Online reputation isn’t just what customers say. It’s what customers, prospects, partners, and future employees can quickly verify in public—often without ever visiting your website.
Most people read reviews before they trust a business. Expectations are also rising: many customers now expect fast replies—especially when they complain publicly.
Now add AI search and AI assistants into the mix: tools increasingly summarize “what the internet says” about your business—pulling signals from reviews, forums, listings, and social conversations. That means you want those signals to be consistent, current, and credible.
1) Employee Brand: In B2B, Glassdoor affects trust
In B2B, buyers don’t just evaluate the product—they evaluate the vendor risk: support quality, churn, service stability, and execution. That’s why employee sentiment can quietly impact revenue.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: when you have a pattern of unhappy staff, it tends to show up as:
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slower responses
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weaker follow-through
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inconsistent service
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higher turnover (and customers feel it)
What to do (practical, not fluffy)
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Track your employee reputation monthly: search your brand + “Glassdoor”, “culture”, “management”, “workload”, “sales pressure”.
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Respond on Glassdoor like a real brand. Calm tone, no defensiveness, no personal details. Acknowledge themes. State what changed.
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Fix the top 1–2 internal issues that leak externally. Common culprits: unrealistic SLAs, chaotic onboarding, understaffing, unclear escalation paths, messy handoffs between teams.
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Don’t try to “force” positive reviews. It backfires, and employees can spot it instantly.
Simple employer-brand KPI set
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Glassdoor rating trend (quarterly)
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% of reviews mentioning the same 2–3 themes
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turnover in key customer-facing teams (support, ops, sales)
2) Video: Text reviews are good—video is harder to ignore
Text reviews help. But video is often the fastest credibility check because it answers one question immediately:
“Are real customers willing to say this on camera?”
And you don’t need a studio. In B2B, a clean Zoom recording with clear audio often performs better than over-produced, overly “salesy” videos.
What a good testimonial video looks like in 2026
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30–90 seconds for quick trust
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real setting (Zoom is fine), clear audio, minimal editing
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specific outcome + timeframe (not vague praise)
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one objection-breaker (“We were worried about X… here’s what happened.”)
Where to place videos so they actually move reputation
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homepage (1 short compilation)
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key service/product pages (1 relevant testimonial each)
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proposal follow-up email (“2-minute customer story”)
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LinkedIn company page
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Google Business Profile (where applicable)
Easy video prompts customers can answer
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“What problem were you trying to solve?”
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“Why did you pick us instead of alternatives?”
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“What result did you see, and how fast?”
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“What surprised you the most?”
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“What would you tell someone considering us?”
3) Social Listening: Complaints happen on X and Reddit, not just reviews
A lot of reputation damage happens outside Google reviews—especially for B2B and service businesses. Prospects search your brand on social, and the tone of those conversations can shape decisions fast.
This is why social listening matters:
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People complain on X (Twitter) and Reddit because they want visibility.
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A single thread can rank in Google for your brand name.
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AI tools may summarize those threads as “public sentiment.”
What to monitor (minimum viable listening)
Track weekly:
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your brand name + common misspellings
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“brand” + scam / complaint / invoice / refund / support
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product names
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founder/leadership name (if relevant)
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competitor comparisons (“brand vs competitor”)
Platforms to include:
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X (Twitter), Reddit, LinkedIn, YouTube comments
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industry forums and niche communities (where your buyers hang out)
A simple escalation workflow that protects reputation
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Tier 1: Confusion posts → clarify politely, link to the right page
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Tier 2: Angry posts → acknowledge, move to DM/email, create a support ticket
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Tier 3: Fraud/safety/legal claims → respond once (calm), escalate internally immediately
Response rule that keeps you out of trouble
Public reply = acknowledge + next step.
Details belong in private support channels.
Add This “Reputation Stack” Summary Section
In 2026, the strongest reputation isn’t built in one place. It’s built across a stack:
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customer reviews (Google + industry platforms)
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employee brand (Glassdoor)
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video proof (testimonials + short “how it works” clips)
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social listening (X/Reddit/LinkedIn)
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fast, consistent responses (public + private escalation)
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clear proof pages (pricing clarity, support standards, case studies)
Quick Action Plan (30 Days)
Week 1: Clean up trust signals
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Update business profiles and contact info everywhere
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Draft response templates + set response time targets
Week 2: Respond + resolve
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Respond to all recent reviews (especially negative)
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Identify the top 2 complaint themes and fix the process behind them
Week 3: Build proof
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Add 1–2 short case studies
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Record 2–3 quick customer videos (Zoom is fine)
Week 4: Monitor and stabilize
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Start weekly social listening checks
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Create an escalation rule so issues don’t linger publicly