Srp internship project

GL BAJAJ INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH GREATER NOIDA

Summer Research Project On Analysing the impact of online reputation management on the consumer buying decision Post Graduate Diploma in Management Term-IV BATCH: 2019-21

Submitted By

Submitted To

Riya Raha

Dr. Shuchita Singh

Roll No. GM19151

(Associate Professor)

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STUDENT DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the work reported in the Summer Research Project entitled “Analysing the impact of online reputation management on the consumer buying decision” submitted at GL Bajaj Institute of Management and Research, Greater Noida, is an authentic record of my work carried out under the guidance of Dr. Shuchita Singh. I have not submitted this work elsewhere for any other degree or diploma.

(Signature of the Student) Riya Raha GL Bajaj Institute of Management and Research, Greater Noida, India Date: ………..

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I owe my gratitude to many people who helped and supported me during the 8 weeks of Summer Research Project Program. I am highly thankful to the Director Dr. Ajay Kumar of the Institute for his support, motivation and continuous efforts in providing us the better learning environment and opportunities to groom ourselves as per the expectations of the corporate world. Without his support, it would not be possible for us to successfully complete our Summer Research Project. My sincere thanks to Dr. Shuchita Singh, the Faculty Guide of the project, for initiating and guiding the project with attention and care. She has always been available for me to put me on track from time to time to bring the project at its present form. I also thank all faculty members without whom this project would have been a distant reality. Signature Riya Raha Place: Date:

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FACULTY GUIDE CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the work reported in the Summer research Project entitled “Analysing the impact of online reputation management on the consumer buying decision.”, submitted by Riya Raha at GL Bajaj Institute of Management and Research, Greater Noida, India, is a bonafide record of his original work carried out under my supervision. This work has not been submitted elsewhere for any other degree or diploma.

(Signature of Faculty Guide) Dr. Shuchita Singh GL Bajaj Institute of Management and Research, Greater Noida, India Date:

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ABSTRACT

This particular project has been based on Primary and secondary data collected from secondary sources, there is an introduction of Online Reputation Management, Its importance and its role in consumer buying decision, research problem, data analysis, findings and conclusion. The report has been prepared by using primary and secondary both the tools. The main objective of the research is to know the importance of ORM for brands and companies now a days and how it plays a major role in consumer buying decision. The research has been focused on areas which has a impact on online reputation of the companies, and how companies by working on its online reputation can increase its sale and profit..

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TABLE OF CONTENT

S.N0

TOPIC

PAGE NO.

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INTRODUCTION

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Literature review Research Methods

20-22 23-27

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Data Analysis and Findings

28-40

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Conclusion & Recommendations

41-42

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Reference

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INTRODUCTION

Reputation management has already become an essential part of corporate communication. It comprises activities aiming at building, protecting and repairing the image of people, organizations, products, or services. It is vital for companies (and public figures) to maintain the good name and preserve their “reputational capital”. Current technology applications provide users a wide access to information, enabling them to share it instantly and 24 hours a day due to constant connectivity. Information, including users’ opinions about people, companies or products, is quickly spread over large communities. In this setting every move of a company, every act of a public figure are subject, at all times, to the scrutiny of a powerful global audience. The control of information about public figures and organizations at least partly has moved from them to users and consumers . For effective Online Reputation Management (ORM) this constant flow of online opinions needs to be watched. While traditional reputation analysis is mostly manual, online media allow to process, understand and aggregate large streams of facts and opinions about a company or individual. In this context, Natural Language Processing plays a key, enabling role and we are already witnessing an unprecedented demand for text mining software for ORM. Although opinion mining has made significant advances in the last few years, most of the work has been focused on products. However, mining and interpreting opinions about companies and individuals is, in general, a much harder and less understood problem, since unlike products or services, opinions about people and organizations cannot be structured around any fixed set of features or aspects, requiring a more complex modelling of these entities. RepLab is an initiative promoted by the EU project Limosine1 which aims at vertebrating research on reputation management as a “living lab”: a series of evaluation campaigns in which task design and evaluation methodologies are jointly carried out by researchers and the target user communities (reputation management experts). Given the novelty of the topic (as compared with opinion mining on product reviews and mainstream topic tracking), an evaluation campaign should maximize the use of data collections built within LiMoSINe, the academic interest on tasks with practical relevance, and the standardization of evaluation methodologies and practices in the field. RepLab has been, therefore, set out to bring together the Information Access research community with representatives from the ORM industry, aiming at: 7

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Establishing a five-year roadmap that includes a description of the language technologies required in terms of resources, algorithms, and applications;

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Specifying suitable evaluation methodologies and metrics; and

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Developing test collections that enable systematic comparison of algorithms and reliable benchmarking of commercial systems.

 Online Reputation Management- The First Steps The first step in determining your online reputation is simple: Google yourself. You may find mixed results—some positive and some negative reviews. Most likely, the results of your Google search will be inconclusive. Most of the rating sites found during a Google search will contain basic data, like address of the company, number of years in operations etc. On some sites, that is all the information you will find. There may be a couple of reviews from customers; but on many sites, there will be none at all. Then why waste time looking, you may ask? There are several reasons why doing a Google search now will pay off in the future: 1. Establishing a positive presence. Data such as this and numerous other studies and surveys show that consumer use of the Internet, not only to find but to comment on their experiences with companies and products, is growing. If you do not have many ratings now, consider yourself lucky that you’re able to get in on the ground floor in establishing a positive online presence and cultivating positive reviews from your customers. Even your current customers may be watching! 2. Correcting errors and out-of-date information. You may find errors in some of your listings and can correct them so potential customers know where to find you. Most rating sites allow companies to manage their basic data. An old address or telephone number can cost you. 3. Having no reputation is as bad as having a negative reputation. Next year or the year after, when potential customers do a search and find several other competitors’ profiles that meet their criteria for their need, do you really want yours to be the one with no information about your products and company? Increasingly, customers will be making decisions based on other people’s opinions. A straightforward and positive online presence could boost your business now, as more customers find you and decide tobuy your product based on what they’ve read.

