Cliff Stein, CEO of Reputation Changer

PromotionWorld had the opportunity to interview Cliff Stein, CEO of Reputation Changer. He talks about the different methods used to stop or combat competitors from writing unfavorable critiques about a business or a brand, explains what online reputation management involves and how you can manage your brand online. Enjoy!

PromotionWorld: Would you tell us a few words about yourself and your professional background? How long have you been involved in the online reputation management field?

Cliff Stein: I joined the Reputation Changer team after 17 years of management experience in multiple industries. My most public acts of managerial service came during my work as the lead accountant on industry-leading TV series, such as Who Wants To Be A Milionaire and The Howie Mandel Show, as well as blockbuster feature films. I spent six years as General Manager at Society Hill, Inc., in Philadelphia. I then went on to Julius Silvert, Inc., an Inc. 500 food distribution company also based out of Philadelphia. I have been involved in the online reputation management field for over seven years and have held the General Manager position and now the Chief Executive Officer position here at Reputation Changer.

PromotionWorld: Reputation Changer has been in the business for over 4 years now. Can you please share with our readers how Reputation Changer started and how it grew to what it is today.

Cliff Stein: I Reputation Changer started because our founders discovered the need to manage their own online brands. Over several years the process was mastered and eventually it was successful. When our colleagues began to hear and see what we were doing to protect ourselves online they asked us to help them in the same way. We had so many requests for online management and brand protection our colleagues turned into clients and referrals flooded in from there. Ultimately necessity is the mother of all invention and through trial and error Reputation Changer began.

PromotionWorld: Reputation Changer has won some prestigious awards over the years. What sets you apart from the competition? What are Reputation Changer main advantages, and why should customers choose your company instead of others?

Cliff Stein: I First and foremost our success rate sets us apart and that is directly related to our unique approach to online reputation management (ORM). Reputation Changer’s methods, from what I can tell, are very different from others in our industry. We do not use a ‘one size fits all’ method because we know from experience that does not work. We provide our clients with customized method’s unique to their situation in order to provide each individual with the success they need. There is no template for success. Through analysis we identify harmful listings and our strategy team gives each client a customized campaign for the brand enhancement they not only desire but also deserve.

Our main advantages are just that as well, our customization. We have campaign managers that are fully accessible 24/7 for our clients. We give full transparency to our clients through our Command Center™, a centralized location where everything we do for our clients can be approved and monitored keeping them constantly in control. Above and beyond that there is always a person behind each account working for them and with them to achieve the control they deserve, answer any questions and provide around-the-clock support.

PromotionWorld: What do you consider progressive or unique about Reputation Changer’s offerings and services? Which of the services you offer are most popular among your customers?

Cliff Stein: I As previously mentioned I think it’s our Command Center™. The personalization we offer our clients is not only progressive and unique but also directly related to the successful results we provide. Our most popular services would be brand enhancement plans, review suppression plans and auto suggest plans. Brand enhancement allows any of our clients to create the best first impression online possible. Review suppression will push back negative reviews to the pages of search engines people do not visit and in turn we produce and promote positive content to populate the first pages. Auto suggest plans help combat negative auto suggestions on search engines. Instead of seeing your auto suggest read ‘scam’ ‘ripoff’ or ‘complaint’ we change those to ‘best product ever’ ‘great service’ ‘fun to use’.

PromotionWorld: Why should businesses take action and start monitoring their reputation online?

Cliff Stein: I We live in a digital age where consumers are more than willing to do their due diligence and research products or companies before pulling out their wallets. It is not at all surprising this research is being done online. The current economy is a key factor in consumers urge to make financial decisions intelligently, and do business with companies they trust. Search engine page results (SERPs) will make or break success in a time like this. Being proactive against monitoring and defending your online reputation is ideal. There is no need to wait for negative listings on page one of a searching engine. Stronger ranked content on your first page will protect you against negatives that pop up. Searching your name only to find one website related to you and several unrelated results can be just as damaging. Brand enhancement on page one can create page-filling positive content and a slam-dunk for your stat line!

PromotionWorld: What does online reputation management involve?

Cliff Stein: I In my experience online reputation management is all about control. Having control of your online image and not leaving it to the whims of angry ex-employees, unscrupulous competitors or anonymous troublemakers. I cannot stress enough that it is all about control and fortifying your personal or professional brand name online. The technical aspects of ORM are endless and that’s where we suppress negative content and promote the positive for our clients. Reputation Changer utilizes social media sites, authoritative and relative blogs, press and news releases and really taps into the resources in our client’s vertical. Our founders are old direct response marketers that build out mini-sites for our clients and elicit direct response knowledge from a content and design stand point. 

PromotionWorld: Who are the kind of people looking for online reputation management services, is it predominantly individuals or corporates?

Cliff Stein: I Right now we are 50/50 in our client base. It truly is a mix of individuals and businesses combating defamatory information online. Unfortunately about 80% of clients coming to us are already feeling the pain from negative content online. At the risk of sounding repetitive there is no need to wait, being proactive with your online reputation is critical. As I explained previously the founders of Reputation Changer learned this lesson the hard way and now we are passionate about spreading the word and helping other’s like us. The type of individuals and businesses who are contacting us are either personally or professionally hurting and it’s affecting their success, lives and businesses.

PromotionWorld: Reputations can be destroyed online. Do organizations take online threat seriously?

Cliff Stein: I Our current, large, client base says yes. Although I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to stress being proactive. I risk sounding repetitive here because hindsight is 20/20 and I know how difficult it is to pick up the pieces of your tarnished online reputation. People are coming around to see the relevancy of your online reputation and how it can drastically affect your success positively or negatively. What upsets me more than anything is when we receive calls after people have lost thousands of dollars by letting negative online reviews sit for unknown amounts of time. It really is worth it to search your name or brand and do what it takes to help yourself, online.

PromotionWorld: Is there any method to stop or combat competitors from writing unfavorable critiques about a business or a brand?

Cliff Stein: I Absolutely and it’s what we do. That is online reputation management so the answer here is a resounding yes. We can populate the first few pages with truthful, positive information. This will give you a stronghold on those first few pages of your search engine results. Studies show 95% of people don’t look past the first page of search results. If people try to attack you online it won’t show up on those first few pages.

PromotionWorld: How frequently should a business or person scan the Internet for their name or brand?

Cliff Stein: I Bare minimum should be bi-monthly and even then you risk seeing new negatives that could have been sitting there damaging your reputation for the whole 60 days.

PromotionWorld: Could you share with PromotionWorld’s readers some tips on how to manage their reputation online

Cliff Stein: I What Reputation Changer does is a very intricate specified type of search engine optimization (SEO). The only way for me to advise on how to personally manage your online reputation without endless amounts of time and money, is to contact an ORM company like Reputation Changer. Companies like this will help you monitor and manage your reputation, fortify your brand name, provide with the competitive advantage in your field and give you the level of brand enhancement you crave. For a free consultation call us at 1-800-269-7984 or for more information check out www.reputationchanger.com