Adam Petrilli is an online reputation expert as well as the founder & CEO of NetReputation . With thousands of clients to date, NetReputation was recently named as one of Inc’s 5000 fastest growing companies in the USA for the second year running. Today Art Insider had the opportunity to interview Petrilli
Please could you tell us more about NetReputation?
NetReputation is a full-service online reputation management agency that serves clients around the world. We provide comprehensive and customized reputation management, monitoring, and content removal solutions to help businesses and individuals repair negative search results and achieve their online goals.
Since 2015, our firm has helped thousands of individuals, small businesses, and corporate brands fight back against harmful online items and take control of their presence across the web. We do so by customizing ORM solutions to address each client’s unique digital situation and needs. We also tap into the latest technology and SEO methods to deliver better results faster and more effectively than our competitors.
It’s this ongoing focus on innovation and constantly pushing beyond the boundaries that have driven our success and positioned our company at the top of our field. Combined with the drive, skill, and dedication of our amazing reputation team, it’s also what’s propelled our remarkable growth and reach over the past six years.
We offer a full suite of digital services I believe is second-to-none in our industry. This includes personal and business reputation management, reputation monitoring, internet privacy protection, review management, digital public relations and branding, content removal, Wikipedia page repair, and much more.
What makes NetReputation unique from other competitors?
I mentioned this earlier, but I believe what really sets us apart from competitors is our relentless commitment to innovation. For some, that’s just a cliche or buzzword with nothing much behind it, but for us, it’s at the very heart of what we do. Constantly improving processes and finding faster, more efficient ways to deliver exceptional outcomes is what keeps this company moving forward. I believe it’s also the driving force behind our outstanding customer satisfaction rates.
Our commitment to research and development is unparalleled in our space. I really do believe that. We’ve had so many clients come to us after hitting a dead end with other ORM firms. These clients are often told things like “x is impossible” or “we just can’t do that” and are often themselves very close to giving up. But because our team is always digging and always exploring and researching new options, we’re able to navigate past many of those roadblocks and find solutions our competitors missed or ignored. And when we do, it tends to evoke an incredible response from our clients, many of whom were starting to think all hope was lost.
Innovation isn’t just a talking point for us. It’s in the NetReputation DNA. It shapes our approach, processes, technologies, and, ultimately, our ability to deliver on our promises.
What inspired you to start NetReputation?
NetReputation was largely inspired by my previous experience as a business owner.
Before launching NetRep, I was running a growing business that was really gaining traction and performing well with customers. We seemed to be really hitting our stride, and the praise we were getting from our customer base was remarkable. But despite our exceptional track record and glowing testimonials, we found ourselves constantly battling a few bad items on the web. These items were making a lot of noise and, for whatever reason, outshining the extensive positive feedback we had online. And no matter how much time and effort we threw at it, we were struggling to overcome their impact on our business.
We searched and searched for services that could help us out, but found little more than a few brands offering anything beyond basic monitoring and black-hat fixes. There was nothing really comprehensive or adequate enough to deliver the results we needed at the time.
After some digging, I discovered we were far from alone. In fact, I found that numerous other businesses were fighting the same problem, battling bad reviews and news on the internet while trying to defend their own reputational integrity. In some cases, it was putting a real dent in their bottom line and even threatening their ability to keep the doors open.
NetReputation became the answer to that problem. I saw a need for a more complete reputation protection model, something that would help businesses overcome malicious content and protect their brands without requiring a major diversion of time and resources. I wanted to provide companies with an expert digital reputation resource that not only delivered results, but also leveled the digital playing field and provided a competitive edge. NetRep became the realization of that idea.
NetReputation recently disclosed that under your leadership, the company achieved a 4-year growth rate of 4500% and a revenue growth of 1963%, totaling $3.9 million. What are your top 3 tips for scaling a business?
There are many factors involved in scaling up and taking your enterprise to the next level, so narrowing it down to just three was somewhat of a challenge. That said, from a high-level standpoint, I think the best tips I can offer for managing a successful scaling process would be to:
- Commit to the effort. Scaling is a big deal. It often involves a significant commitment of resources, as well as strategic partnerships, new processes, and sometimes even major upheaval to make it happen. In other words, you can’t do it halfway. Any entrepreneur considering a scale-up needs to be committed not only to growing the business, but also to doing what it takes to implement the processes and manage the change that goes with it. The will and ambition must be there, or it’s liable to fall apart before it even starts.
- Have a plan, but prepare for contingencies. Careful planning provides the guide rails for meeting growth targets and moving your business to the next step. A good plan outlines the specific actions needed to achieve your goals and stay on track. But, because scaling is a dynamic, ever-evolving process, even the best plans can be tested or derailed from time to time, making it important to prepare for the unexpected and leave room to adjust and adapt when needed.
- Get buy-in. Ambition and planning are crucial, but it takes the buy-in and effort of people who share your vision to really scale your operation. Finding leaders you can trust to carry things forward and help navigate the scaling process is key to minimizing issues, as well as preventing costly mistakes along the way. It also provides the solidarity and shared focus needed to maximize the effort’s success.
Where do you envision NetReputation in 10 years’ time?
I think the sky really is the limit when it comes to NetReputation’s potential and where we’ll be in the future. Things are never 100 percent certain, but I believe as long as we stay focused on those core values of innovation and results-driven client service, we’ll be positioned as the go-to reputation services brand five, ten, and even twenty years down the road.
As long as people and brands rely on the web to communicate, seek employment, build relationships and do business, there’ll be the need for a comprehensive reputation management provider that can deliver the goods and position them for success. Our goal is to be the ORM brand they trust and turn to first, no matter what they’re facing or what they need to achieve a more confident online presence.
Online reputation is very important in this digital age, what advice do you give to a small business looking to improve their online reputation?
There are many things a small business owner can do to boost their reputation, but I’d say the most important would be to remain vigilant. Knowing what’s out there and what customers, competitors, and others are saying about you is the key to identifying new threats and planning a course of action. Believe it or not, Googling your business regularly can tell you a lot about what customers are finding and the impression you’re making on anyone searching your name. Those first ten results make a big difference in how you’re perceived, and they can provide some valuable insight into how to move forward.
Online reviews also play a big role in small business reputation. Building a good approach for responding to negative feedback and encouraging more positive reviews at critical customer touchpoints is usually a good step in the right direction. The right review management strategy can pay off in dividends when it comes to improving reputation and attracting new business.
Of course, anything you do to enhance your online business image generally takes resources like time and research. In many cases, such as removing fake reviews or mitigating bad news articles, those resources can add up in a hurry, ultimately taking significant time and energy away from managing the day-to-day tasks of running your business. When that happens, I recommend seeking the help of a reputation expert.
You are involved in many charitable endeavors including your work with the Be Like Brit Foundation that helps orphans in Haiti. Please could you tell us more about this organization and the work you do?
The Be Like Brit Foundation has provided an amazing resource of services, support, and opportunity to in-need children in Haiti since the devastating 2010 earthquake. Between education programs, youth-support programs, and ongoing community services and support, the Foundation continues to be a powerful source of help and inspiration to vulnerable populations throughout Haiti.
We first learned about the Foundation in 2019. We learned of a local Florida teenager and missionary who was seeking a way to return to Haiti and continue his work through the Foundation. We were inspired by this young person’s generosity and his passion for helping others, and we made a financial donation to support his return trip and the Foundation’s mission. We are proud to support organizations like the Be Like Brit Foundation, and to help the Foundation and its volunteers make a positive difference in so many people’s lives.
I would encourage others to visit the Be Like Brit website at https://belikebrit.org/ and show their support.