NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 01/21/13 -- At first blush, the idea of taking purchasing advice from a complete stranger might come across as unwise or imprudent -- yet, according to a recent Nielsen report, some 70 percent of consumers across the globe place trust in the online reviews and ratings submitted to sites like Yelp.com and Amazon, even using these reviews to inform their own purchasing decisions. For consumers, then, the abundance of online review sites may seem like a boon, but for businesses, these review sites can be disastrous. In fact, online defamation -- which includes not only bad reviews, but also consumer complaints and scam allegations -- can utterly kill a company. Responding to the new Nielsen numbers, and to ongoing trends in online reputation management, is Reputation Changer; the company has issued a new statement to the press.

"At Reputation Changer, scam rumors, consumer complaints, and defamatory reviews are considered to be gravely serious," says Cliff Stein, Reputation Changer's CEO, in the new press statement. "The reason for this is simply that consumers obviously place so much stock in what these online reviews, and online searches, have to say."

Cliff Stein provides an example. "Say that you own a hotel on Main Street -- and when a potential guest Googles the name of your hotel, the first thing he or she sees is an abysmal, one-star review from a site like TripAdvisor. Now say that there is another hotel, right beside you on Main Street -- and that hotel has sterling, five-star reviews, posted all over Google. Which hotel do you think is going to thrive -- and which is going to lose more and more business and more and more money, as consumers increasingly make their purchasing decisions on the basis of these online reviews?"

Stein says that, indeed, the potential consequences of bad reviews or scam allegations can prove dire, for businesses of all kinds. "No matter what kind of enterprise you are running, bad reviews or rumors of fraudulent activity -- regardless of veracity -- can really poison your online reputation," he offers. "This, in turn, can lead to diminished profits and decreasing customer numbers. In the long run, it is no exaggeration to say that a bad online reputation can kill a business."

The bottom line, Stein says, is that what consumers read about a company online impacts their purchasing behavior -- sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. "Four out of five consumers surveyed in the recent Nielsen numbers say they have reversed a purchasing decision based on negative online reviews," he says. "That says it all: A bad online reputation can be lethal to businesses and brands."

Stein says that for businesses plagued by bad reviews, there are steps that can be taken toward online reputation repair. "The bad news is that no business can prevent these acts of online defamation from happening -- but the good news is, companies with bad reviews or scam allegations can find a powerful ally in companies like Reputation Changer," he affirms.

Reputation Changer offers a diversity of brand-enhancing services, aimed at businesses and individuals alike. The company cannot disappear bad reviews or unwanted online listings, but it can effectively bury them under piles of positive content. "At Reputation Changer, scam reports and other acts of online defamation are given a swift and effective response, and the client's brand is established as a brand of trust and integrity among consumers."

ABOUT:

Reputation Changer was developed in 2009 by a team of digital marketing pros. The company quickly blossomed into the world's leading online reputation management and monitoring service; today, Reputation Changer provides an array of services in brand enhancement and negative review suppression, to a client base that includes Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, and individuals. At Reputation Changer, scam reports, online complaints, and negative reviews are regarded as grave threats to the client's reputation, and as such they are responded to effectively and promptly.