Your business reputation score works like a trust meter for your brand. Just as a good credit score helps you secure financial benefits, a strong reputation score earns customer trust, loyalty and better visibility online.
Learn how to manage and improve your reputation score as we discuss:
• What Is a Business Reputation Score?
• What Is My Reputation Score?
• What Is a Good Business Reputation Score?
• Why You Should Monitor Your Reputation Score
• Common Mistakes That Hurt Your Reputation Score (and How To Avoid Them)
• 12 Tips on How To Improve Your Business Reputation Score
• Other Metrics To Track When Maintaining Your Reputation
• 7 Best Tools To Help Improve and Monitor Your Online Reputation
• Achieve a Near-Perfect Online Reputation Score
What Is a Business Reputation Score?
A business reputation score is a rating system that evaluates how people view your brand using publicly available data from various sources, including:
• Business Review Sites: Ratings and reviews from customers on platforms like Google and Yelp.
• Surveys: Feedback from structured surveys targeting customers, employees and stakeholders.
• Social Platforms: Mentions, comments and overall sentiment from social media platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.
• Local Market: Opinions and feedback from the local community where the business operates.
• Industry Insights: Perceptions and ratings within the specific industry or sector the business belongs to.
What Is My Reputation Score?
Social listening tools are among the most reliable methods for measuring a brand’s reputation score. They monitor and analyze mentions of brands or individuals across various platforms, including social media, news outlets, podcasts, newsletters and other online sources.
These tools use algorithms to assess the sentiment of mentions, whether they are positive, negative or neutral. They also track key metrics that impact your reputation score, including:
• Average Star Rating: The overall score your business has on review platforms.
• Number of Reviews: The total count of customer reviews you’ve received.
• Review Recency: How current your reviews are, reflecting up-to-date customer sentiment.
• Review Spread: The variety of platforms where your reviews appear.
• Response Rate and Time: How quickly and consistently you respond to customer reviews.
• Listing Accuracy: The consistency of your business details across online directories.
• Search Impressions: How frequently your business shows up in search results.
• Social Mentions and Sentiment: The volume and tone of mentions on social media.
• Local Market Feedback: Opinions and reviews from your immediate community.
• Industry Benchmarks: How your reputation compares to competitors in your sector.
This data is then compiled to calculate an overall reputation score and track its fluctuations over time.
While ORM tools and services are great for pulling data, hiring a reputation management agency is also a worthwhile investment for more tailored strategies.
What Is a Good Business Reputation Score?
A “good” reputation score can vary depending on the platform used to calculate it, as different systems use different scales. Some use a 1,000-point scale, while others use letter grades, such as A to F.
The most common scales are based on 5 points, 100 points or 1,000 point systems. For example, a 1,000-point scale could be interpreted as:
• 0-399: Poor reputation, indicating major issues that need attention.
• 400-599: Moderate reputation, sitting in the middle range with room for improvement.
• 600-799: Good reputation, with a few areas that could be improved.
• 800-1,000: Excellent reputation, showing minimal to no issues.
Regardless of the system, a high score suggests a healthy brand, while a low score could mean poor search performance, growth stagnation and revenue loss.
Why You Should Monitor Your Reputation Score
Monitoring your reputation score isn’t a step you should be sleeping on. Here’s why:
• Customer Trust: 87% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses, and 73% say positive reviews make them trust a business more.
• Competitive Advantage: 90% of consumers avoid businesses with a bad reputation.
• Brand Loyalty: 81% of consumers need to trust a brand before doing business.
• Crisis Management: 87% of consumers will change their minds about a purchase after reading negative reviews or news about a business.
• Employee Satisfaction: 79% of job seekers consider company reviews before applying.
• Business Growth: Consistent positive online engagement can boost revenue by up to 23%.
• Revenue Impact: Businesses with strong reputations often see higher market values and price-earnings multiples.
