Brands spend a massive amount of money on marketing to build a positive brand image and acquire new customers. Simultaneously, retaining the existing customers by providing support to them on all channels is also very important. If the customer retention process is weak, then a negative brand image gets created, and the brand unknowingly starts losing their existing customers. While most of the brands these days have allocated special departments for customer retention, brands still consider this activity a liability or give it the least importance.

When speaking about brands in their growth stage, their primary focus is on creating a brand image, and they miss out on the customer support bit. On the other hand, established brands ensure that their existing customers are happy with their services and become a brand advocate, promoting the brand organically.

Existing customers are more critical than prospects because they are already giving business to the brand. They expect the brand to be present everywhere and every time whenever they need assistance. Digital media has made the customer the real king, and hence every customer can damage the brand's reputation by posting about negative experiences, ultimately affecting sales.

Brands spend a massive amount of money on marketing and promotions to attract new customers. The prospects, however, do online research about the brand before making a purchase decision. Negative reviews influence users against the brand, and unattended queries and concerns add on to create a negative brand image in the users' minds.

Going by the marketing proverb, "Jo dikta hai wo hi bikta hai" if your brand has unattended customer issues online, then a negative brand perception builds in the users' minds. The customer support team, or, as we call it 'Online Reputation Management team,' helps your marketing team increase the size of the customer base by retaining the existing unhappy customers. A strategy-led ORM setup helps the brand maintain a positive image online, which is required to gain optimum benefit from the marketing campaigns.

Marketing can attract users; however, resolving an issue or a crisis faced by a customer and making sure that he/she is engaged with the brand will help retain them for a longer period.

To know more about how #ORM can help your brand, connect with me at athik.ansari@cerebratesolutions.in