Welcome to PRNEWS.IO’s ongoing series, Her PR Journey, where we spotlight remarkable women shaping the landscape of public relations. Today, we’re thrilled to introduce you to Chelsea Craig, the founder of Rhino Reviews.
Rhino Reviews, established in 2018 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a pioneering force in online reputation management. Chelsea’s journey into this field was sparked by personal experiences witnessing the challenges faced by entrepreneurs, including her father and husband, in managing their businesses’ reputations. Fueled by a desire to simplify and enhance reputation management solutions, Chelsea embarked on a mission to create Rhino Reviews, offering custom, done-for-you services tailored to each client’s unique needs.
In our exclusive one-on-one with Chelsea, we delve into the ethos of Rhino Reviews, exploring its range of services, key factors that set it apart, and Chelsea’s vision for the future. She shares insights on the importance of effective online reputation management in today’s competitive market and offers invaluable advice for aspiring professionals in the industry.
Chelsea Craig’s Rhino Reviews and the Art of Reputation Crafting
PRNEWS.IO: What circumstances led to the founding of Rhino?
My father is an entrepreneur, and I saw the many hats that he had to wear growing up and the constant to-do list he had while building his business. My (now) husband is also an entrepreneur, and I again had a passenger-side seat to the endless work that business owners had and the many roles they had to manage. In an odd series of events, they both had reputation issues occur within a close time frame, and we were looking into solutions to help them while not adding another item to their plate. The only solutions we could find were either wildly expensive or provided too many options and seemed complicated, and they all were only offering a do-it-yourself solution. This seemed like a great opportunity to try to differentiate in the market, create a custom done-for-you solution, and fill a market gap.
PRNEWS.IO: Could you detail the range of services Rhino offers and explain how they help clients achieve distinct outcomes?
We offer custom, done-for-you solutions to all online reputation management needs. As our world has grown increasingly more digital over the years, we have continued to expand our reputation management services to match this. We stated with the typical review generation, management, and monitoring. From there we added Google My Business management, business listing management, social media monitoring, social listing, and overall monitoring.
With COVID, we saw a shift in hiring strategies and began focusing on brand reputation from the internal side that affects employees, and we started working on Employer Platforms like Glassdoor, Indeed, Comparably, etc. This is a truly unique solution on the market, as virtual working and the employer marketplace have seen drastic shifts in the past years. Online reputation and reviews is often a grey-spot for companies where neither the HR team nor the marketing team fully owns it and because of that it is neglected.
We continue to listen to our clients and work to provide services that they ask us for, such as Digital PR work or crisis management.
Our custom solutions allow each client to receive a package that truly matches their unique industry, needs, challenges, and budget.
PRNEWS.IO: Can you identify three key factors that establish Rhino as a leader in the field of reputation management?
Our 3 key factors that allow our team to be consistently recognized in the market are our:
- Our expertise in the industry, this is all we do. Unlike other do-it-all agencies who manage websites, social, SEO, and reputation management, our team exclusively works in the reputation management industry and keeps updated with the latest strategies, updates, and practices.
- Our speed – We’re a boutique and because of this we often hear from clients about the speed with which our team works. Boutique agency with big capabilities
- The access to our leadership & our process – When building the business, I thought about frustrations that I experienced as a client, and one thing that was always frustrating was being sold by a sales member, passed off to an account manager, and a month later having a new rep. on my account. At Rhino Reviews, as the owner, I manage each strategy, ensuring a smooth and consistent process while our team handles the execution flawlessly.
PRNEWS.IO: How does Rhino remain up-to-date with technological advancements, and how does this dedication to progress benefit its clientele?
This is all we do. As experts who specialize exclusively in reputation management, it is our only focus and priority. I (Chelsea) am a Google My Business product expert, have taught Masterclasses, been a guest lecturer at universities, and led sessions for national marketing events. Our team is constantly monitoring updates from platforms and sharing this information with our clients, ensuring they receive the highest level of work and support.
PRNEWS.IO: Can you narrate your professional journey and highlight significant accomplishments? As a leader, what are your primary responsibilities and duties?
My primary focus, and the focus of our entire team, is to exceed expectations and deliver for our clients. We work in the world of reputation management and understand how important our reputation in all areas is. From a task position, my focus is to drive sales and marketing to allow us to continue to grow. We are constantly looking for different channels and opportunities. Admittedly, I work too much “in-the-weeds” and genuinely love the client work, an opportunity for me is to delegate more and work on-the-business instead of in-the-business.
PRNEWS.IO: How does Rhino cultivate a positive and collaborative work environment, guided by principles that ensure the delivery of top-notch and inventive solutions?
Our team comprises Can-Doers, it is our nature to try to always find a way to help a client, no matter the out-of-the-box solution required. While this might involve doing items that aren’t originally in our scope, we pride ourselves on becoming trust advisors for our clients beyond just a contractual relationship.
PRNEWS.IO: Can you provide insights into the current trends and dynamics of the online reputation management sector? How is Rhino maintaining its leading position in this evolving landscape?
That’s a tough one, the landscape is constantly changing, as all things digital are. The most recent disruptor that we’re only just getting started with is AI and the impacts that this technology will have for both businesses and consumers. At Rhino Reviews, we are committed to providing our clients with the newest and most innovative solutions. This means we stay up to date on the latest news, are constantly testing updates within platforms, researching new trends, and pulling strategies from a variety of different industries.
PRNEWS.IO: Do you believe effective online reputation management is vital for businesses to thrive in a competitive market? If so, how does Rhino contribute to this and what impact does it have?
Absolutely. Your online reputation functions as your modern day business card, and it is more important than ever to present yourself in a positive light. People believe what they read and see online as much as personal recommendations. What is most shocking is that we find most brands don’t realize there are proactive things they can do online to better position themselves and often feel helpless with comments, mentions, reviews, etc.
Our team works with our clients to understand their unique business from all angles, customer, employee, partner, vendor, and determine how those individuals will be searching or researching this company online. From there, we craft a custom strategy in order to improve, build up, or create an online reputation that is reflective of the quality of business offline.
Our solutions are completely done for you, and we work as a partner or an extension of our clients. We can provide them results without pulling time from their teams, who are already stretched too thin.
PRNEWS.IO: What is your vision for the future of Rhino? Are there any forthcoming services we can anticipate in the next five years?
An exciting thought! I have no doubt we will continue to expand our services as we have in just these past 5 years. Our most recent additions, Employer Branding in 2020 and Digital PR in 2021 came from numerous clients asking us for support. We continue to listen to our client’s needs as well as monitor the market to determine where our business needs to go to provide solutions and results.
The past year, post-COVID, I began speaking and attending conferences again, most recently leading a marketing session at SEMA in Fall 2023, and I would love to continue to explore those opportunities.
PRNEWS.IO: What advice would you offer our readers aspiring to excel in this industry?
Deliver for your clients and do what you say you’ll do. Our business has grown the most through referrals, and I cannot stress enough the power of simply delivering for your clients. I think a lot of businesses focus on getting leads (important) and closing sales (important) but delivering for your clients and doing the work is the most important item to focus on.
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