Common Mistakes That Hurt Your Reputation Score (and How To Avoid Them)
You could be hurting your reputation score without realizing it. Avoid these common mistakes to keep your brand’s image positive:
• Are you leaving negative reviews unanswered? Ignoring bad feedback can escalate customer frustration and hurt your reputation. Respond thoughtfully and offer solutions.
• Is your business information out of date anywhere online? Inconsistent or incorrect details across directories can confuse customers and weaken trust in your brand.
• Do your employees feel empowered to represent your brand? Disengaged employees can lead to poor customer interactions. Foster a culture where employees feel supported and aligned with your brand values.
• Are you relying too heavily on automation for customer engagement? While tools can help streamline responses, overly robotic or generic messages can come across as impersonal. Balance automation with a human touch.
• Is your online content stale or irrelevant? A lack of fresh, engaging content can reduce your visibility. Regularly update your website and social media with valuable information for your audience.
• Are you delaying responses to customer complaints? Waiting too long to address issues can damage customer trust. Act promptly to resolve problems and show that you care.
• Do you focus solely on reviews and ignore other factors? While reviews are critical, neglecting aspects like community engagement, public relations (PR) efforts and employee satisfaction can leave gaps in your overall reputation strategy.
More ways to improve your online reputation score in the next section.
12 Tips on How To Improve Your Business Reputation Score
These steps will help you improve your business reputation score and build a stronger, more resilient brand.
1. Ask for Reviews
Encourage happy customers to leave a review after their visit or purchase. A simple follow-up email or message with a direct link to review sites can increase the number of reviews you receive. More reviews improve your overall rating and help potential customers trust your business.
2. Optimize Social Media Profiles
Keep your social media profiles fully updated with professional images and contact information. Post engaging content regularly, respond to comments and messages and highlight positive reviews to build trust and increase visibility.
3. Improve Customer Experience
Great customer experiences lead to positive reviews. Keep providing excellent service at every touchpoint, from the initial interaction to after-sales support. Remember that customers who feel valued are more likely to share good feedback.
4. Engage With Your Customers
Respond promptly to all reviews, both positive and negative. Thank customers for their positive feedback and for negative reviews, acknowledge the issue and offer a solution. This shows you value their input and are committed to improving their experience.
5. Manage Your Business Listings
Ensure your business information (name, address, phone number or NAP) is correct and consistent wherever it appears online. Updating profiles with relevant details and photos makes it easier for customers to find and trust your business.
6. Monitor and Track Your Reputation
Use reputation management tools like ReviewTrackers or Reputation.com to keep track of your reviews and ratings. Regularly checking your metrics helps you see what’s working and where to improve. It also lets you notice trends over time and identify areas needing attention.
7. Improve Your SEO
Make your business stand out in search results by focusing on SEO. Publish quality content, like blogs, videos or articles, that provide useful information about your services. This increases your online visibility and pushes positive content about your business higher in search rankings.
8. Engage in Community Activities
Take part in community events and support local causes to show that you care about more than just business. Being active in your community boosts your visibility and reputation, often resulting in positive mentions in local media and online. It also fosters goodwill and strengthens your image as a trusted and valued community member.
9. Collect Customer Feedback Through Surveys
Send regular surveys to gather customer feedback and understand what’s working and needs improvement. Use the insights to make meaningful changes and inform customers about the updates. Acting on their input shows you value their opinions and are dedicated to enhancing their experience.
10. Train Your Staff Well
Well-trained employees play a huge role in building your business’s reputation. Offer regular training sessions on customer service, brand values and conflict resolution. Confident, knowledgeable employees deliver better service, resulting in happier customers and more positive reviews.
11. Pay Attention to Employee Satisfaction
Happy employees are more likely to deliver great customer experiences, which can greatly impact your reputation. Create a positive work environment where they feel valued, supported and motivated. This leads to better customer interactions and helps with employee retention, which contributes to a stable, trustworthy image for your business.
