What is Reputation and why is it Necessary to Grow Your Business

“A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.”

Jeff Bezos

Reputation is a big deal for any business. To achieve the highest level of success for your company, you must pay particular attention to reputation. A good company reputation opens the door to opportunity and provides unhindered access to your ideal client base.

Reputation Definition

To understand the importance of reputation, you first need to understand what reputation means.

Oxford Dictionary defines reputation as “The beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something.” Whether your business has a good reputation or a bad reputation is up to you.

Today most of the people view the reputation of a brand through the lens of search engines, social media and word-of-mouth.

What is the Importance of Reputation Management?

Reputation management is making the effort to influence what and how people think of a person or brand. Sharing positive information about a brand or person to increase positive sentiment is an effective strategy for reputation management.

What are the Benefits of a Good Reputation?

The benefits of a good reputation include:

More business opportunities
Lower marketing costs
Attracts loyal supporters
More customers and sales
Distinguishes you from competitors
Promotes good relationships with clients
Greater revenues
Cost-free advertising
Attract better quality prospective employees
Higher company value

No matter who you are or what your goal is, without a good reputation you’ll find it difficult or almost impossible to achieve success. Customer swant the most for their money, so naturally they choose the company or person they think is superior. No one wants to pay for a product or service that is lower quality than they initially believed. So whether you’re pitching a new client or looking for business partnerships, your reputation affects your bottom line.

Active is Better than Passive

The influence of the Internet is still growing. And that means that if your brand is in the public eye, you will be seen and judged. Unfortunately, a negative reputation can result from just a single negative complaint or review. Or, in a worst case scenario, the collective opinion of many. And if you’re not actively managing your reputation your competitors can and will take advantage. But if you take an active approach to reputation management your brand will flourish with more clients, leads and sales.

“You can’t buy a good reputation; you must earn it.”

Harvey Mackay

Earn More Money with a Good Reputation

Why is reputation important in a business? A good reputation not only makes you money, but also helps save on marketing expenses. The mechanism for building a good reputation is like a chain containing small, interconnected pieces. Customers feedback form this chain. At the end of your chain is a positive or negative business reputation. When you have a good reputation, you may not need to spend a fortune on marketing. Why? Because your customers act as brand ambassadors promoting your business to their friends, family and colleagues.

How can you Improve your Business Reputation?

If your business reputation is trending toward negative, , there are a few essential actions you can take to move toward improvement:

1. Stick to Your Word

A negative reputation can be the result of a simple misunderstanding. To avoid this, make sure your mission is clearly defined both internally and externally. Communicate with your customers on a human level. Customers who align with your values will become the client base you need to expand and grow your business.. When customers know what to expect building trust and promoting positive reputation will be much easier.

2. Use Social Media Proof

One of the easiest and the most effective ways to increase confidence in your reputation is through social proof. Showcase each and every positive testimonial you receive. But don’t just publish them to your website where they may never be seen. Promoting your successes on social media is how you use your positive reputation to increase your client base.

3. Improve Customer Service

Lousy customer service is the worst. Poor customer service has earned many brands a bad reputation. And that type of bad reputation is difficult to recover from. With the high number of services available to manage customer service, you should be able to easily avoid this pitfall.

4. Communication and Transparency

Your reputation depends on how people perceive your business. All correspondence—whether emails, letters, voicemails or any other method of communication—should always be polite, informative, professional and grammatically correct.

5. Always Be Honest

You will never earn trust by lying. If your company makes a mistake, acknowledge the issue and make it right. A cover-up is a fast way to earn a bad reputation. The best approach is always honesty, even when public relations mishaps occur.

Your company’s reputation can be a catalyst for new business or a roadblock for new customers. Protecting and improving your business reputation is the best way to increase your brand visibility, promote growth and achieve success!