Whether it's your personal name or your brand name, how that moniker appears on the Internet is how many people perceive it.  Just think of how many people you know that use the Web to gather the information that they need. Nearly every single person that you pass in a public place has their fingers frantically typing away on a smartphone. It makes sense; the Internet is the easiest place to instantly learn just about anything – including reviews and information regarding your business.

One of the best and one of the worst things about the Web is the fact that every single person can have their voice heard. If a person is having a bad day and receives their food a few minutes later than expected at your restaurant, nothing is stopping them from visiting a social media site or review platform like Yelp and dragging your brand name through the mud. While it may be a rare occurrence, if enough people read the review, you can lose potential patronage and some serious cash.

One of the things that makes Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn popular is there are very few restrictions regarding what a person can say. The same can be said for websites such as Wordpress, Blogger, and LiveJournal. In theory, it’s like having your work instantly published, without any editors or mandatory approval.
While leveraging great feedback from your customers via retweets on Twitter or Facebook shares is great for your business, people sharing negative reviews online can have a much larger impact. Fortunately, a proactive approach can show your current customers as well as future customers how hard you work to provide them with exceptional customer service.

Reputable online reputation management (commonly abbreviated to ORM) services can help your business maintain a pristine name. By providing your business with a means to communicate your message clearly and openly with your audience, reputation management campaigns can help bring positivity about your brand back to the top of the search engines.

The key to tackling any issue in business is to have a proactive rather than a reactive approach. The more time and energy a company puts into building their brand name through hard work and exceptional customer service, the less time will need to be focused on repairing a fractured reputation.