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 Background Hennig-Thurau, Malthouse, Friege, Gensler, Lobschat, Rangaswamy, Skiera (2010), has made a research on the impact of new media on customer relationship. From their research they have come up with a new “pinball” framework of impact of new media’s such as new channels like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn that make possible for stakeholders to actively engage and allow them to be part of brand shaping process and the relationships with customers in general. The researchers also found that the new channel has impact on the already existing corporate strategies and business models. The existing models such as newspaper and magazine are facing serious challenges as problems on building of brands arises because of many brand hoax websites such as united airlines and united.com. However, their research also suggests that the new media also provides plenty of chances for new strategies and growth for firms by extremely allowing, users to participate and engage on the new environment and produce user generated contents such as through blogs. Their research leave challenges for areas for future research by leaving blank on “Can consumers’ behavior in virtual worlds be used for “real world” predictions?” , “how existing brand relationships are affected by new media services” and “to what extent can customer and brand equity be influenced by communications on social media.” This research uses the above research as a starting point and tries to explore how Ericsson company manages its online reputation, how management and monitoring of social media or online reputation management in firms can influence branding, how branding can influence strategic business decisions and how online reputation management can influence strategic business decisions. For the purpose of this research, the author has searched different sources to find literatures around similar area of study. As a result, could be able to find the abovementioned research article that best suited to the subject matter to use it to fill the knowledge gap. However, the author cannot guarantee that this is the only literature that is existed.

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Impact of ORM-

If you fail to handle your online reputation management properly, it will affect your business severely. Maybe this is why 90% of our experts who contributed to our survey showed that they rather do online reputation management themselves, instead of hiring someone:

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You may suffer heavy losses in your business if negative content or a bad customer experience goes viral. It may be only an occasional one-off incident but if you do not counter these reports properly, you will have a big problem in your hand. People will assume most of your products are bad or you may become known for poor service. Negative reviews stop 40% of consumers wanting to use business, and you will fail to receive these prospective customers. People will look for more information to confirm their buying decision. So if you have good ratings, you’ll stand a better chance at making it as someone’s final choice. Whether you sell products, offer services, or treat patients, you must manage your online reputation properly. Do not let an occasional mistake affect your business. And do not allow your competitors, disgruntled employees, or a once in a blue moon angry customer affect your business negatively.  Importance of Online Reputation Management The worst thing you can say is that you are the only products or services out there in the market. There are 1,673,535,333 websites on the web according to Netcraft’s October 2018 Web Server Survey and approximately 380 new websites are created every minute. Meaning at any moment, someone might create a brand new company (just like yours) and do a better job. So to stand out you have to be great all around. Your online reputation should reflect this via reviews and word of mouth. As this is what will help you cut through the noise of all the competition. It’s the wild, wild Internet. 57% of consumers won’t use a business that has fewer than 4 stars (up from 48% in 2017) Bright Local. Some of your customers might talk negatively about your company and you might not know when that took place, hurting your overall sales. Even the smallest mistake can cause catastrophes, things like, not responding to your customers within seconds after they requested a live chat.

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There is no doubt that there are those who simply want to avoid any communication and express their opinions online. Some of it may be genuine criticism but many times the negative views might be due to black hat SEO techniques used by your competition. A whopping 89% of consumers read local businesses’ responses to reviews. So you’ll want to avoid any unsatisfied endings with your customers by asking them what their experiences were like and how you can help make it better. Being proactive with your online reputation can make a huge difference. Using reputation management services is an investment It takes time, monitoring, reaching out, and implementing, but is it worth it? Absolutely. One review can refrain hundreds or thousands of people from purchasing your product or services. Using online management services will help in protecting your company’s reputation from being destroyed by business competitors, personal enemies, or unhappy employees. In case there are false reviews concerning your company and they are the reason of ruining your business, the professionals and experts use these services to regain the lost reputation of your company immediately. Online reputation management services begin with getting rid of negative feedback if there is any and end with the promotional techniques which are effective to make your company successful and famous. How online reputation management services work Many tools like this allow you to track your name and review anything said about you. These tools can help you work on content creation, content management, link building, enhancing keywords, online banner promotion, pay per click advertisements, and other strategies. Basically, anything that has your name tied to it, can be tracked and managed accordingly.

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 Benefits of online reputation management services Here are some benefits to using a service: Trust Many people trust business or brand with a good online reputation. Customers usually seek opinions by reading online reviews before they make any investment. They put full trust in your brand or business if they have positive online reviews, therefore you will want to make sure your online reputation is perfect. Profitability A good online reputation draws more business to your company. With greater online visibility of positive postings, you will easily draw your target market, therefore, improving your business’s profitability. Conflict Resolution With this, you are given the ability to respond to negative reviews in real-time. You can partake in conflict resolution which is a step that is admirable in the eyes of customers. Watching for inconsistencies in the way that the company is represented by the various data aggregators can help you isolate and flag it. If a customer finds an old phone number online, calls and gets the new owner or a message that says the line is disconnected, that can create reputation damage before an interaction ever starts. Clean data is key. How can your business improve its reputation? Strategies What are some online reputation management strategies? A variety of techniques are used to manage online reputation. The following are some of the popular techniques used for this purpose. 

