi portal 0% 3% l Company respondents None of the above 12% l Agency respondents 7%

As seen in Figure 11, leaders are 38% more likely than their mainstream peers to proactively encourage ratings and reviews. The most popular channels businesses are using to do so are social media, websites and email (Figure 12). These also rank highly on the effectiveness scale Figure( 13), with social media well ahead of the other two (35% vs. 19% each for email and websites).

35% BUSINESSES Social media 42%

19% Email 21% Social media is seen as 19% FIGURE 13 Website more effective than email What is the most 18% and websites when it 7% effective channel for In-store / verbally comes to encouraging encouraging ratings 4% ratings and reviews. 6% and reviews? Direct mail 3%

5% Digital display advertising 8%

3% SMS 1%

1% Print-out / paper 0%

0% Wi-Fi portal 1% l Company respondents 5% Other l Agency respondents 2%

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Email CONSUMERS 39%

Website 26%

In-store / verbally 14% Only 12% of consumers FIGURE 14 claim they left a review Have you left a Social media 12% after being prompted by review after being social media, compared Message (e.g. WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger) prompted by any of 9% to 39% for emails and the following? SMS 9% 26% for websites.

Direct mail 8%

Print-out / paper 6%

Wi-Fi portal 5%

Digital display advert 5%

Kiosk 4%

None of the above 26%

It is worth noting that on average, only 12% of consumers claim they left a review after being prompted by social media, compared to 39% for emails and 26% for websites (Figure 14). This suggests that companies should explore multiple avenues for encouraging reviews and focus their efforts on sending post-purchase follow-up emails.

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4 Responding to Reviews and Addressing Negative Feedback

Actively reviewing and responding to feedback is Responding mitigates the impact of negative critical to the success of top-performing companies. reviews As Figure 15 highlights, when companies respond to reviews, this boosts customer satisfaction, and Responding to feedback boosts customer loyalty. increases the propensity to make a repurchase As the findings in Figure 16 and 17 highlight, while or engage further. With almost half of consumers negative reviews can turn customers off from globally reporting that a brand response has a making a purchase, the effect is mitigated if brands major impact on satisfaction and loyalty, it’s clear take the time to respond to feedback. Globally, that ignoring the customer leaves brands open to 83% of consumers said a negative review would the risk of losing valuable customers. hold them back from making a purchase, but when the company responded, almost two-thirds (64%) It is also crucial for companies to use feedback reported they would be less likely to be put off. for product development. ORM leaders are one- and-a-half times more likely than their peers to use ORM leaders recognise the importance of the insights from reviews to actively improve their responding to the voice of the customer, as they are products and services (57% vs. 36% for mainstream two-and-a-half times more likely than their peers companies, Figure 2). to have an active strategy in place to deal with customer complaints and questions (54% vs. 21%, Figure 2).

CONSUMERS 57% 54%

49% 50% Globally, nearly half of FIGURE 15 47% 46% 46% 46% consumers report that Proportion 43% receiving a response 41% 42% 42% 42% of consumers from the company has 37% describing impact of 36% 35% a major impact on their receiving a response level of satisfaction and to feedback from a likelihood to make a business as ‘major’ repeat purchase.

l US l UK l Australia Satisfaction rating Likelihood of next Brand perception Choice to engage again l Germany purchase

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ORM leaders are one-and-a-half times more likely than their peers to use the insights from reviews to actively improve their products and services (57% vs. 36% for mainstream companies).

Letting the customer know the brand is taking on Consumers need to know that the business is board their input has the potential to transform listening to them and addressing their feedback. detractors into brand advocates. According to a study on ‘Wantedness’ by Wunderman, 79% of US consumers want brands to Companies must utilise both negative and positive show that they care about them and their needs3. feedback Using an online reputation management platform, There can be a tendency for businesses to only take keeping an eye on online reviews and taking the time note of bad reviews, but companies may be missing to respond are the first steps on the road to greater a trick if they don’t make effective use of both engagement, which ultimately translates into loyal negative and positive feedback. As seen in Figure customers and higher retention rates. 11, almost half (46%) of ORM leaders are utilising positive ratings to market themselves, more than double their peers (just 21%).

CONSUMERS

86% 84% 83% Globally, 83% of FIGURE 16 consumers said a 77% Would negative negative review would reviews or comments hold them back from make you less likely making a purchase. to buy a particular product or service?

