Sneha Jasrasaria Quick answer
Online reputation management (ORM) means monitoring what people say about your brand on review sites, app stores, social media and forums, responding quickly and helpfully, fixing the issues behind complaints, and encouraging happy customers to share feedback. Done well, it improves ratings, trust and sales.
Key takeaways
- Monitor every place customers talk about you
- Fast, human replies turn complaints into conversations
- Route real issues to the team that can fix them
- Track sentiment trends to fix problems at the source
What ORM covers
- Google and map reviews
- App store reviews
- Social media comments and DMs
- Travel and booking sites
- Consumer forums and complaint sites
- News and blog mentions
The ORM process
- Monitor all channels daily.
- Respond quickly in the brand’s voice.
- Escalate real issues with full details.
- Resolve and follow up.
- Report on sentiment and recurring issues.
Response guidelines
- Thank, acknowledge, help.
- Personal, not copy-paste.
- Never argue in public.
- Move private details to DM or email.
See templates in replying to negative reviews.
Results from our ORM work
- Booking.com: 8,000+ reviews responded to, 98% response rate, 65% of negative reviews resolved.
- Treebo: 12,000+ reviews across 200+ hotels, rating up 0.3 points on monitored properties.
- Josh: 10,000+ reviews and comments in 6 languages, rating up 0.4 points.
Fix the cause
ORM works best when feedback reaches product and operations teams. Weekly sentiment reports show what to fix first.
Building an ORM playbook
- Channels: list every platform to monitor.
- Response times: target times per channel.
- Tone: examples of how the brand sounds.
- Templates: starting points for common situations, always personalised.
- Escalation paths: who handles payments, delivery, product or legal issues.
- Crisis plan: what to do when a complaint goes viral.
Handling a viral complaint
- Respond quickly and publicly with empathy.
- Take details privately and resolve fast.
- Share an update once fixed.
- Learn from it and fix the cause.
Proactive reputation building
ORM is also about adding positive voices. Ask happy customers for reviews, share customer stories, respond to praise as warmly as to complaints, and publish content that shows how you work.