Tracking and monitoring your online reputation

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Monitoring your business and handling negative content

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Replying to online reviews

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Making your goals attainable with metrics

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Paving the way to become influential in your niche

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Getting employee insights

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Efficiently managing acquisition

Aside from those mentioned above, there are even better ways of improving your reputation. Let’s dive into those now. Focus on SEO Invest in SEO. Optimizing each SEO factor can help increase search engines to crawl your site better and understand where to rank you. It’s no longer about keyword stuffing, I call it human assisting machine. Sure, search engine algorithms are constantly being updated and defining user intents so that they can provide the most relevant information to those who are searching for answers. Whether it is technical issues, on-page optimization, or off the page, each part of SEO can help. Deliver on your promises Make only those promises that you can keep. If occasionally you fail to deliver 100%, try to manage the negative fallout by offering a discount, refund or some free offer. There are several things you can do to give reasons for people to talk about your business. Delivering on promises is one of them. Take absolute pride in your service and make it resonate throughout your brand. Regularly post positive contents Search engines keep looking for updated and latest contents. If you regularly post new content about you, search engines will take into account all these content when indexing things related to you. When most of the contents are positive, the search engines have to rank these contents higher compared to the older and negative contents. It also builds credibility and authority. Content creation is the most important parts of online reputation management. Whether it’s blog content, videos, tutorials, or any other form of content, it will help increase interaction with customers and spread the good name of your brand. While people buy from who they like, people also want to go to experts to learn and 13

content helps people understand that you are here to help. Content is also an excellent place to request reviews from customers. Ask your customers or clients to rate you The biggest problem that most companies and professionals face is that only people who feel dissatisfied with their product or service post online reviews and comments. People who receive satisfactory services rarely post reviews. Encourage your customers and clients to post reviews about you. Let them know how they can rate you on consumer rating websites. Educate your customers and encourage them to post online reviews about you and your company. Pro tip: Hunt down unsatisfied customers and do anything you can to appease them within reason. Make it a policy to make them happy and then once they’re happy to encourage them to share their experience. Do not ignore negative reviews Take time to read even negative reviews, and know how to handle bad reviews. Treat all your customers in the same way and respond professionally even to negative comments. Avoid using a negative tone in your replies to these reviews. Explain how you provided better products and services. Apologize for the mistakes you made. Sometimes customers do not understand the process properly and face difficulty. Tell them what really happened and how to avoid such problems next time. You can offer a refund of the paid money or discount on the next purchase. Highlight your company’s positive aspects when replying to these reviews. Be responsive to avoid being seen aloof and arrogant. Encourage other people to respond to the criticism of your business New customers look for opinions and reviews of earlier customers. Provide good quality services and your satisfied customers will counter negative posts of others without any incentive. Building a relationship and creating customer advocates can help create proactive customers. Referral programs and word of mouth Use the power of word of mouth. If your customers are referring others to your business with your referral program, more than likely, they will also provide reviews. If they can share a link with their friends, they can share a referral, and they can share a review. While this is a simple concept, you’ll want to integrate with few different platforms to identify these situations that 14

will have the most effect when it comes to them saying yes. Maybe sending a quick link after they inquire through your customer support, or once they sent a referral link to their friends. Remove the negative search results Sometimes you can ask the website hosting the negative review to remove the review. Usually, they will comply if the comment is obviously malicious. Let your voice be heard, in fact, write an article to explain the situation, post it on your blog and send that over to the review site so it can help clarify and open it to the public. Social media Use social media, as part of your customer support. Be active on social media so you can share your talks and content and your followers can help spread the word. Social media helps build trust and rapport. It also helps with transparency. Be on hand to answer questions, handle complaints and keep your audience updated with deals and company news. Attempt to replace social media comments as a place where potential customers can see your interaction and see how you’re treating individuals. Ask for professional help Seek professional help if you are unable to handle your online reputation management on your own. There are ORM companies that offer services in this field. The advantage of this option is that you can focus on your core business and leave the reputation management tasks to the professionals. These experts know how to handle this problem. They have devised various strategies for this purpose. For example, they post lots of positive contents. They counter negative contents through positive reviews, blogs, press releases, and comments. How long does online reputation management take to work? It depends on what types of techniques are used. It can take a few days to a few weeks or months for the ORM techniques to work. News content and press releases are indexed quickly but other types of content take time to show up in the search results of the search engines. At the same time, news content is updated constantly and do not rank high for long in the search results. Other types of content take time to show up in the search results but remain there for long, like a blog post.

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85% of consumers think that online reviews older than 3 months aren’t relevant, so how do you stay relevant and continue to gain new customers? The short answer, get people to leave you reviews as many you can get. Online reputation management does not require lots of investment. You just need to spend a few hours a week managing your online reputation. Review top main sites on a daily basis and small review sites on a weekly basis. If there has been some incident like an accident, delivery of a poor quality product, or deficiency in service, then get active in managing your online reputation. Take the help of an ORM agency to counter the negative contents. This type of agency has ORM experts who know how to handle this job and can help you to improve and manage your online reputation.  Key Aspects of ORMListen or lose: Knowing what your customers are talking about your business online is crucial for customer retention and acquiring new prospects. The majority of consumers today refer to reviews and recommendations on various sites and social media platforms before making a purchase decision. Negative feedback about your service or product online can lead to distrust and drop in sales. Hence, a timely response system needs to be in place to address customer grievances, not just on social media , but also on review portals and forums that can show up on the Google Search results. Think of your telecom providers, your neighbourhood restaurant or even your salon — they all need to do this. You can see Airtel, Vodafone and Idea leading the pack in terms of listening to complaints. Respond to regain trust: One of the most common mistakes brands make when it comes to online reputation management is deleting or avoiding a customer complaint. Covering up an issue is never a solution, as customer stories tend to have greater reach and impact. Consumers appreciate public signs of transparency and honesty; hence, always respond to negative comments and take the issue offline if needed. When the issue is resolved promptly, there are higher chances that this troubled customer will turn a brand evangelist and post