23% l US 16% 17% 14% l UK l Australia l Germany Yes No

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CONSUMERS

66% 65% 66%

60% Nearly two-thirds of FIGURE 17 consumers globally Are negative reviews would be less likely to be or comments less turned off from making likely to put you off a purchase if the brand a product or service 40% responded to a negative if businesses have review. 35% responded to them? 34% 34%

l US l UK l Australia l Germany Yes No

Consumer expectations in different regions In Germany, consumer behaviour is slightly different, with almost half (47%) of consumers reporting that Consumers in different regions turn to different they do not expect a response on social media. In channels when it comes to reporting complaints or addition, 51% do not expect a response on Google or asking queries. Over a third of consumers in the UK, TripAdvisor when a comment or complaint is posted. US and Australia report that they expect a response from the brand if they comment on social media, While social media and online review sites are regardless of whether the feedback is positive or the channels of choice for UK, US and Australian negative (Figure 18). This expectation is consistent consumers, in Germany, customers may be more across different platforms, with around a third of likely to get on the phone or write an email. customers also expecting a response to reviews on TripAdvisor or Google, as shown in Figure 19.

CONSUMERS 47%

Over a third of FIGURE 18 38% consumers in the UK, US 37% Do you expect a 36% and Australia expect a response from a 33% response from the brand 31% business when 30% if they comment on social you have posted 28% media, regardless of a comment or whether the feedback is complaint on social positive or negative. 19% 19% media, for example 18% on their Facebook 16% 15% page or directed 12% 11% at their Twitter 10% account? l US l UK l Australia Yes, if negative Yes, if positive Yes, for both positive and No l Germany negative

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CONSUMERS

51% Around a third of FIGURE 19 consumers expect a Do you expect a response to reviews on response from a 39% TripAdvisor or Google, business when you 37% regardless of whether the have left a review 34% 33% 33% feedback is positive or on a reviews website 30% negative. such as TripAdvisor 25% or Google?

18% 18% 16% 17% 12% 13% 12% 12% l US l UK l Australia Yes, if negative Yes, if positive Yes, for both positive and No l Germany negative

Customers expect businesses to respond in a timely manner

With a faster pace of life and shorter attention spans, it comes as no surprise that consumers expect a quick turnaround when it comes to responding to feedback.

Most consumers usually expect a response within hours, with 24 hours being the upper limit. The expected speed of response varies across different channels, as shown in Figure 20. Social media is perceived to be much more immediate, so a response is expected within a few hours. A response coming through email, or via a web form is typically expected to have a longer lead-time, usually within 24 hours.

CONSUMERS Phone call / phone message 24% 20% 25% 23% 8%

The expected speed of FIGURE 20 Direct message through Facebook 12% 19% 33% 27% 9% response to customer How quickly do you feedback or complaints expect a response varies greatly across Direct message through Twitter 11% 22% 35% 22% 10% from a company different channels. when you have left some feedback or a Social media 10% 18% 34% 28% 10% complaint about a product or service? SMS / messaging 10% 22% 30% 29% 9%

l Immediately Website form 9% 12% 22% 37% 20% l Within minutes l Within a few hours l Within 24 hours Email 9% 12% 24% 39% 16% l Within a week

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5 Ownership of Online Reputation Management and CX Within the Organisation

While many departments may collectively share Looking at the most advanced companies, there is responsibility for online reputation, there must be a clear process in place to elevate customer insights accountability within a business for proactively using up the chain of command. Almost half (45%) of ORM and responding to feedback. Almost half (46%) of leaders are routinely reporting ratings and customer companies report that responsibility for ORM falls sentiment to management, compared to only a on the shoulders of the CMO or marketing director quarter (24%) of mainstream businesses (Figure 2). (Figure 21). Sharing information with top-level executives Designating clear ownership for reputation enables management to chart a path forward management means that the insights from ratings and steer the organisation in the right direction. and reviews can actively feed into product and This customer-centric approach results in tangible service development. The top-performing businesses benefits. As already referenced in Section 1, leaders understand how to harness feedback, as they are are three-and-a-half times more likely than their one-and-a-half time more likely than their peers to peers to report that a strong online reputation use the insights from ratings and reviews to feed into delivers tangible commercial value. service improvements (Figure 2).

