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.

1 INTRODUCTION 7-19

2 Literature review 20-22

3 Research Methods 23-27

4 Data Analysis and Findings 28-40

5 Conclusion & Recommendations 41-42

6 Reference 43

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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:
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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;
 Specifying suitable evaluation methodologies and metrics; and
 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 above-
mentioned 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.

 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

 Monitoring your business and handling negative content

 Replying to online reviews

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 Making your goals attainable with metrics

 Paving the way to become influential in your niche

 Getting employee insights

 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
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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

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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 ORM-

Listen 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.
 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?
 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.
 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.

 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

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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 companies-

Many 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%);

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

There’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

 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

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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

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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.

22
 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

2. To study the factors of ORM affecting customers buying decisions

23
 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

24
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 non-

numerical 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

25
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 STUDY-

1- 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.

26
4- The study has completed without inclusion of any previous research papers in Literature

Review.

27
 DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS

Table 1- Age group of the respondents-

Age Group No. of Respondents

Below 18 1

19-25 53

25-35 3

35+ 3

AGE GROUP OF RESPONDENTS

BELOW 18 19-25 25-35 35+

5% 1%
5%

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.

28
Table 2- Consideration of online platforms for getting information about products and

services-

Responses 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.

29
Table 3- Impact of online reviews and information on customer buying decision-

Responses 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.

30
Table 4- Trust on online reviews and information about product and services-

Ratings 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%
40.00% 45.00%
35.00%
30.00%
25.00% 30.00%
20.00%
15.00%
16.70%
10.00%
5.00% 6.70% 1% 0%
0.00%
Extremely likely More likely likely Neutal Unlikely Extremely
unlikely

Extremely likely More likely likely Neutal Unlikely Extremely unlikely

From the above analysis it has been concluded that most of the customers trust the information

and reviews available online.

31
Table 5- The most used source to get information about product and services by the

customers-

Sources 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
1%
18%
32%

31%

18%

Online Reviews and ratings Advertising and Media social Media

Personal Recommendation other

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.

32
Table 6- Following brands on social media-

Responses 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.

33
Table 7- Checking online reviews before visiting a brand store or buying anything-

Responses 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.

34
Table 8- Does positive online reviews increase trust over a brand and its products and

services-

Ratings No. of Respondents

Strongly agree 9

Agree 36

Neutral 8

Disagree 1

Strongly disagree 6

Positive Online Reviews Increses The Trust

Over Brands
10% 15%
2%
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.

35
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%

20% 22%
21%

15%

13%
10%

5%

3% 1%
0%
Extremely likely likely Neutral unlikely Extremely unlikely

Extremely likely likely Neutral unlikely Extremely unlikely

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

with star rating.

36
Table 10- No. of stars mostly preferred by the customers-

Ratings 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%
40.00% 45.00%

35.00% 40.00%

30.00%
25.00%
20.00%
15.00%
10.00% 15%

5.00%
0.00% 0.00%
0.00%
1 Star 2 Star 3 Star 4 Star 5 Star

1 Star 2 Star 3 Star 4 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.

37
Table 11- Does social media plays a major role in buying decision of customers-

Responses 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.

38
 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.

39
 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.

40
 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.

41
 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.

42
 REFERENCES

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

marketers/

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

308621

 https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanerskine/2018/07/30/study-97-of-business-owners-say-

online-reputation-management-is-important-heres-how-to-keep-up/#57ad19096c02

 https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhall/2017/03/12/the-case-for-online-reputation-

management-by-the-numbers/#668d63f03f6f

 https://www.reputation.com/resources/blog/how-changing-consumer-behaviors-are-shaping-

the-future-of-reputation-management/

43
 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?

44
 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 Searched about the topic

may

Tuesday 26 Studied research paper

MAY

Wednesday 27 Studied research paper and articles

MAY

Thursday 28 Studied research paper and articles

May

Friday 29 Worked on the introduction chapter

MAY

Saturday 30 Completed the introduction chapter

May

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 Worked on Research objective

JUNE

Thursday 4 Worked on Research Methodology

JUNE

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 Worked for the questionnaire

JUNE

Tuesday 9 Worked for the questionnaire

JUNE

Wednesday 10 Worked for the questionnaire

JUNE

Thursday 11 Worked for the questionnaire

JUNE

Friday 12 Framed the questionnaire

JUNE

Saturday 13 Framed the questionnaire

JUNE

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 Collected the responses

JUNE

Tuesday 15 Collected the responses

JUNE

Wednesday 16 Collected the responses

JUNE

Thursday 17 Collected the responses

JUNE

Friday 18 Collected the responses

JUNE

Saturday 19 Collected the responses

JUNE

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 Worked on Data Analysis

JUNE

Tuesday 22 Worked on Data Analysis

JUNE

Wednesday 23 Worked on Data Analysis

JUNE

Thursday 24 Collected the responses

JUNE

Friday 25 Worked on Data Analysis

JUNE

Saturday 26 Worked on Data Analysis

JUNE

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 Worked on Findings

JUNE

Tuesday 30 Worked on Findings

JUNE
Wednesday 1 Worked on conclusion
JULY

Thursday 2 Collected the conclusion

JULY

Friday 3 Worked on Recommendation

JULY

Saturday 4 Worked on Recommendation

JULY

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 Worked on the final touches of the project

JULY

Tuesday 7 Worked on the final touches of the project

JULY
Wednesday 8 Worked on the final touches of the project
JULY

Thursday 9 Worked on the final touches of the project

JULY

Friday 10 Worked on the final touches of the project

JULY

Saturday 11 Worked on the final touches of the project

JULY

51