The reputational outcome in business today is key to consolidating or undermining its success. The more positive feedback you get, the greater the chances of financial growth.

As a result, many companies have begun to focus on improving their image and conveying a consistent message of quality and transparency. The perception of a company by potential customers is a determining factor.

Based on this assessment, customers can decide whether or not to trust the company. But also has an impact on suppliersIn general terms, the relevance of reputation covers several areas.

What is corporate reputation?

Broadly speaking, corporate reputation or reputation in a company is a set of elements which develop the perception a company conveys about itself. Some of these elements are transparency or security.

Nowadays, with the rise of e-commerce, many companies have started to demonstrate a presence on the internet. Failure to do so is a constraint to their growth.

But this has also meant that the transparency or security offered by a company to its clients is a determining factor in establishing its reputation. Users want to feel secure, especially if they are purchasing a service or product online.

On the other hand, other components of a company's reputation today are honesty and ethics. On the other hand, social commitment is also taken into account, especially with regard to the environment.

As can be seen, there are several factors that make up a company's reputation. But the most important thing is that nowadays the relevance of this issue is much broader.

Is brand image the same as corporate reputation?

Now that we have defined what business reputation is, it is important to know how it differs from the concept of brand image. Although many people think that it is the same thing, it is not the same thing.

Initially, brand image refers to first impressions that a company succeeds in conveying to users.

For example, this can relate to the track record of the corporation, which is a key point in estimating whether or not it is a benchmark in the sector. It is also associated with the conduct of the company and the essence of how it undertakes its actions.

On the other hand, corporate reputation is related to a much more collective value judgementThe perception of which is possible based on the experience and vision of a company.

Building a good reputation is also essential to ensure the scalability of any business. Today, it is a great responsibility to define and execute strategies to maintain a good image and a positive reputation.

The impact of what is published on the internet

In recent years, there has been a growing concern on the part of companies about what is published on the internet. Since 2021 the increase has reflected at least 30%.

And this concern has also given way to some actions which seek to cushion the impact of the reviews. For nowadays, the accessibility of publishing opinions about companies is obvious.

Even on some platforms there is no regulation that allows only users who have had real contact with the company to comment. This opens the way for all kinds of opinions to be generated, some with little basis in fact.

According to research at least 75% of internet users intend to request the removal of negative content on the internet. This has become very common especially in provinces such as Madrid and Catalonia.

Within this percentage, it is also estimated that at least 70% of the requests are led by companies.. This highlights the relevance of this issue and the impact it has on business.

On the other hand, the motivation for requesting the removal of certain content is also an aspect to be taken into account. At least 45% of the requests are related to the removal of content of a sexual nature.

In another sense, the role of petitioners for the removal of certain content on the internet is also another aspect that stands out. At the very least, 85% of the requests come from politicianswho seek to dissipate content that is in keeping with their image.

Increase in requests for content removal

Research carried out by the EXprimeNet team found that in the last year there has been an increase in the interest of users and companies in what is published on the internet.

Based on more than 2000 consultations, it has been possible to determine the constant interest of users in regarding the removal of negative contentand with regard to the right to be forgotten. But why has there been such an increase in the last year?

As there has been an increase in negative content on the internet, the motivation to address this has not been long in coming. Also, much of this content is in the form of news.

At least 45% of the cases in which this removal has been requested are related to the publication of news that undermine the reputation of users or companies.

On the other hand, the publication of reviews is also relevant to this issue. At least 17% of the cases showing rejection of negative content is because of this type of information.

Content on negative actions

One particularity about the importance of reputation in business has to do with the request for removal of content that has been developed to expose negative situations or actions.

In this way, mistakes or imprudence made by users or by companies have a greater impact. Especially since in the cyber world such information is hard to forget.

In addition to the fact that reputation in companies can be affected by negative stock content, the trend of Fake News also tends to have an impact.

Summarising this information, at least 87% of the participating companies consider that risk management is key to consolidate a good reputation. And this is why many short and long term attempts and strategies have been added.

Who is most in demand for this type of action?

In the last year, the number of professionals concerned about the publication of negative content on the internet that affects them increased by 45%.

It is thought that the pandemic and the time of confinement may have had some impact on this interest. This makes a lot of sense given that the time of exposure to internet content was much longer in that season.

On the other hand, the number of politicians interested in removing negative content that could affect their reputation has now increased by 25%.

Is it possible to remove negative content from the internet?

Knowing what negative content and opinions mean for companies, it is important to ask, what can be done to prevent attacks on corporate reputation?

In this regard, a great difficulty has become evident with regard to removing content from the internet, and this has to do with several reasons. These include, 25% of claims cases initiate court proceedings.

And of these cases, at least 75% evolved into formal court claims. Whereas, only 10% of the cases reached a trial resolution.

But why is it so difficult to remove negative content on the internet? Certainly this difficulty is an issue that often affects the reputation of companies.

And the reason why everything is complicated has to do with the fact that the content is in a media with freedom of expression. Therefore, there is a interest in keeping information accessible to the public.

So, only under certain specific motivations is it possible for a content removal request to have a simpler resolution. But this is rarely the case.

Viable tools for content removal

Although it is complicated to consolidate the removal of negative content on the internet, it is not impossible. In fact, there are some specialised tools that enable this function.

Some services focus on the possibility to completely remove content from the internet. However, there are other processes such as requesting anonymity.

Basically, it has to do with the possibility to change the name of the user involved in the publication. On the other hand, there is the possibility to de-index publication, where the content is not removed but limited from Google search engines.

So, how do internet opinions affect business reputation?

It can affect the company's view of potential customers, suppliers or potential partners. This is why IT risk management, whether for the dissemination of false and malicious content or for real actions that have affected the company's reputation, is indispensable.