46% BUSINESSES CMO / director of marketing 35%

7% Head of operations 6% In almost half of 6% FIGURE 21 Head of customer service / customer success companies surveyed, Who within 8% responsibility for ORM 6% your business Head of digital transformation / innovation falls on the shoulders of (or your clients' 9% the CMO or marketing 6% organisations) Head of sales director. has ownership for 4% 3% online reputation Customer experience director management? 9% 2% Head of online reputation management 10%

1% External agency or consultant 12%

13% Other 5% l Company respondents 10% No-one l Agency respondents 2%

londonresearch.com UK: +44 (0)207 193 4600 US: +1 415-463-7044 © London Research 2020 SECTION 5 THE STATE OF ONLINE REPUTATION OWNERSHIP OF ONLINE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT 23 MANAGEMENT 2020 AND CX WITHIN THE ORGANISATION

Almost half (45%) of ORM leaders are routinely reporting ratings and customer sentiment to management, compared to only a quarter (24%) of mainstream businesses.

Mapping the customer journey is critical to success Using a wide range of metrics paints a holistic picture that enables companies to understand Fundamentally, improving CX entails having a performance not just at the specific point of greater understanding of the customer. The first interaction, but also at the point of conversion step is to map the customer journey and develop as well as the long-term impact, long after the specific metrics to measure performance at every transaction has been completed. While nearly touchpoint. Most businesses use a mix of different half (49%) of companies depend on customer key performance indicators (KPIs), each of which satisfaction to measure CX, 44% are focused on are specific to different moments in the customer the long-term gains by benchmarking customer journey. retention (Figure 22).

Companies must optimise the customer experience across different points in the customer journey and seize every opportunity to improve their products and services.

BUSINESSES 49% Customer satisfaction (CSAT) 47%

44% Customer retention Nearly half of companies 42% FIGURE 22 rely on customer 43% Which key Conversion rate satisfaction to measure performance 40% and monitor customer 36% indicators do you Sales experience. (or your clients) use 36% to measure and 32% Net Promoter Score (NPS) monitor customer 27% experience (CX)? 25% Customer lifetime value (CLV) 26%

19% Churn rate 16%

10% Customer effort score (CES) 11% l Company respondents 7% l Other Agency respondents 3%

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BUSINESSES

39% 39% Only a quarter of FIGURE 23 34% companies have allocated Does your 31% budgets specifically organisation (or 30% to monitoring and do your clients) 27% managing online have a budget for reputation. monitoring and managing online reputation?

l Company respondents Yes No, but we/they are planning to No, and no plans l Agency respondents have one

Budgets for online reputation management One strategy for prioritising customer satisfaction is to provide staff working in an offline environment It is critical for businesses to set aside budget for with financial incentives to prioritise the customer managing online reputation, given that negating its experience. Currently, only a fifth (22%) of impact runs the risk of lost revenue. Currently, only companies are providing these rewards to managers a quarter (27%) of companies have a space in the (Figure 25). budget for managing online reputation (Figure 23), while just under half (46%) of companies surveyed It’s clear that more could be done to prioritise the are planning to increase their budgets for managing customer experience which is inextricably linked to online reputation (Figure 24). a company’s online reputation. Companies need to seize every opportunity to deliver an excellent customer experience and enhance their reputation for delivering outstanding customer service.

BUSINESSES

62% Just under half of FIGURE 24 54% companies surveyed are What best describes planning to increase their plans for your 46% budgets for managing (or your clients’) online reputation. online reputation management 33% budget?

0% 5% l Company respondents We/they are increasing our/their No change to our/their budget We/they are decreasing our/their l Agency respondents budget for 2020 budget for 2020

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BUSINESSES

48% Only a fifth of companies FIGURE 25 45% provide staff with Do you (or your financial incentives to clients) provide prioritise the customer any financial 34% experience. incentives to your 30% (or their) location (stores/branches/ 22% hospitals/gyms etc.) 21% managers to provide a positive customer experience?

l Company respondents Yes No, but we/they are planning to No, and no plans l Agency respondents

Challenges around managing reputation

A lack of time and resources is thought to be the greatest barrier to managing online reputation, highlighted by a third (37%) of organisations surveyed (Figure 26). Improving online reputation is shown to have a tangible impact on the bottom line; ORM leaders are almost four times as likely as their mainstream peers to get a strong return on investment from VoC initiatives (42% vs. 11%, Figure 2).

