The email, reputation and presence management (ERPM) sector to grow considerably, study says
Reputation management is considered one of the most important small business marketing services, yet it has become increasingly out of reach for many SMEs overwhelmed with the abundance of consumer communication platforms.
In particular, viral marketing and digital word-of-mouth has been particularly elusive, as consumers spread information about a company across a variety of channels, almost instantaneously.
As a result, many SMEs are expected to increase their investments in email, reputation, and presence management (ERPM) marketing services, to "have a window into digital word-of-mouth," said Matt Booth, senior vice president of media advisory firm BIA/Kelsey.
"There are too many disparate conversations going on through social networks, user reviews, message boards and online affinity groups for a small business to find, let alone track manually," he said.
BIA/Kelsey reports that the ERPM market is projected to grow from $460 million in 2008 to $3.1 billion in 2013, as the number of small businesses using these marketing services is expected to reach 4 million by 2013, compared to 500,000 in 2008.
However, information found through ERPM solutions is just the first step - experts advise small businesses to respond to negative online reviews immediately and to consider hiring a social media representative to specifically control the company's online presence.
