Online Reputation Management (ORM)

Online Reputation Management (ORM) is the discipline of monitoring, influencing, and improving how a business is perceived in public — across review platforms (Google, Yelp, Facebook, Tripadvisor, Trustpilot), social media mentions, search-result content, and direct customer feedback channels.

The four pillars of modern ORM:

• Solicitation — actively asking customers for reviews and feedback at the right moment, in the right channel, with the right consent.
• Response — replying to incoming reviews and feedback quickly, on-brand, and to a documented standard. Around 45% of consumers say they're more likely to visit a business that responds to negative reviews.
• Routing — directing happy customers to the public platforms that matter most for the business's category (Google for local search, G2 for B2B SaaS, Healthgrades for medical, DealerRater for auto).
• Learning — extracting themes and sentiment from open-text feedback to drive operational fixes (staff coaching, menu changes, process improvements).

How ORM differs from broader reputation management. ORM focuses narrowly on the digital footprint — reviews, ratings, search results. Broader reputation management can include public relations, media monitoring, crisis communications, and search-result suppression for negative news. Most multi-location businesses need ORM; the larger reputation-management suites are typically only worth it for enterprises facing reputational crises or regulated industries.

Software in this category is sometimes called review management software — see the buying guide. Compliance edges to know: TCPA for SMS solicitation, GDPR for EU customers, the FTC fake-review rule for everyone, and HIPAA for healthcare.