BUSINESSES 37% Lack of time / resource 34%

15% A lack of time and Building business case for investment FIGURE 26 6% resources is considered What is the most to be the greatest barrier significant challenge 15% to managing online Lack of knowledge you (or your clients) 26% reputation. face when trying 11% to improve your Lack of executive buy-in company's (or their) 7% online reputation? 10% Fake negative reviews 10%

8% Problems with customer experience / poor products 14%

4% l Company respondents Other 3% l Agency respondents

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BUSINESSES 35% 35%

32% Two-thirds of businesses FIGURE 27 do not have a specific Does your 27% department for organisation (or do managing reputation; of your clients) have these, 35% have no plans its (or their) own to assign one. online reputation management 15% 14% function? 13% 11% 10% 8%

Yes, created within Yes, created within Yes, created more No, but we are No, and no plans to l Company respondents the last year the last two years than two years ago planning to do so l Agency respondents

Those companies that dedicate additional resources to managing online reputation will reap clear benefits. Businesses can profit from investing in a dedicated reputation management function but, currently, 67% of organisations do not have a specific ORM department, and of these, 35% do not plan to put one in place in the future (Figure 27).

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6 Utilising Technology for Better VoC Programmes

Effective reputation management involves the The volume and range of data that businesses must collection and analysis of large amounts of raw gather and analyse means success is dependent information, and the ability to derive actionable on technology. A feature-rich and well-integrated insights from aggregated data to improve CX. It also reputation management platform can make a huge requires the ability to identify and address individual difference – tying together different sets of data, comments at scale. enabling automated actions, and freeing marketers to focus on areas that add most value. At a strategic level, companies need to ensure they are capturing feedback from customers in order Over time it’s clear that AI and machine learning to enhance their products and services, and to will play an increasingly important role in how eradicate any friction in the customer journey as companies manage their online reputations and quickly as possible. At a more tactical level, they harvest insights from consumers. ORM leaders must also ensure they are addressing feedback and are more than eight times more likely than their reviews, while also ensuring that their brands and mainstream peers to use AI to automate extraction products appear in a positive light on of insights from feedback (25% vs. 3%, Figure 2). results pages and business listings. Figure 28 suggests there is a mixed picture in terms of how well businesses have equipped themselves in relation to reputation management software.

BUSINESSES 81% 75% Companies using VoC FIGURE 28 and SEO tools for online Which types of reputation management technology do you remain in the minority. (or your clients) use to help manage your (or their) online 42% 42% 42% reputation? 37% 33% 30%

6% 5%

Social media Voice of customer / SEO tool In-house technology Other l Company respondents management survey tool l Agency respondents platform

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Leaders are more than eight times more likely to use AI to automate extraction of insights from feedback.

Most respondents have a social media management Yet at the same time, many businesses have not platform in place to help manage their online yet grasped the importance of monitoring and reputation (75% of companies). managing their online reputation on these digital properties, and being responsive to concerns that However, as shown in previous sections, social media are raised on them. is only one domain where companies should be focusing to build trust with consumers. Those using Additionally, the task of tracking them in real time VoC and SEO tools for reputation management can be a major drain on resource, and a level of remain in the minority (42% in both cases). automation through software is crucial. Yet as shown in Figure 29, use of technology to track and Additionally, a third (33%) of organisations indicate manage third-party review websites is by no means they are using in-house technology to tackle universal. reputation management. This suggests many have taken a piecemeal, point solution-based approach • Almost three in ten (29%) company respondents to developing their capabilities, as the demands have no such technology, nor any plans to deploy of the online reputation management space have it. grown. • Nearly half of companies do have this software in Review websites: a CX blind spot for many place (43%), with an even split between vendor- organisations supplied or in-house-developed solutions.

Review websites have a major hand in many • A further 28% of companies are planning to install consumer product choices, as was shown in review site monitoring software, with a leaning Section 2. Google will continue to dominate this towards third-party applications. growing space, with Google My Business already getting significantly more traffic than other review websites in the US, according to a table compiled by Vendasta4. Consumers researching purchases will also continue to use other third-party sites such as Trustpilot, Feefo and TripAdvisor.

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29% BUSINESSES CLIENT-SIDE RESPONDENTS

22% 22% Almost three in ten FIGURE 29 21% companies don't have Do you use a any technology in place technology platform to manage customer to manage customer complaints and questions complaints and coming via online review questions coming via sites, or any plans to online review sites? deploy it.

