Why CMOs need both reputation management and brand intelligence for success in 2023

Now more than ever, CMOs and other marketing leaders must build a positive reputation for their brands. At its core, the strategy to build a positive reputation lies in consistently delivering flawless, trustworthy online and offline customer experiences (CX) designed to draw in prospects and nurture relationships with existing customers.

Today, online reviews play a massive role in growing and sustaining an excellent online brand reputation that drives success. A recent analysis revealed that 90% of consumers said positive online reviews influenced their buying decisions, and 86% said negative reviews had an influence. Furthermore, 40% of consumers seek brands with at least four stars before even considering a purchase. 

Online reviews matter immensely to prospective and return customers alike. However, pulling in those reviews — especially the positive ones — rarely occurs entirely organically. Like everything else in business, it takes strategy and a fantastic end-to-end customer experience.

In the 2021 Customer Experience Benchmarking Report (CXBR), leaders revealed their thoughts on the importance of CX in today’s competitive marketplace. Results unveiled that 43.5% fully agree that CX is a top differentiator in brand success. For those brands considered “industry disruptors,” that percentage jumps to 64% — significantly higher than for more established businesses (22.8%).

By understanding the influence of exceptional CX and implementing a strong strategy to capitalize on this competitive advantage, brands can distinguish themselves from the rest. In a world where the economic roller coaster regularly pitches from boom to bust, making every customer feel valued can be what it takes to sail through successfully.

And to best ensure that occurs at every touchpoint along the buyer journey, organizations need the right technology designed to reveal what makes their customers tick.

Deepen brand intelligence through your online reputation

Reputation management combined with brand intelligence (BI) is the essential bridge between customer satisfaction and increased profit. CMOs often link their reputation results with the ROI of their business efforts and see reputation as a growth engine for audience expansion and higher revenue.

To compete and win, all marketing initiatives must be comprehensively tracked and measured in real-time. This is where BI comes into play. Simply put, BI is the aggregation and analysis of structured and unstructured data that can be leveraged to understand the authentic Voice of the Customer (VoC).

With unstructured data growing at an annual rate of 55% to 65%, brands with the proper tools to analyze this data will gain a wealth of invaluable VoC intelligence. By strategically mining and leveraging data, brand leaders can use actual feedback from real customers to precisely direct a standout, revenue-driving CX strategy.

To capture this real-time VoC data, countless channels and resources are available for CMOs to mine, including online reviews (Google, Bing, Yelp), social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok), surveys (Qualtrics, HotJar), and more. This plethora of unstructured and structured data can be pulled into innovative BI platforms specifically developed to analyze, understand, and implement actionable CX strategies.

Ready to master the art of brand intelligence? Here are five critical steps CMOs must take:

• Choose the right BI technology and tools
• Collect qualitative offline and online data across channels
• Measure quantitative data to decipher customer sentiment
• Capture customer data in real-time to make quick strategic adjustments
• Monitor and track the outcome of your data-driven BI strategies

By following these five steps, you’ll set the foundation to ensure that your brand has enough information to shift towards a stellar BI and CX program confidently.

Why CMOs must prioritize reputation and VoC data

As CMO, you might not think of CX or BI as part of your day-to-day agenda. Think again. According to the 2021 CXBR, C-level responsibility for CX doubled between 2020 and 2021. Furthermore, industry leaders are increasingly prioritizing alignment of their CX and overall business strategies by dedicating an executive role focused on customer experience, usually with the title of Customer Experience Officer (CXO).

A strong reputation management technology combined with BI is vital for continually delivering exceptional omnichannel experiences. Yet, only a handful are properly integrating and implementing the right tools and strategies to do it right. Those that do have a massive advantage.

Every year, marketing teams spend exorbitant amounts on research, analyst reports, focus groups, and carefully crafted persona-inspired messages to improve CX and drive customers to their brands. Or, they take what might be seen as a measured approach to BI technology — taking VoC insights like customer sentiment for a quick study only to push them aside rather than as a core strategic resource.

This calculus overlooks the virtual treasure trove of VoC metrics. By driving unmatched business intelligence through AI-powered deep listening, CMOs can open new doors for their C-Suite peers. With surprising ease, anyone can gain an incredible competitive advantage through customer sentiment analysis, brand reputation analytics, and actionable, data-driven insights.

At Chatmeter, we believe the ability to deliver unparalleled CX starts with technology that combines streamlined reputation management, real-time deep listening, and customer sentiment brand intelligence — all from one connected platform that:

• Provides a comprehensive end-to-end solution with “building-block” flexibility so businesses can start with individual tools and expand at scale.
• Offers easy onboarding, plus long-term strategic support for ultimate optimization, ensuring maximum value and success.
• Empowers teams across the organization in all roles and locations with complete CX visibility, control, and intelligence.

Tap into the virtual goldmine of your customers’ unstructured data to uncover areas of opportunity and issues that need attention. Chatmeter’s Executive Guide: Reputation Management X Brand Intelligence shares how you can unlock critical insights to grow your brand value and revenues through better intelligence and insights.