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positive feedback about the brand’s approach and customer service. Think about how Maggi achieved this or how Emirates managed this when they almost had a crash. Be quick to acknowledge feedback: According to an average Internet user, a brand needs to respond to a consumer’s query or feedback online within 30 minutes or an hour. Prompt response with a relevant solution goes a long way in showing consumers that you are listening to them. It’s also one of the easiest ways to win back your customer’s trust and let them know you value them. If you are unsure about something, it is always better to inform your customers that you are looking into the issue and will get in touch shortly regarding the corrective action. The longer the time taken to respond, the more severe the damage. If you are a B2C brand where the consumer engagement rate is high, opt for ORM tools that can help you streamline this process. Climb the search engine ladder: Close to 91 million searches are performed on Google each day. How many of those do you think could be about your brand? Big or small, leverage SEO to make positive content dominate the Google Search results and push down the negative references about your brand. Promoting fresh, useful and positive content on various web pages about your brand can help in outranking negative comments over a period of time. Most brands also take an integrated approach to effectively use influencer marketing to create a positive word-of-mouth reputation. This includes creation of blogs or reviews across community platforms, online review portals and social media. Customer delight, made easy: Being available online and making customer interactions meaningful result in a company exceeding expectations. A happy customer likes to share positive experiences and eventually becomes a brand loyalist. Businesses in the servicing industry can take the ORM route to dominating the competitive marketplace and demonstrate their trustworthiness and commitment to customers. To achieve this, brands need to actively track brand mentions and follow conversations online to respond and initiate conversations. Being proactive not only helps keep negative sentiments at bay, but also builds a positive brand perception.

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Online reputation management is often the missing piece in a digital strategy, especially if the brand is looking to create a difference and delight customers. That being said, bad products and bad service cannot be reclaimed with ORM; it can only camouflage it for a short time. So focussing on creating an amazing experience or product is still the key. New Consumer Behaviour and Their Impact

They want to know “What’s Near Me?” In this new reality of instant gratification, made possible by the rise of the smartphone, marketing has become hyperlocal. Over 154 million people in the U.S. — that’s 82% of us — use Google Maps to find businesses and services that are close by. In fact “near me” search is up 900% since 2015! If you’re a business and you don’t show up in local search when a customer is ready to buy, you’ve failed, and your competitor has succeeded.

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They prefer messaging apps for communication. It’s not only my teenage son who prefers to communicate with me via text messaging. My customers prefer it, too. Think about the last time you requested a quote from a service provider or signed up to receive updates about a delivery: You were given options — phone, email or text. In fact, 85% of U.S. consumers prefer receiving text messages over a phone call or email. The last time I shopped for a car, the dealership texted me pictures of available inventory before I ever stepped foot into the showroom. How are you communicating with your customers?

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They read reviews before buying. The vast majority of Americans — 87% — trust online reviews to help them choose which local businesses or services to use. And 88% of consumers have avoided a company because of a bad review. Plus, Google Uses Online Reviews to Rate You, and your ratings determine your search rankings. That means your ability as a business to be found and chosen largely depends on your online reputation.

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They’re really social. By social, I don’t mean outgoing. I mean they’re on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other channels, talking to their friends and colleagues about lots of stuff — including which brands, products and services they think are good or bad. So, in addition to having great reviews, your presence on social channels — both in terms of direct engagement, social listening and advertising — matters a lot.

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They’re always on their smartphones. Good luck getting business with TV ads, billboards or full page spreads. If your name isn’t popping up on consumers’ smartphones, either on 18

social, in news feeds or via text, they won’t remember you. Your website and email communications had better look great on mobile, too, if you want them to think well of your brand.  Impact of ORM on Consumers Buying Decisions-

1. Reviews matter for deciding on products and companiesMany studies in recent years have confirmed what we already know: People read reviews and decide what to buy based on them. Some 88% say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, and 39% read reviews on a regular basis. In fact, only 12% of those surveyed don’t read reviews at all.. 2. People gather buying recommendations from mixed sources. Even though social media and the Internet rule, customers make purchase decisions using a combination of old media, new media, and conversations with friends and family According to a 2009 study by Harris Interactive, the most common methods for gathering information prior to making a purchase are: 1.

using a company website (36%);

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face-to-face conversation with a salesperson or other company representative (22%);

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face-to-face conversation with a person not associated with the company (21%).

3. The jury is out on social media’s influence on buying decisionsThere’s conflicting research on the influence of social media on purchase decisions. One study found that consumers are 67% more likely to buy from brands they follow on Twitter.Another report showed that social media rarely leads directly to online purchases. Data indicated that less than 2% of orders resulted from shoppers coming from a social network. The report found that email and search advertising were much more effective vehicles for turning browsers into buyers.The difference between these two studies is that the first was based on what people said, but the second was based on what people actually did.

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LITERATURE REVIEW

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4 Ways to Manage Negative Feedback in a Positive Way

(Author: Nadya Khoja) Let’s face it, we all have had negative feedback. In real life (or IRL) or online, negative feedback In this article, the author, Nadya Khoja and her team talked to over 50 top marketing influencers about how they handle negative feedback when it happens to them. The number one advice they offer? Listen to the feedback. You don’t need to feed the trolls but you definitely can take the opportunity to HEAR what the feedback is and evaluate if it’s something you can grow from. 