6%

Yes, we use a third- Yes, we have our No, but we are No, but we are No, and no plans for party vendor for this own in-house planning to use a planning to build our this technology third-party vendor own tech

Avoiding the silo: data sharing is key Regarding VoC tools, business respondents mention several different aspects as important to their With online reputation management activities being smooth running, but integration with other systems, highly data-driven in nature, it is not surprising to see such as customer relationship management respondents citing integration capability as a key software, comes top (25% of company respondents). facet of the tools they employ (Figure 30). Next comes output in terms of score generation (22%) and reporting (17%). Digital marketing relies on a plethora of different platforms and interweaving them is key to enabling It can also be seen that agencies are particularly an efficient, scalable and collaborative commercial focused on social media monitoring, and almost operation. three times more likely than their client-side peers to regard this as the most important capability of VoC software.

BUSINESSES 25% Integration with other systems (e.g. CRM) 19%

Generation of scores (e.g. NPS / customer 22% satisfaction) 17% Integration with other FIGURE 30 systems is seen as 17% Reporting tools What do you (or your 12% the most important clients) regard as capability of VoC tools. 9% the most important Social media management 11% capability of a VoC 8% tool? Social media monitoring 21%

8% 6%

6% Survey builder 6%

2% Natural language analysis 2% l Company respondents 3% Other l Agency respondents 6%

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Recommendations

1 4

Prioritise ORM in the context of overall customer Take the time to respond to customer queries and engagement and experience. address negative feedback. There’s no denying that reviews, whether positive or Customer reviews shouldn’t be one-way negative, are a goldmine for any business. Auditing, . With the majority of customers tracking and improving online reputation can expecting brands to respond to their feedback, have a significant positive impact on commercial effectively handling customer queries and negative performance, but effective ORM is not a discrete feedback is key. Assign responsibilities, establish project that happens in isolation. It needs to be guidelines for response times and tone of voice, aligned to other customer engagement initiatives determine response workflows and refine an and become a key part of overarching customer escalation procedure for negative reviews where experience strategies. necessary.

2 5

Don’t lose sight of the ultimate goal: building Allocate resources specifically to monitoring and customer trust and loyalty. managing online reputation. While commercial objectives and financial metrics Building a successful ORM programme requires co- represent a key driver for ORM programmes, building ordination with multiple departments and individuals an authentic, transparent brand that customers trust at all levels within the organisation, but designating should be the key focus. Customers have a high level clear ownership and accountability is essential. of trust in ratings and reviews, particularly those Establish a baseline for measuring success and on third-party websites, so it’s important to build investigate the direct correlation between positive trust and credibility by giving ORM the attention it reviews and customer acquisition and retention to deserves. get the entire organisation on board and streamline resource allocation decisions.

3 6

Maximise the value of customer feedback by Invest in technology to develop a comprehensive actively encouraging and harnessing it. VoC programme. Using a range of online reputation management Enlisting the help of a reputation management tactics, such as actively managing business listings platform eliminates manual, painstaking processes on third-party sites, publishing positive ratings and associated with monitoring reviews and managing repurposing customer feedback can significantly feedback. Having a robust, efficient system in improve brand perception among customers place also provides actionable insights into online and prospects alike. Explore multiple avenues for reputation and overall customer experience, encouraging reviews, not just social media, and pinpoints the areas where improvements are don’t underestimate the impact of post-purchase needed, and leads to positive business outcomes. emails requesting reviews.

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Appendix Business Respondent Profiles

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FIGURE 31 What best describes your job role?

49% 51%

l I work client-side for a brand/advertiser l I work for an agency or as a consultant

FIGURE 32 Agency respondents

Are you focused on 23% your own company's marketing activities, or your clients' marketing activities?

77%

l Our own marketing l Our clients' marketing

FIGURE 33 40% What region are you based in?

24% 23%

13%

Europe Asia Pacific North America Other

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FIGURE 34 49% Client-side respondents Is your company focused mainly on B2B or B2C? 32%

19%

B2B B2C Both B2B and B2C

Financial services and insurance 9% FIGURE 35 Retail 9% Healthcare / Medical / Pharmaceutical Client-side 9% IT consultancy 8% respondents Manufacturing 6% In which business Professional services 5% sector does your Media and entertainment 5% company operate? Automotive 5% Food and beverage 4% Government and local authority 3% Publishing 3% Hospitality and travel 3% Consultancy 3% Charity / Non-profit 3% Utilities 2% Telecommunications 2% Property / Property management 2% Accountancy / Business services / Law 2% Sport and leisure 2% Construction 1% Other 14%

Below £2.5m 42% FIGURE 36 What is your annual company revenue? £2.5m - £4.9m 14%

£5m - £49m 17%

£50m - £99m 6%

£100m - £249m 3%

£250m - £499m 4%

£500m - £999m 4%

£1bn plus 10%

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