Mumbai: HAWK is a consumer-centric agency dedicated to rethinking and redefining the business potential of Online Reputation Management, Digital Listening, and Customer Support.
Indiantelevision.com has caught up with GOZOOP Group Company Hawk president Premkumar Iyer to know more about Online Reputation Management, Digital Listening, and Customer Support.
HAWK’s data-driven customer experience focuses on streamlining online interactions and surface critical insights from data that is generated through these interactions. The agency helps to identify the right information at the right time which can be used to create great customer experiences and build brand loyalty.
Edited excerpts
On Hawk coming into existence
GOZOOP Group has consistently pushed for excellence and the pursuit of which is how HAWK came into existence. To some extent, there is a gap within the industry where the power and importance of ORM should be more valued. The perception about ORM still exists that it is a CTRL C – CTRL V (Copy & Pasting) job. We constantly hear that ORM is an easy job etc. On the contrary, ORM is a very challenging job and requires creativity, more extensive resources and quality of execution. Eliminating this gap and ignorance towards what formed HAWK’s DNA. Since 2017, GOZOOP Group has executed some highly-regarded and award-winning ORM campaigns for category-leading brands. Seeing a trailblazer of success for our ORM campaigns, we realized that leading brands have begun to naturally wanting to collaborate with us.
After garnering overwhelming response from our clients and positively impacting some of the leading brand’s online reputation, we decided to give our ORM team an identity. And that’s how HAWK was formalized in 2021. For a year, we ran it in stealth and had some very aggressive business milestones to hit before we officially announced it to the world.
At HAWK we bring the right mix of eccentric creativity which digital agencies offer and the disciplined process excellence which the customer service team needs. Built for the connected world, HAWK is a new-age Customer Experience agency focused on ORM, Listening, and Customer Support.
On the meaning of ORM as many people aren’t aware of it
It is not that Indian people aren’t aware of ORM. On the contrary, every digital marketing professional would know about it. Within the Indian digital ecosystem, ORM is widely used as a strategy to bridge the gap between brands and their customers.
Online Reputation Management (ORM) is a process that helps businesses maintain a positive image on the internet. It involves monitoring online mentions for the brand, analyzing the sentiment behind them, and taking action to address concerns and improve overall brand reputation through strategic approach. By staying informed about what’s being said, understanding public opinion, and engaging with audiences, ORM aims to create and maintain a favorable online presence that impacts larger audience’s perspectives.
Right from the discovery stage where consumers research to know more about our brand till the moment of truth where the purchase is made and most important post-purchase retention all these are places where ORM impacts business.
On ORM improving integrated customer services
The statement- integrated customer services is fascinating. Just like how marketing communication is getting more integrated, customer service as an industry is also moving on the integration path. The Omni Channel approach is the future and a lot of brands at scale are already moving toward this. Where each and every customer-facing team sits on the same platform, speaks the same language, and shares data seamlessly making the customer have enhanced experience.
Online Reputation Management (ORM) can significantly improve integrated customer services by helping businesses gain valuable insights into customer sentiment, identify areas of improvement, and foster trust and loyalty. Addressing negative feedback promptly demonstrates a commitment to excellent customer service, while maintaining a strong online reputation can attract new customers and foster loyalty among existing clients. Additionally, ORM streamlines communication channels, ensuring timely and efficient support for a better overall customer experience. It plays a crucial role in enhancing integrated customer services and driving customer satisfaction.
On strategy to make ORM easier to learn
Honestly ORM is not a rocket science, and no course syllabus can make an individual better at it. ORM is best learnt while being on the job. Everything one needs is a mindset towards customer service, the discipline it needs and patience during the initial years. This industry lacks strong human capital, however, there is a lot of scope for fast growth in today’s competitive digital space.
On brands improving their products by using social listening
Since ORM teams sit on a vast data set of a brand’s customer queries, just basic categorizing all these comments via robust logic can open a gold mine of data for the working on the campaign. One can use this to improve their product and services further. Following the detailed explanation on this with a model we opted for HAWK, which is called the ACAF Framework (Ask, Categorize, Act, and Follow-Up).
1. The Ask- This step involves monitoring social media, review sites, and other online platforms for mentions of the company or its products/services. It includes setting up alerts and notifications for specific keywords, hashtags, and mentions of the select brand.
2. The Categorize- Involves categorizing responses based on their nature, including identifying the type of response (positive, neutral and negative), the source of the response (customer, competitor, influencer, etc.), and the urgency of the response.
3. The Act- Involves taking action based on the identified and categorized responses. This could include responding to positive comments, addressing negative comments, or escalating urgent responses to the relevant department/team.
4. The Follow-Up- Involves tracking the impact of the responses and identifying any new issues that may arise. This helps to ensure that the company’s online reputation remains positive and that adjustments can be made as needed.
Honestly this process everyone in ORM does on a daily basis, but hardly teams go back and study this data to draw patterns unless the brand asks for it.
On the future of ORM in India
Undoubtedly, the future of ORM is bright. With the growing human dependencies on connected devices and reducing data prices, the importance of ORM will only be higher and will be in demand. The dependency of Millenials and Gen Z on social media as a way to interact will only pave the way for ORM teams to lead from the front.
On the vision and way forward for the agency Hawk
For 2023-24 our core focus is to keep doing category-defining work and constantly winning leading brands. HAWK is flying high. With the current momentum, we aim at creating several milestones.
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