5 Steps to Getting Started with Search Engine Reputation Management (SERM)

(Author: Aaron Agius )An interesting part of this article by Aaron Agius is to not only taking advantage of the many tools out there to monitor what’s being said about your brand, but to have a solid Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) strategy in place to prevent negative reviews from affecting your search results. “You might not be able to control what people say about you, but you can control whether or not other people see it, “ says it all. 

Crash Course: What to Do When Your Reputation Sucks

(Author: Dot Sucks ) This article focuses on the damage bad reviews or comments can cause on a brand, especially the United PR disaster, in which the CEO Oscar Munoz reacted rather mildly in response to the passenger dragging incident. The simple tips offered in this article are often overlooked but are great ways to monitor and respond to unpredictable bad reviews. Once again, the theme is to be ahead of the bad reviews by monitoring and suppressing the bad results by creating the positive content your brand needs to lessen the impact of the bad reviews. 

The Case For Online Reputation Management: By The Numbers

(Author: John Hall) The author, John Hall, talks about the staggering numbers of online searches conducted by either corporate executive recruiters (90%) or HR departments (65%), and how much results are weighed in on decisions whether to hire or not. Even social media 20

monitoring is being used by employers (60%) who are not necessarily liking what they’re seeing from their employees online. An equally staggering percentage (70%) of adults have been victims to online harassment, and 73% have witnessed online harassment. So what do all these numbers add up to? The value of your personal brand and the need to monitor and protect it in a world tied to our phones. 

Five keys to managing your online reputation in Google search

(Author: Marcus Tober ) In this article, the author cites the example of the incident in UC Davis where student protesters were sprayed with pepper spray, which created a PR nightmare that wound up costing the University $175,000 to clean up online. As the author mentions, and we have in previous blog posts and even in some on this list, a large part of your strategy should include influencing what is actually showing up in search results via SERPs. Start by what you CAN control, like brand messaging via your company website, blog and social media profiles. 

Dirty Deeds: Why Recruiters Should Care About Reputation Management

(Author: Kelly Blokdijk) This article comes from a different perspective….from the recruiter side of Executive Recruiters, and the importance of value exchange and respect in the recruiting process. The author talks about her own experience with a recruiter that was less than stellar, as an example of how much the value of an online resume via LinkedIn actually offers and the importance of outlining specifics in job postings. As with bricks and mortar examples, oftentimes networking or “word of mouth” expands the reach of your audience and may actually help recruiters connect with a more ideal candidate for a position. Although the author did not have a good experience with a recruiter, the bad experience turned into a good lesson on how to improve the recruiting process. 

The Basics of Online Personal Reputation Management

(Author: Susan P. Joyce) The author, Susan Joyce, is known as an job seeker expert, as founder of job-hunt.org, a “Readers Digest” of sorts for people looking for jobs online. In this article, she talks about how the invisibility of google search results can also harm your chances of getting that dream job. She offers tips on how to establish a positive and informative online presence. We learned in previous articles mentioned above how many HR departments and recruiters are looking at your online presence (65% of HR departments and 90% of executive 21

recruiters). But what if they don’t find anything about you at all online? Google searches in the hiring process are just as much for verification of what you say you have done and who you are as it is to check and see if you’ve done anything badly or something that would reflect poorly on your reputation. In addition to tips on how to clean up some not so flattering things on your personal brand, Susan offers tips on what HR departments and recruiters are looking for and how you can position yourself for a more flattering view and highlight your capabilities. 

5 Ways To Protect Your Company Reputation On Social Media

(Author: Nadia Carmon ) An often overlooked and sometimes ignored reputation management tool, social media can be a curse or a blessing to a brand, no matter how big or small. This article by Nadia Carmon, a writer and social media expert, offers actionable tips on how to use social media to respond to customers as an addition to your more traditional methods (such as email, help desk and phone support). With 2.46 Billion social media users, and Facebook being the most popular, to overlook using them as an additional communications line to your customers would be a mistake of epic proportions. But, using them so as not to damage your brand is crucial. Responding quickly and ensuring that you are in control of your brand content are key to keeping your brand healthy on the social networks. Testimonials can be used to boost search engine results but be sure to be responsive to questions and problems that social media users point your way. 

10 Keys For Executives To Manage Reputation Risk

(Author: Jim DeLoach ) Last but not least, the 10th most shared article of the year has been focused on how executives can manage risk to their reputations online. Author Jim DeLoach defines “reputation risk” as the current and prospective impact on earnings and enterprise value arising from negative stakeholder opinion. With the recent impacts of scandal of the sexual harassment cases rocking Hollywood, many Executive Boards are seeing the intense pressures brought forth by reputation tarnishes and the importance of Board oversight. DeLoach suggests that reputational risk should be a part of the strategy undertaken by executives and boards as a part of the strategic and business plan. He also discusses the importance of brand compliance and consistency in reputation for both corporations and executives.

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RESEARCH OBJECTIVE AND HYPOTHESIS Research in common refer to a search for knowledge, one can also define research as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a scientific topic. According to Clifford woody research comprises defining and redefining problem, formulating hypothesis or suggested solution, collecting, organizing and evaluation data, marking deductions and reaching and conclusion, and at last carefully testing the conclusion of determine whether they fit formulating hypothesis. This section includes the research methods, their rationale, validity, reliability, sample size, alternatives and limitations faced during primary research. Statement of research problem Analysing the impact of Online Reputation Management on the customer buying decision Research objective 1.

