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Jan 12 2020

Does Brand Reputation Even Matter Anymore?

Brand reputation will matter in any year as long as businesses rely on customers to be successful (so… always).

Consumers are more opinionated than ever before and it’s because they are armed with so much more information (whether it’s true or not). Everyone is facing increasingly aggressive dialogue about discrimination and social ideologies, and the mob mentality that comes with empowered social media users. As a result, consumers are questioning every move that brands make. Really, people are looking for complete honesty and transparency and to support brands that share the same values and ethics that they do. Over 80% of consumers want to trust the brands that they buy from.

That is why your brand reputation matters more than ever in 2020.

What is brand reputation?

Brand reputation is a fancy term for how other people see your brand. It’s their opinion of you. Brands with a great reputation are generally seen as trustworthy, which leads to larger communities of loyal customers. On the other hand, a bad reputation will negatively affect your sales and you will find that your customers are always looking for the next best thing because they aren’t loyal to your brand at all.

What will negatively affect your brand reputation?

The biggest mistake you can make is thinking you can pull the wool over your target audience’s eyes. Here are six things that will hurt your brand reputation:

  1. Buying fake followers and/or fake engagement on social media – bots can also be the end of you.
  2. Creating a social responsibility program as a response to a rumor.
  3. Trying to cover up or “spin” a story so it just goes away rather than dealing with the issue at the core of your brand or business.
  4. Partnering with influencers or other brands that you haven’t vetted or that you know aren’t fully aligned with your own brand values.
  5. Not taking a stand against hatred and bigotry.
  6. Taking a sales-first or a me-first mentality.

How do you get a better brand reputation?

With all of the security breaches and secret data collection being reported what seems like almost daily, it is going to take more than a flashy marketing campaign to get your target audience to see your brand in a different light. There are five things that you need to do to make sure you have a great brand reputation:

  1. Continuously think of how you can offer more value to your target audience – whether it’s through great content, a better product, or a better customer experience.
  2. Build transparency into your core communication strategy – you never want to lie to your customers, and omitting information is also not great.
  3. Build a brand and stay true to yourself rather than changing to fit what you think others want to hear.
  4. Align yourself with a cause that is meaningful to both you as a brand, but also your target audience.
  5. Partner with influencers that your audience trusts – 63% of consumers trust them more than they do you as a brand.

Have you really looked at how your audience sees you versus how you see yourself as a brand?

Candace Huntly is Founding Partner at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Sign up for our free 20-minute consultation and we’ll help you figure things out.

A version of this article was originally posted to the SongBird Marketing Communications blog.

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Candace Huntly · Tagged: brand reputation, does brand reputation matter, reputation

Feb 18 2014

Take Control of Your Online Reputation Management

TCORM

Many small businesses that don’t take online marketing seriously are unaware that their reputation online may not match their local reputation.

It is possible that a disgruntled customer, former employee, or even a competitor is putting up bad reviews about you.

When 97% of consumers use online search when researching products or services it pays to know what people are saying about you online.

It is just plain crazy to think just because your business does so well locally that no reputation management needs to be done online.

It is erroneous to think that your customers are so loyal that they will disregard bad reviews. Small business owners need to pay even more attention to Online Reputation Management (ORM) – If you don’t take control of your online reputation, someone else will!

Start Your Online Reputation Management Today!

1. Assess your online reputation

Start assessing your online reputation by performing searches on the major search engines: Google, Yahoo, and Bing.  Don’t just search for your business name but also search for your products, your highest-profile employees, your own name, and any usernames or handles you use on any other site.

2. Customer Service

Always address customers’ comments, and complaints. Be proactive about customer feedback and even more so about customer service. When customers reach out on social media it is usually because emails and phone calls have been ignored. When phone calls and emails go unanswered, customers feel as though they have no other option but to make themselves be heard.

Have a customer service policy in place to respond to phone calls and email in a timely manner.

Monitor social media sites for conversations about you and your business and be prepared to join the conversation.

3. Address the issue

If a complaint or bad review is legit, take the time to acknowledge and offer solutions. A mistake some companies make is to fight back but that only escalates the issue and makes you look worse. Remember to offer positive feedback.

Bonus

4. Reputation Repair

Sometimes it may be impossible to remove a false review or complaint. You can fight bad reviews by soliciting and posting good reviews. Get your satisfied customers online to spread the word about your great products and services.

It’s time to take your online marketing seriously and take control of your online reputation by monitoring, responding and getting positive feedback.

Dwainia Grey is an online marketer at Awesome Biz Online. She creates
awesome websites and blogs for businesses as well as working with
companies to optimize their websites with Search Engine Optimization and
Social Media. She can be reached at Awesome Biz Online or by phone at 647-799-1090 x 104. You a can also follow her on Facebook to get the latest on online marketing.

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Dwainia Grey · Tagged: Awesome Biz Online, Bing, Canadian Small Business Women, consumers, customer service, customers, Dwainia Grey, entrepreneur, google, online marketing, online reputation, Online Reputation Management, online searches, positive feedback, reputation, reputation management, Reputation Repair, small business, small business owner, social media, Yahoo

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