Whether a company is just starting or is trying to recover its online standing, brand reputation management is key to any lasting success.
But what is the importance of brand reputation, and what is a quality brand reputation strategy? It’s time to take a closer look.
In many ways, brand reputation is the lifeblood of a business. Put simply, it’s how the public views a brand or company. The better a brand's reputation, the more likely they are to go on to have continuing prosperity.
It’s common sense that how a brand is perceived directly impacts that company’s success, which boils down to the importance of brand reputation.
However, it helps to look at brand reputation examples to see how this plays out.
Take Wendy’s, the fast-food company.
They’re responsive on social media, including both Facebook and Twitter, and regularly interact with other companies to entertain their followers. Plus, they consistently reply to customers by responding to positive posts and recovering negative reviews.
Nevertheless, not all online interaction has a positive effect. Sometimes companies take missteps and negatively impact their brand reputation. One just needs to look at what happened with Whole Foods to understand how seemingly small mistakes can quickly spiral out of control.
In 2009, the CEO, John Mackey, wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal that detailed his criticism of Obamacare. He did not take into account that much of his clientele was in favor of a more socialized healthcare system.
The fallout was nearly immediate. Sales only began to recover when Whole Foods as a company released a statement and asked for customer responses to create a dialogue between the company and its client base.
One need only look at what happened with Whole Foods to see why brand reputation strategy is vital. When a company (or even just a figurehead) makes a careless statement, not thinking about the brand they represent, customer trust can be lost quickly.
However, just because trust is lost does not mean the company will fail. If decisive action is taken, such as what happened with Whole Foods, to counter their missteps and address the customers’ concerns, then reputation can be restored.
The only way to improve brand reputation, especially after losing it, is to have a well-planned online reputation management strategy.
Coming up with a strategy is easier said than done, but thankfully, there are some clear steps that make brand reputation management simpler.
The best content marketing is making content the clients need.
The first step to content marketing and brand management is when a business produces something genuinely valuable to its customer base.
Every successful company has found a way to connect with their clients, either by filling a need that those clients had or by being the best in their field.
When client experience is put first, a business creates more than just a loyal customer who will come back time and again: they create a brand advocate.
No matter how excellent a company and brand, some clients just aren’t going to be happy. They could have a bad day and let out their stress by complaining about something, anything. Still, that doesn’t mean a brand should respond to negativity with negativity.
Recover the situation using compassion (and occasionally humor) to address any concerns a customer may have, no matter how vindictive or rude they were. This way, other customers can at least see how the efforts to improve a bad experience.
Whether it’s interactions on social media or responding to a client’s email, every communication needs to be unique and personalized to make the client feel valued.
While no one denies the effectiveness of brand ambassadors, advocates can be a much more powerful tool in maintaining a good brand reputation.
An advocate is a customer who had such a good experience through a business’s client-focused mentality that they willingly go on social media to express how much they loved the company.
Managing a brand’s reputation can be intimidating, especially to fledgling businesses and companies. However, it’s arguably one of the most important aspects of developing lasting success.
To learn even more about brand reputation management, call NewReputation today for a free and confidential consultation.
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