As a digital agency, the start of a new year is a chance to refresh your strategies, embrace new opportunities, and tackle emerging challenges. One area you simply can’t afford to overlook in 2025? Reputation management.
Online reputation has become the backbone of business success. Whether it’s through glowing customer reviews on Google or top star ratings, your clients’ reputations directly impact their results—and yours. By making reputation management a core service, you can help your clients stand out, strengthen customer trust, and keep your agency ahead of the competition.
We recently spoke with 11 digital agency owners and experts about what’s ahead for agencies in 2025. Spoiler: Reputation management was a major focus. On top of that, our research from last year revealed just how critical reviews and reputation are to local businesses. Let’s dive into the highlights.
Reputation Management: Why It Matters and Where It’s Going
Here’s the reality: If your client’s online reputation is shaky, even the best marketing strategy won’t deliver as well as it could. Your agency’s success is directly tied to how customers perceive your clients’ businesses.
Think about it: A client with a poor reputation can only make your job in attracting new business for it a lot harder, and more expensive. And that’s a lose-lose situation for everyone. Clients don’t get the results they want, and agencies risk losing their business.
So, how do businesses build strong reputations? It starts with proactive reputation management, of course! Add ethical practices and excellent products or services, and you’ve got the full package.
Mike Ricker, founder of GetMoreOnlineReviews.com, sums it up perfectly: “The difference between a client with a good online reputation and one without is mind-blowing. Positive reviews boost visibility, build trust, and give businesses a competitive edge.”
But reviews don’t just happen by magic. Agencies that help their clients actively request and leverage reviews will win big. Joy Hawkins, founder and CEO of Sterling Sky, Inc., puts it this way: “Agencies that excel at getting clients more reviews and using them effectively will thrive.”
Here’s the twist: Old-school tactics like buying fake reviews or incentivizing positive feedback are no longer an option. Regulatory changes have cracked down on deceptive practices, and today’s consumers expect honesty and transparency. That means agencies and businesses alike need to double down on trust and credibility.
This shift also brings new opportunities. Ben Edelstein, founder and CEO of CASP Media, explains: “Clients increasingly expect agencies to showcase reviews in creative ways on social media and websites.” In 2025, it’s all about standing out—and smart agencies will find innovative ways to make reviews shine.
The Data Behind the Insights
We’ve got the numbers to back this up. Last year, we surveyed consumers to see how they rely on reviews when choosing local businesses. Here’s what we found:
- 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Reviews have become today’s word-of-mouth. People who used to ask friends and family for advice now turn to reviews for honest opinions.
- Over half of consumers consult social media for local business recommendations. Alongside Google and other review sites, social platforms have become major hubs for business insights. Reviews shared here can reach massive audiences, whether they’re glowing or critical.
- 59% of consumers are reading more reviews than they did five years ago. Detailed, specific reviews are what people want. They’re looking for confidence and clarity before they make a decision.
- 82% of consumers are more likely to choose a business that responds to its reviews. Managing reviews isn’t just about collecting them; responding—both to positive and negative feedback—is crucial for showing customers you care.
- 73% of unhappy customers will give a business a second chance if the owner responds thoughtfully and resolves their issue. Negative reviews might feel scary, but they’re also an opportunity to build trust and show potential customers you’re committed to making things right.
Requesting and Managing Reviews
If you want reviews, you’ve got to ask! Our research showed these key takeaways for agencies:
- Businesses that use tools like GatherUp to request reviews (via email or SMS) get 2.3 times more reviews than those that don’t.
- Industries like healthcare and legal services—where trust matters most—see massive gains when they actively request reviews. Healthcare organizations, for example, saw an 11X increase in review volume when they asked for feedback.
- Using both SMS and email to request reviews leads to higher conversion rates, but if you have to pick one, SMS tends to work better since people are more likely to open and respond to texts.
- Across industries, businesses that use GatherUp report higher Net Promoter Scores (NPS) compared to their peers. Healthcare providers, for instance, averaged an NPS of 73 with GatherUp versus the industry average of 58.
Proactive Reputation Management: Your 2025 Playbook
Want to take your reputation management strategy to the next level this year? Here are three tips to get started:
1. Focus on First-Party Data
First-party data is gold. Collect feedback directly from your clients’ customers through surveys, forms, and review requests. Be transparent about how you’ll use the data, and prioritize privacy. This kind of data allows you to personalize campaigns, improve customer experiences, and strengthen loyalty.
2. Automate and Innovate Review Management
Time is precious, and automation can help. Tools like GatherUp make it easy to request, monitor, and respond to reviews. They also let you consolidate review data into simple dashboards. Don’t stop there—find creative ways to display reviews, like adding widgets to websites or using interactive graphics and videos to bring them to life.
3. Consider Specializing in an Industry
If your agency has expertise in a specific niche, why not own it? Specialization helps you understand the unique challenges and opportunities in that industry. It also positions your agency as the go-to expert, giving you an edge over more generalized competitors.
Ready to Succeed in 2025?
Your best strategies and campaigns won’t hit the mark if your clients’ online reputations are in shambles. But here’s the good news: Reputation management gives you the tools to turn things around. By helping your clients build trust and credibility, you set the stage for their success—and yours.
Reputation management isn’t just a nice-to-have in 2025. It’s essential. Ready to see how GatherUp can help? Request a consultation with one of our experts today.
