Here are 50 stats that show us how important online reputation management is to a business’s online presence:

  1. 58% of executives believe that online reputation management should be addressed, but only 15% actually do anything about it
  2. 84% of marketers believe that building trust will be the primary focus for marketing efforts in the future
  3. More and more large companies are hiring full-time online reputation managers
  4. Four out of five people state that they have received advice via social media regarding what product or service to purchase
  5. 31% of employed internet users have searched online for information about co-workers, professionals, colleagues or business competitors
  6. 12% of employed adults say that they need to market themselves online as part of their job
  7. 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations while only 14% trust advertising
  8. According to a study by the world Economic Forum, on average, more than 25% of a company’s market value is directly attributable to its reputation
  9. 76% of companies believe their reputation is better than average—a stat that just might illustrate many companies are overly optimistic about the state of affairs regarding their online presence
  10. 87% of executives rate managing reputation risk as more important than other strategic risks
  11. Customers are the most important stakeholders when it comes to managing reputation management
  12. 41% of companies that experienced a negative reputation event reported loss of brand value and revenue
  13. 74% of people consult Yelp when looking for a home service provider
  14. 86% of people would pay more for services from a company with higher ratings and reviews
  15. 70% of employers didn’t hire an applicant because of online content
  16. 85% of customers use the Internet to research before making a purchase
  17. 80% of college admission offices are using Facebook to assess and recruit applicants
  18. A one-star rating hike on Yelp can mean a 5% to 9% rise in restaurant revenue
  19. 83% of buyers no longer trust advertising, but most trust recommendations from users online
  20. Among U.S. recruiters and HR professionals surveyed, 85% say that positive online reputation influences their hiring decisions at least to some extent. Nearly half say that a strong online reputation influences their decisions to a great extent
  21. 45% said they have found something in an online search that made them decide not to do business with someone
  22. 56% have found something that solidified their decision to do business with the person
  23. 88% of adults agree or strongly agree that it would be very difficult to remove inaccurate information about them online
  24. 62% of adults have used a search engine to look up their own name or see what information about them is online
  25. 47% say they generally assume that people they meet will search for information about them on the internet, while 50% do not
  26. Only 6% of adults have set up some sort of automatic alert to notify them when their name is mentioned in a news story, blog or elsewhere online
  27. 24% of employed adults say that their employer has rules or guidelines about how they are allowed to present themselves online
  28. 11% say that their job requires them to promote themselves through social media or other online tools
  29. Every month there are more than 10.3 billion Google searches, with 78% of U.S. internet users researching products and services online
  30. 50% of potential sales are lost because consumers can’t find information they are looking for
  31. According to the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, on average a dissatisfied customer will tell between 9-15 people about their experience, while around 13% of dissatisfied customers tell more than 20 people
  32. In the 25-34-year-old age group, 84% have left a website they previously liked because of bad user experience or advertising they found irrelevant
  33. 89% of shoppers have stopped buying from online stores after they have experienced poor customer service
  34. 17% of consumers would recommend a brand that provides a slow but effective solution. On the other hand, 33% of consumers would recommend a brand that provides a quick but ineffective response
  35. 70% of complaining customers will do business with you again if you resolve the complaint in their favour
  36. Consumers aged 18 to 29 use a brand’s social media site more for customer service interactions (43%) than for marketing (23%)
  37. 74% of consumers depend on social media to guide their purchases
  38. 39% of Facebook users like brand pages so they can research different products
  39. 30% of mobile shoppers abandon a transaction if the shopping experience is not optimized for mobile
  40. 61% of people have a better opinion of brands when they offer a good mobile experience
  41. 70% of customers prefer getting to know a company via articles rather than advertisements
  42. 84% of all marketers agree that building consumer trust will become marketing’s primary objective in the near future
  43. More than 80% of reputation damage come from a mismatch between the buzz and the reality
  44. A difference of one star in the average rating in a typical online business profile can lead to a 5–9% difference in revenues
  45. 56% adults surveyed don’t actively think about the consequences of their online activities
  46. 94% of people only look at the first page of Google results, and only 2% of people own their entire first page of Google
  47. More than one billion names are searched on Google everyday
  48. Eight of 10 Internet users in the US say that the negative information read online made them change their mind about a purchasing decision
  49. The searches done with the intent to find a company providing a specific product or service is 17%
  50. Small businesses say online directories are the most used marketing option today

Sources from vendasta