To study the benefits of strong online reputation management

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To study the factors of ORM affecting customers buying decisions

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research approach The two distinctive methods for research approach are inductive and deductive methods. According to Ghauri & Grønhaug (2010), inductive approach is construction of a theory from empirical observations and interpretations whereas deductive approach is drawing conclusions through logical reasoning by building and testing hypothesis from the existing knowledge. The study approach followed is regarded as an inductive approach as the center of attention is the empirical finding that will be obtained from the available data. The research approach followed for reasoning is inductive since it is planned to study the phenomenon theoretically in order to understand what it consists of. The theoretical study is made to see how concepts are kept together and the exploration leads to the research design model. Data is collected and analyzed to explore how ORM can influence consumer buying decisions. Research Design Research design is the plan used to link the conceptual research problem to a related and feasible empirical research (Ghauri and Grønhaug, 2010). With reference to (Ghauri and Grønhaug, 2010), for identification and solution of the research problem the research design is determined based on the problem structure and the kind of research question. Research problems vary in structure, and based on the structure research design is classified into three types: Exploratory, Descriptive and Causal (Ghauri and Grønhaug, 2010). This research design follows exploratory research design because as Yin (2003) points out that this type of research design deals with new understandings. In this same way this research try to apply theories and tries to give new understanding and explore to see how ORM, and consumer buying decisions

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concepts are kept together and the theoretical exploration leads to the research model that is presented in the research frame work section Data Collection Ghauri & Grønhaug (2010) describes two possible ways of collecting data, which are primary and secondary data. In this study, both secondary and primary data collection is used. Secondary data is used for identifying research problem and is used for providing suggestions. Generally, secondary data gathered from the existing studies for better understanding of the research problem. Materials such as academic articles, the company’s website, books reliable online resources that are associated for identification of the research topic are used for detail understanding. Primary data is collected using in depth interview to find empirical evidence. In this research both types of data has been used. Data Analysis Method Data analysis is the process of making order and meaning out of unstructured and large amount of collected data Ghauri & Grønhaug (2010). There are two types of data analysis methods; qualitative and quantitative methods. Quantitative data analysis method is predominantly used for analyzing numerical data. It makes use of and generates quantitative or numerical data by using statistical methods where as qualitative data analysis neither uses numerical data nor use statistical methods. Bui (2009) portrays qualitative study as a non-numerical approach. It is used mostly when the data gathered is subjective and the data collection technique is mainly by using interviews or any empirical data analysis process that make use of and produces nonnumerical data Ghauri & Grønhaug (2010). Since the data gathered in this study is subjective in nature and there is no numerical data gathered, it is analyzed using qualitative data analysis method. In general, the foundations for qualitative data mostly rely on meanings articulated

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through words. therefore the suitable data analysis method is qualitative with thematic analysis process. Thematic analysis is a procedure used with qualitative data. “It is a process for encoding qualitative data” (Howitt & Crammer, 2008). Encoding requires indicators, model with themes and causally related qualifications. This may be a list of themes; a complex model with themes, indicators, and qualifications that are causally related. “A theme is a pattern found in the information that at minimum describes and organizes the possible observations and at maximum interprets aspects of the phenomenon.” “The themes may be initially generated inductively from the raw information or generated deductively from theory and prior research” ibid. In this research, the themes are generated deductively from prior research and theory in other words the themes used in the analysis chapter are derived from the framework of the research. The research is based on a model with themes, causally related relations and indicators. Thematic analysis has a number of alternative functions. It can be used as an approach of making sense, a method of seeing and a way of analysing qualitative information. SAMPLE SIZE 60 respondents are taken as the sample size in consultation with the guide at both the ends taking into consideration the time factor. These include only the questionnaires which are filled completely there by providing the researcher all necessary details for evaluation. The incomplete questionnaires were rejected and are not taken into calculation purpose. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY1- The study has been completed without any reference of any company. 2- There is a limitation of only 60 responses and most of the respondents belongs to the age group of 19-25 age. 3- There is no use of any SPSS tool.

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4- The study has completed without inclusion of any previous research papers in Literature Review.

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DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

Table 1- Age group of the respondentsAge Group

No. of Respondents

Below 18

1

19-25

53

25-35

3

35+

3

AGE GROUP OF RESPONDENTS BELOW 18

5%

19-25

25-35

35+

5% 1%

89%

According to the above analysis it is concluded that 60 respondents out of which 89% of the respondents belongs to the age group of 19-25, 1% to below 18, 5% to 35 and above & 5% to 25-35.

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Table 2- Consideration of online platforms for getting information about products and servicesResponses

No. of Respondents

YES

56

NO

0

SOMETIMES

4

No. of Respondents using Online platforms for getting information 7%

93% yes

No

Sometimes

From the above analysis of the given sample of 60 respondents it is concluded that 93% of the people visits online platforms to get information about products and services on a regular basis and 7% of the people visits them sometimes.

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Table 3- Impact of online reviews and information on customer buying decisionResponses

No. of Respondents

YES

52

NO

2

SOMETIMES

6

No. of Respondents whose buying decisions are dependent on online reviews and information 10% 3%

87%

yes

No

Sometimes

From the above analysis of given sample of all 60 respondents it is concluded that majorly 87% of the respondents buying decision gets impacted by the information they get from online sources about products and services and only 3% of people does not consider information available through online sources.

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Table 4- Trust on online reviews and information about product and servicesRatings

No. of Respondents

Extremely likely

10

More likely

27

likely

18

Neutral

4

unlikely

1

Extremely unlikely

0

No. of Respondents Trusts online reviews and information 50.00% 45.00%

45.00%

40.00% 35.00% 30.00%

30.00%

25.00% 20.00% 15.00% 10.00%

16.70%

5.00% 0.00% Extremely likely Extremely likely

More likely More likely

likely likely

6.70%

1%

0%

Neutal

Unlikely

Extremely unlikely

Neutal

Unlikely

Extremely unlikely

From the above analysis it has been concluded that most of the customers trust the information and reviews available online.

