NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 01/25/13 -- According to a recent article from CIO, a few bad reviews or unflattering online news stories can ruin a business' reputation -- and with it, significantly impact the business' bottom line. CIO notes that many companies have numerous happy and satisfied customers, but these customers feel no great urgency to post kind or effusive online reviews; a single dissatisfied customer, meanwhile, might wish to air his or her frustrations for all the world to see. One bad review, posted to a site like Yelp.com, is all it takes for a business' online image to be totally ruined. This article has won a comment from ReputationChanger.com -- the world's leading online reputation defense firm.

ReputationChanger.com reviews the article, and the urgency of online reputation defense, in a new statement to the press. "This article gets at the heart of the issue, noting that a business' reputation is an important thing -- and one bad review is all it takes to sour it, possibly doing permanent damage," comments Michael Zammuto, the COO of ReputationChanger.com. "As such, online reputation management is an investment that companies really cannot afford not to make."

CIO notes that one of the reasons why online review sites prove so detrimental is that many of them, particularly Yelp.com, have a great deal of traction with Google and the other search engines. As such, when a company's name is entered as a search query, the corresponding Yelp page is often one of the first listings to emerge -- and if the Yelp reviews are less than flattering, it means that consumers get a very negative first impression of the business in question.

Zammuto says this effect is heightened by changing patterns in consumer behavior. "More than ever, consumers are turning to these online review sites to help inform their purchasing decisions," he explains. "Rather than blindly spend money on a product or a service, consumers seek to discover what other consumers have said, what kinds of feedback have been offered. This is a real boon to consumers, but it is a real risk to businesses, which can only do so much to prevent bad or defamatory reviews from happening."

Indeed, Zammuto notes that no business or brand is immune to the threat of negative online reviews. "Remember that not all of these defamatory reviews are actually submitted by real consumers," he notes. "Sometimes, a business is attacked with fake online reviews, posted by business rivals or by frustrated employees. Businesses can really do very little to prevent these contingencies."

Whether a negative online review is truthful or not, Zammuto continues, the effects can prove dire. "Bad online reviews can all but ruin a company's good name," he says. "Businesses with bad online reputations tend to experience steep drop-offs, in terms of clients and in terms of profits. The bottom line is that a bad online reputation is a sure business-killer."

The silver lining is that there are ways in which companies can work to render bad reviews non-issues. Companies like ReputationChanger.com offer review suppression and brand enhancement services that are made to help businesses restore their illustrious names. "We cannot stop bad reviews from happening, but we have proven strategies and advanced technologies that can take the sting out, and render these reviews virtually non-existent," offers Zammuto. "ReputationChanger.com reviews the online reputation needs of businesses and brands in all industries and verticals, and we are excited about the reputation repair services that we can offer."

ABOUT:

ReputationChanger.com was founded in 2009 by a seasoned team of elite digital marketing professionals. The agency was founded with the mission of giving companies and individuals greater control over how they are portrayed on the Internet. Today, ReputationChanger.com stands as the leading company in its industry; staffed by a large team of marketing pros, social media gurus, content developers, Web designers, and SEO professionals, ReputationChanger.com reviews the online reputation defense needs of businesses and brands, private citizens and public figures, and it offers an expansive lineup of services.