The effective use of a managed service provider (MSP) can deliver a lot of value when it comes to a variety of fronts, and healthcare is no different. When Ascension Ventures—a major name in healthcare venture funding—recently put a hefty investment behind Reputation.com, it became clear that the connection between healthcare and online reputation management was a lot closer than most people thought.
Though the exact amount of the investment was as yet undisclosed, it was called “significant,” which suggests a fairly substantial amount of cash was involved. It was actually part of a total funding round measured at $20 million, which included not only Ascension Venture's contribution, but also funding from August Capital, Icon Ventures, and several other firms who chipped in behind the MSP's new operations.
So what drew all this investment? Reputation.com offers several useful tools for managing an online reputation, particularly the ability to aggregate feedback from a wide array of different sources. Whether it's an online review site, a mobile survey, or one of the growing numbers of social communities out there, Reputation.com can pull it into one place. That centralization allows for easier management and responses, which allows companies to engage with those customers and directly impact online reputation. This also allows businesses to better promote their reputations by having all the reviews and commentary within easy reach, and that provides sufficient fodder for analytics operations to step in as well.
That's a lot of points in one umbrella, and explains nicely why a strategic healthcare fund would take an interest in such an MSP. With the healthcare market increasingly competitive—the recent changes to the health insurance market have fundamentally shaken many institutions, and the upcoming changes to the health insurance market will only compound this matter—being able to find out everything about a healthcare provider's online reputation quickly is likely to be prized by users. The best providers will take the most business, and with Reputation.com driving the process forward, the end result should be valuable to not only shoppers but also for businesses.
With MSP Reputation.com getting a substantial boost, it's clear that more companies will be looking to manage online reputations a little more stringently going forward. Those who provide an assist in that management will likely come out farthest ahead.
Edited by
Alicia Young
