Pavel Shulga
The perception of the company in the Internet community and the information field surrounding it are key to business development. Moreover, reputation is not a constant and absolute value. Like any other critical performance indicator she requires increased attention. Therefore, owners of any business should regularly conduct a reputation audit of the brand. We will talk below about what it is.
Content:
Reputation Audit: Definition and Value for Business
Reputation analysis, or audit - is a complex of studies aimed at studying and quality assessment of the perception of the brand by a company or its separate part. If we are talking about the development of business on the Web, then in the analysis of image indicators, any information that affects the image of the company on the Internet is investigated.
Image analysis allows:
- receive reliable and relevant information on company performance evaluations;
- find the strengths and weaknesses of their work;
- evaluate and improve the quality of feedback from customers and partners;
- respond promptly to emissions from competitors;
- shape strategy network reputation management.
Analysis of the brand's reputation is one of the most important marketing research, the implementation of which is necessary for any business.
How to conduct a reputation audit: frequency, methods, stages and means
How often do you need to conduct a SERM audit
Company reputation analysis recommended to be held regularly. The optimal period is every 1 - 2 weeks depending on the scale and direction of the business, as well as the activity of competitors in the niche.
This is especially important before the upcoming major changes in the life of the company.:
- rebranding;
- the introduction of new products on the market;
- change of (full or partial) direction of development;
- assortment update;
- expansion of the target audience;
- creating offers for new partners or investors, etc.
What analysis methods are used during a reputation audit
Among the most popular methods of auditing reputation on the Internet are:
- statistical method - comes down to collecting quantitative data on references on the Web;
- structural method - consists in determining the system of interconnected elements and indicators affecting them (in response to what changes and where this or that information appears);
- dynamic analysis method - explores various fluctuations in indicators at different time segments (after what time the info-guide provokes a response and how long it lasts).
The method of qualitative analysis of references is selected individually and depends on the objectives of the study. In some cases, a superficial separation into positive, negative and neutral estimates is sufficient, sometimes a deep study of the data is required.
To obtain the most accurate and informative indicators, it is recommended to use all three research methods.
Reputation Analysis Stages
A comprehensive reputation audit may consist of collecting and evaluating various indicators. Depending on the nature of the business niche and the characteristics of the company, as well as on the purpose of conducting research, this set of parameters and the requirements for their analysis may differ.
Typically, reputation analysis includes:
- selection of brand requests for evaluating prospecting;
- assessment of the total number of brand references;
- determination of the types of sites on which reviews and company information are published;
- study target audience in degree of involvement, activity, attitude to the company;
- determination of the tonality in the TOP of extradition at selected requests;
- audit of references to direct competitors;
- preparation of the report and creation of recommendations for development.
In addition to researching general data on brand mention, SERM audit, for example, may contain an analysis of adjacent niches before deciding to expand the range.
Tools for auditing the company's reputation on the Internet
Networking Usage Data Collection can be done manually. The search is carried out in each source separately (search issuance of Yandex and Google, Yandex search for blogs and forums, means of searching for social networks), data are recorded for subsequent research. This method is only suitable for small companies or as a point check of previously obtained results.
To speed up and automate the process special services are also used. The most popular of them: Google alerts, Brand Analytics, YouScan, Babkee.
Conclusions
Company reputation audit is the most important marketing tool. It allows you to timely monitor the mood of customers, partners and employees, find significant errors in your own work, make adjustments and form a development strategy.