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Table 5- The most used source to get information about product and services by the customersSources

Preferences by Consumers

Online Reviews and ratings

70%

Advertising and Media

40%

social Media

66.7%

Personal Recommendation

40%

Other

1.7%

Customer Preference Towards Sources of Information 18%

1% 32%

31% 18%

Online Reviews and ratings

Advertising and Media

Personal Recommendation

other

social Media

From the above analysis of given sample most of the respondents prefers online reviews and rating and social media as the best source of getting information about product and services.

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Table 6- Following brands on social mediaResponses

No. of Respondents

YES

47

NO

15

No. of Respondents Following Brands On Social Media 25%

75%

yes

No

According to the above analysis it is concluded that 75% of the customers are connected with brand through social media.

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Table 7- Checking online reviews before visiting a brand store or buying anythingResponses

No. of Respondents

YES

47

NO

0

SOMETIMES

13

No. of Respondents who are dependent on online reviews and information 22%

0%

78%

yes

No

Sometimes

The result shows majority of the consumers which is 78% are highly dependent on online reviews and information not only for buying products and services even before visiting a store physically.

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Table 8- Does positive online reviews increase trust over a brand and its products and servicesRatings

No. of Respondents

Strongly agree

9

Agree

36

Neutral

8

Disagree

1

Strongly disagree

6

Positive Online Reviews Increses The Trust Over Brands 2%

10%

15%

13%

60%

Strongly agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly disagree

From the above analysis it has been concluded that 60% of the customer’s trust is built through positive online reviews about brands and its products and services.

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Table 9- Likelihood of customers preferring Star rating products Ratings

No. of Respondents

Extremely likely

13

likely

22

Neutral

21

unlikely

3

Extremely unlikely

1

Likelihood of customers preferring Star rating products 25% 22%

20%

21%

15% 10%

13%

5% 0% Extremely likely

likely

Extremely likely

Neutral likely

Neutral

unlikely

3%

1%

unlikely

Extremely unlikely

Extremely unlikely

From the above analysis it has been concluded that most of the people prefers to buy products with star rating.

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Table 10- No. of stars mostly preferred by the customersRatings

No. of Respondents

1 Star

0

2 Star

0

3 Star

24

4 Star

27

5 Star

9

Impact of Star Rating on Buying Decision of Customers 50.00% 45.00%

45.00%

40.00%

40.00%

35.00% 30.00% 25.00% 20.00% 15.00%

15%

10.00% 5.00% 0.00%

0.00%

0.00%

1 Star

2 Star 1 Star

3 Star 2 Star

3 Star

4 Star 4 Star

5 Star

5 Star

From the above analysis it has been concluded that most of the people prefers to buy products with star rating of 3,4 and 5.

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Table 11- Does social media plays a major role in buying decision of customersResponses

No. of Respondents

YES

50

NO

2

MAYBE

8

Role of Social Media in Buying Decision of Customers 14% 3%

83%

yes

No

Maybe

From the above analysis it has been concluded that for most of the people social media plays a major role in their buying decisions.

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FINIDINGS 

The market survey shows that online platforms have become an integral part of everyone’s life as all the respondents either regularly or sometimes use online platforms to get information about products and services.



The survey has resulted that for most of the customer’s online reviews and information plays a major role in their buying decision.



The survey has resulted that most of the customers somewhere trust the online reviews and information about products, services and brands.



The survey has resulted that social media and online ratings and reviews are the most used source by the customers to get information about product and services.



Among all the customers 75% of the customers connects with their favourite brand through social media.



78% of the customers always prefer online information even before visiting the brands store and 22% of customers sometimes prefers to go through online information first before visiting a store.



The survey results also show that positive online reviews helps to increase the trust of customers over the brand.



The survey has also resulted that star rated products and services are mostly preferred by the customers.



Customers mostly prefers to buy the products with good star rating and the minimum star they prefer is 3 star.



The survey has resulted social media plays a very important role in buying decision of customers.

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

The survey has shown the importance of having a good reputation on online platforms as the customers buying decision are very much affected by the information they get from different online sources about product services and brands.



The survey has resulted that online reputation management contains many factors like social media, star rating, reviews by customers, blogs etc.

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Recommendations and Conclusion CHAPTER 6  Recommendations

As the customers have a very easy access to all the information available on the internet so it would be recommended that companies should also be available over all the online platforms.



Social Media is a powerful platform now a days and all most all the customer are connected with these platforms so all the brands have a big opportunity to easily connect with all customer through these platforms and establish connection.



Reputation development requires an investment, both in time and money, and this investment is very important now a day to build a strong customer base.



Monitoring and managing online reputation, is very important specially to avoid negative remarks, conversation and trolling.

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 Conclusion

Having a reputation management today is primarily a positive way to bring your brand positive search results. It’s all about engaging and having a conversation, which builds a positive platform for your brand. To get more positive reviews- focus on customer satisfaction, Social Media tools, monitoring reviews, set up a Live Chat to retain or gain new business, and ensure customer satisfaction.

Reputation Management today can solve online business and comprehensive internet marketing solutions.

Reputation Management today can handle your Google alerts, brand strength, Social Media monitoring, social mentions, report your business average ratings, can increase visibility, help generate advocacy, build up brand equity, content promotion, consumer complaints, trademark infringement, counterfeit products, crisis development, pay-per-click tracking, a snapshot of ten search engines, organic positions, and news of your brand activities. Successful online reputation management today, strategies also require a quick response. Listed below are points to keep in mind, to maintain your reputation.

