Online reputation management software allows companies to monitor users’ online reviews and promote positive experiences through online review platforms. Companies hoping to promote their brand through positive online user reviews will use online reputation management software to capture negative experiences. The products also provide mechanisms for users to submit new reviews through email or advertising campaigns. The products provide platforms that marketing teams use to aggregate and interpret their company’s online reputation. Teams will often utilize digital forms provided by the platform to conduct email campaigns and harness new reviews. Many products also possess monitoring tools to discover discussions and posts from users on social media. These products differ from social media monitoring software in that they aim to collect online reviews, but can include social media features. There is confusion, but little crossover with product review software. Those tools host customer reviews on e-commerce sites and provide little monitoring or management capabilities.
To qualify for inclusion in the Online Reputation Management category, a product must:
Monitor online review sites for new and existing negative reviews
Have a management platform to aggregate and interpret online reviews
Create alerts and reports regarding a brand's current online reputation
Provide forms or a vehicle to garner new online reviews