Has reputation management become part of customer acquisition now?

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I’ve been noticing that more businesses are realizing reputation issues don’t just affect “brand image” anymore — they directly impact leads, conversions, and revenue.

A few years ago, ORM felt like something companies only considered during a crisis. Now it seems tied directly to customer acquisition because before contacting a business, people usually:

• Google the company name
• Check reviews
• Search Reddit/forums for real experiences
• Look at social sentiment
• Compare complaint visibility

The interesting part is that even strong businesses can lose trust quickly if search results create uncertainty.

A few things I’m curious about:

• Are branded search results now as important as paid ads?
• Has review management become part of the sales funnel?
• What creates more damage today: negative reviews or negative search visibility?
• Are businesses investing enough in proactive reputation monitoring?

Would love perspectives from marketers, local SEO professionals, founders, and ORM specialists seeing this shift firsthand.