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REFERENCES  https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/online-reputation-management-guide-for-social-mediamarketers/

 https://searchengineland.com/8-best-online-reputation-management-tools-for-your-brand308621

 https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanerskine/2018/07/30/study-97-of-business-owners-sayonline-reputation-management-is-important-heres-how-to-keep-up/#57ad19096c02

 https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhall/2017/03/12/the-case-for-online-reputationmanagement-by-the-numbers/#668d63f03f6f

 https://www.reputation.com/resources/blog/how-changing-consumer-behaviors-are-shapingthe-future-of-reputation-management/

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QUESTIONNAIRE 1- What is your name? 2- Please specify the age group you belong to? 3- Do you use online platforms to get reviews and information about product and services? 4- Does online reviews and information affect you buying decision? 5- How likely you trust online reviews and information about product and services? 6- Which source do you use the most to get information about product and services? 7- Do you follow any brand on social media? 8- Do you read online reviews before visiting a brand store or buying anything? 9- Do positive online reviews increase your trust over a brand and its products and services? 10- How likely your buying decision is driven by the star ratings? 11- What is the minimum rating you prefer before making a purchase? 12- Do you think social media and online platforms plays a major role in your buying decision?

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LOG SHEET Weekly Log Sheet (To be filled by the student on daily basis and has to be sent to respective faculty Guide on weekly basis along with weekly progress report)

WEEK NO- ……1….

PERIOD: FROM 24 May 2020 TO 30 MAY 2020

Name of the Student: Riya Raha

Roll No.: ……GM19151

Day

Date

Details of work done

Monday

25 may

Searched about the topic

Tuesday

26 MAY

Studied research paper

Wednesday 27 MAY

Studied research paper and articles

Thursday

28 May

Studied research paper and articles

Friday

29 MAY

Worked on the introduction chapter

Saturday

30 May

Completed the introduction chapter

45

Weekly Log Sheet (To be filled by the student on daily basis and has to be sent to respective faculty Guide on weekly basis along with weekly progress report)

WEEK NO- ……2….

PERIOD: FROM 31 May 2020 TO 6 June 2020

Name of the Student: Riya Raha

Roll No.: ……GM19151

Day

Date

Details of work done

Monday

1 June

Worked on literature review

Tuesday

2 June

Worked on literature review

Wednesday 3 JUNE

Worked on Research objective

Thursday

4 JUNE

Worked on Research Methodology

Friday

5 june

Worked on Research Methodology

Saturday

6 June

Completed the Research Methodology

46

Weekly Log Sheet (To be filled by the student on daily basis and has to be sent to respective faculty Guide on weekly basis along with weekly progress report)

WEEK NO- ……3….

PERIOD: FROM 7 JUNE 2020 TO 13 JUNE 2020

Name of the Student: Riya Raha

Roll No.: ……GM19151

Day

Date

Details of work done

Monday

8 JUNE

Worked for the questionnaire

Tuesday

9 JUNE

Worked for the questionnaire

Wednesday 10 JUNE

Worked for the questionnaire

Thursday

11 JUNE

Worked for the questionnaire

Friday

12 JUNE

Framed the questionnaire

Saturday

13 JUNE

Framed the questionnaire

47

Weekly Log Sheet (To be filled by the student on daily basis and has to be sent to respective faculty Guide on weekly basis along with weekly progress report)

WEEK NO- ……4….

PERIOD: FROM 14 JUNE 2020 TO 20 JUNE 2020

Name of the Student: Riya Raha

Roll No.: ……GM19151

Day

Date

Details of work done

Monday

14 JUNE

Collected the responses

Tuesday

15 JUNE

Collected the responses

Wednesday 16 JUNE

Collected the responses

Thursday

17 JUNE

Collected the responses

Friday

18 JUNE

Collected the responses

Saturday

19 JUNE

Collected the responses

48

Weekly Log Sheet (To be filled by the student on daily basis and has to be sent to respective faculty Guide on weekly basis along with weekly progress report)

WEEK NO- ……5….

PERIOD: FROM 21 JUNE 2020 TO 27 JUNE 2020

Name of the Student: Riya Raha

Roll No.: ……GM19151

Day

Date

Details of work done

Monday

21 JUNE

Worked on Data Analysis

Tuesday

22 JUNE

Worked on Data Analysis

Wednesday 23 JUNE

Worked on Data Analysis

Thursday

24 JUNE

Collected the responses

Friday

25 JUNE

Worked on Data Analysis

Saturday

26 JUNE

Worked on Data Analysis

49

Weekly Log Sheet (To be filled by the student on daily basis and has to be sent to respective faculty Guide on weekly basis along with weekly progress report)

WEEK NO- ……6….

PERIOD: FROM 28 JUNE 2020 TO 4 JULY 2020

Name of the Student: Riya Raha

Roll No.: ……GM19151

Day

Date

Details of work done

Monday

29 JUNE

Worked on Findings

30 JUNE Wednesday 1 JULY

Worked on Findings

Thursday

2 JULY

Collected the conclusion

Friday

3 JULY

Worked on Recommendation

Saturday

4 JULY

Worked on Recommendation

Tuesday

Worked on conclusion

50

Weekly Log Sheet (To be filled by the student on daily basis and has to be sent to respective faculty Guide on weekly basis along with weekly progress report)

WEEK NO- ……7….

PERIOD: FROM 5 JULY 2020 TO 11 JULY 2020

Name of the Student: Riya Raha

Roll No.: ……GM19151

Day

Date

Details of work done

Monday

6 JULY

Worked on the final touches of the project

7 JULY Wednesday 8 JULY

Worked on the final touches of the project

Thursday

9 JULY

Worked on the final touches of the project

Friday

10 JULY

Worked on the final touches of the project

Saturday

11 JULY

Worked on the final touches of the project

Tuesday

Worked on the final touches of the project

51