Reputation can be defined as ‘the general perception that the public has for a person or an organization.’ The practice through which a person or an organization shapes public perception about itself can be termed as reputation management. Just like individuals develop a reputation, organizations develop one too. This article briefly discusses reputation management, its importance for businesses and the different elements responsible for its building and maintenance. Attention is given to how reputation management helps you strengthen your business and get your business an edge over your competitors.
After the fraudulent practices of huge corporations like Enron surfaced, companies have become enlightened about the importance of building and maintaining a good reputation. The ultimate demise of Enron suggests that though, businesses of all sorts and sizes need to invest in reputation management; it becomes particularly important for top businesses as they are more prone to losing brand value even with a single defamatory remark or a bad review posted by an unknown person across a platform. The reputation which took years to build is destroyed by a single act or event. So, companies now realize that reputation management is a vital asset which must be implemented with great care. After all, their community standing and revenue depend upon it.
We can think of a company’s reputation entailing of the three factors.
- Image: what the customers' opinion is about the company
- Identity: what the company says of itself
- Personality: what the company is all about
To build and sustain an organization’s reputation, it is necessary that the three factors are aligned. For instance, if a company identifies itself as a competent provider of web services (identity) and customers approve of it (image), then alignment between image and identity exist which can further enhance the company’s performance. Reputation management works to safeguard and further strengthen this harmonious relation between image and identity. Employees and customers are also important groups when it comes to protecting the reputation of an organization.
The way a company treats the two groups adds to the image of the company. Together they represent the internal and external views of the organization and interaction between the two is pivotal to any company’s performance. It is the objective of reputation management to carry this out and take a business forward. Other ways through which reputation management can help you in your business are:
1. Builds Brand Image
After launching a business, it is important to promote the brand at various online and offline platforms. In today’s digital world, people tend to do a quick online search and know about a company before buying their product or availing their services. A survey from BrightLocal put the statistics of people searching for a product online at around 98%. Given this figure, it is imperative to have a presence online. It is therefore prudent to hire the reputation management services of experienced branding agencies.
In the past, the traditional means of shaping perceptions were newspaper and TV, but as news on them get discarded after some time, it is not considered a permanent source to be utilized for reputation management. Internet, on the other hand, is more permanent in nature and provides you with the ability to transmit news instantaneously. It enables you to immediately publish a message and spread at an incredible speed. A local product now can become a global product in no time.
Due to increased internet penetration, most of the people now follow brands online. Not just that, a study reveals that about 68% of these followers leave reviews about products and services on various platforms. Given these stats, the importance of online reputation is obvious. Besides, the internet can also be used as a tool to counter rumors about your brand. So, it is important to be cautious about your brand’s reputation in an age when a single post, tweet, and blog can make or break your company. Moreover, in today’s competitive environment, it is possible that your rivals may try to tarnish the hard-earned reputation of your brand; a single message published by an unknown can cause havoc to your company.
2. Builds Trust
In any business, nothing is more important than trust. In today’s world when people buy products and services from distant locations and deal with people they have never met in person, trust is the only factor that holds all the dealings together. Without trust, this entire system will collapse. It is the objective of reputation management to earn the customer’s trust. In the old days, trust was built through word of mouth but today, the internet has totally transformed the concept of trust.
Satisfied customers now do not need to call their friends or meet people in person to recommend a product or service. With the proliferation of social media sites, everyone’s voice is being heard. Anyone can review your product on online review platforms, available for everyone to read. According to research, 88% of customers trust online reviews and value them as much as personal recommendations. Another study reveals that 83% of consumers would recommend to others a company they trusted. A good reputation management team will maintain connections with consumers across many online and offline channels, intelligently and thoughtfully, to build trust.
3. Increases Visibility and Sales
A significant number of people now search on the Internet for solutions and products. It is much easier to research products and services online as you find many people contributing to the topic. The insights shared by people on various online platforms can help you make a thoughtful decision. A consumer review survey in Oct 2017 indicates that 98% of people search online for local businesses, so, no matter the size of your business, you are being sought after and enquired on online forums. These forums can be the best places for you to advertise your product & services and increase your sales. You can engage with people through direct and indirect means including emails and social media posts and convert them into your customers.
A good reputation management strategy will ensure your site gain a top position in search engines. Research shows that a mere 5% of companies make it past the first search engine result page, which means that sites on the first page receive almost 95% of the web traffic; hence, they get more visibility and have more chances to attract customers. Good content, keywords, and the right SEO techniques will help your business build a good online reputation and a higher rank in search engines, consequently, brighter chances of gaining new clients and positive reviews. A reputation management team can also launch and manage brand campaigns on social media and offline forums much effectively and reach out to audiences a company will otherwise fail to reach.
4. Helps Resolve Problems
Engaging with customers can help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your product. It offers you to introspect and address any loopholes that have been pointed out by customers. It is advised to never ignore customer’s feedback as it will put you in a bad light. You are in the business due to your customers and ignoring their feedback will turn them away from you. It will also discourage a lot of potential customers from buying your product or hiring your services. It is very normal in businesses to face angry customers and get negative feedback, but listening to what they have to say and acting on it can be highly valuable for your business. In fact, feedback offers you the opportunity to make things right with your unhappy customer.
A good reputation management team will never miss out on these opportunities and will try to build affinity with customers by responding to their negative reviews and appreciating the positive ones. Every time you are addressing a negative review in a positive way, you are partaking in solving the issue. This will build your positive image in the eyes of customers and potential consumers. It significantly increases the chances of your success, so overall it is a win-win situation for you.
5. Better Talent Acquisition
A company’s good reputation not only attracts consumers but also appeals to talented candidates. On the other hand, a bad reputation makes the recruitment process very difficult for organizations thereby hindering the growth of the company. A company with a negative impression in the industry finds it hard to acquire employees with a skill set that is needed to achieve the company’s goals and milestones. In short, just like it is important to note what your customers are saying about your company, it is equally important to pay heed to what your employees are saying about your company.
If you are getting negative feedback from employees about the workplace environment, job satisfaction, mentorship, etc, you need to pay close attention to that and try to sort the problems out. Employees are part of the company and add to the image of the company. It is natural for an employee to talk about his company with his friends, family and on social networks; this will indirectly shape people’s perception in one way or another. Good reputation management ensures a company’s reputation is covered from every aspect and makes an organization attractive to top minds – minds that will ultimately take the business forward.
CONCLUSION
Building and maintaining a brand reputation is not an easy task. It is a long-term endeavor that requires continuous struggle over time. The result is an aggregate of the daily actions of every person attached to the organization. Everything from your product and services to your marketing strategies and employee-customer relation counts into it. While it is true that the nature of your reputation is ultimately in the customer's hand, you also have to do the part at your end.