12. Use ORM Services
Invest in online reputation management tools to keep track of your brand’s online presence. Set up alerts for new mentions, review dashboard insights regularly and use the data to fine-tune your strategy. ORM services help you stay ahead of feedback and ensure your brand maintains a positive image.
Other Metrics To Track When Maintaining Your Reputation
In addition to your reputation score, these metrics will help you monitor where your brand stands and make improvements where needed.
• Google Reputation Score: How customers rate and review your business on Google. A high Google Reputation Score helps you appear in search results and builds customer trust.
• Domain Reputation Score: Measures how trustworthy your website and emails are. A strong domain reputation score keeps your emails out of spam folders and shows visitors your site is reliable.
• Social Media Engagement: Tracks likes, shares and comments on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. High engagement means people are interested in your content and your brand.
• Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT): This score comes from customer surveys and shows how happy people are with your products or services.
• Net Promoter Score (NPS): Measures how likely customers recommend your business to others. A high score means strong loyalty to your brand and good word-of-mouth.
• Search Visibility Score: Shows how often your business appears in search results. A higher score means more people can find you online.
• Sender Reputation Score: Tracks how trustworthy your email campaigns are. A good score means your emails are landing in inboxes, not spam.
7 Best Tools To Help Improve and Monitor Your Online Reputation
Thrive Local’s Senior Reputation Manager Tim Clarke suggests monitoring your online reputation score using automated tracking tools monthly.
Here are some reputation management tools you can use to get started:
1. Brand 24
This service offers real-time monitoring of brand mentions across various online platforms, including social media, blogs and news sites. It provides sentiment analysis to help you gauge public perception and influencer identification to identify key figures shaping conversations about your brand.
Pricing starts at $99 per month.
2. Brandwatch
A comprehensive platform that offers social listening, sentiment analysis and consumer intelligence. It monitors over 100 million online sources, including blogs, forums and social media platforms, providing real-time data to help you understand and manage your brand’s online presence.
Pricing is customized based on specific business needs and is available upon request.
3. Mention
This tool allows you to monitor your brand’s mentions across the web and social media in real time. It offers features like sentiment analysis and competitive benchmarking, enabling you to stay informed about public perception and respond promptly to any issues.
Pricing details are available upon request.
4. Reputation.com
Reputation specializes in managing and improving online reviews, social media presence and customer feedback. The platform offers capabilities to manage social media accounts, allowing businesses to schedule posts, engage with audiences and monitor brand mentions.
Pricing is customized based on business needs.
5. Hootsuite
Primarily a social media management tool, Hootsuite allows you to track when and where your brand is mentioned across major social media platforms. Using customizable streams, you can monitor keywords, hashtags and specific accounts to stay informed about conversations involving your business.
Pricing starts at $99 per month.
6. Sprout Social
Sprout Social provides comprehensive social media management, including monitoring brand mentions, analyzing sentiment and managing customer interactions. It also consolidates messages from various social platforms into a single inbox, streamlining the process of managing and responding to customer interactions.
Pricing starts at $249 per month or $199 per month billed annually.
7. Google Alerts
Google Alerts is a free service that notifies users via email when new content matching specified keywords appears online. Users can monitor various sources, including news, blogs, web pages, videos and more, and apply language and region filters for tailored results.
Achieve a Near-Perfect Online Reputation Score With Thrive Local
A high score doesn’t happen overnight, but with consistent effort and the right strategies, it’s within reach.
Thrive Local offers fully managed online reputation management services to help build your brand’s credibility. We monitor your online reviews, repair negative feedback, respond to customer concerns, manage local listings and more to improve your brand’s image.
More than that, “We offer exceptional software technology,” Clarke said.
“Our biggest edge is we fully manage the accounts — we do all the setup and support.”
We also offer franchise reputation management services for multi-location companies.
See how Thrive Local has helped clients succeed — speak to our experts today.
