2023-05-22 10:00:37
Reputation is what precedes the company. An intangible and dynamic asset that strongly influences purchases of consumers, preserving business success.
The brand reputation (definition that became widespread starting from 1982 after appearing in Fortune magazine) is the set of perceptions, assessments and expectations of stakeholders with respect to the company’s past and future actions.
It is the direct consequence (even involuntary) of the actions that the company carries out and that determines its position in relation to competitors.
A good reputation allows you to stand out from your competitors, optimizing your performance. Between two competitor companies, the one that does not enjoy a good reputation is, in fact, considered more “at risk” by investors.
A survey conducted by Axios Harris Poll pointed out that by asking more than 33,000 Americans what helped create a good reputation among 100 companies chosen, the main metrics recognized were: trust in the company, ethics, growth over time, quality of products and services, values and corporate culture.
Tips to strengthen your corporate reputation
Building a good reputation is a constant and careful process, “it takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about this you will do things differently”, suggests financier Warren Buffet.
It is necessary to be attentive and constant, respecting some main steps:
- Promote executive thought leadership, leaders play a crucial role in building trust in a company. What they say and do has a profound effect on corporate culture. According to research by the Harvard Business Review, trust is the cornerstone of business success. “The parties can lose trust in the brand if there is a disconnect between the values, behavior or messages of the executive and the company” explains the author Lida Citroën. For this, it is necessary that the company’s marketing managers talk to the leaders, to make sure that they convey ideas in line with the brand image. Leaders must offer clear information, communicate the various activities implemented by the company showing an openness towards the outside
- Find a team of supporters, despite the various strategies, the most effective marketing remains the “word of mouth”. The company must therefore not remain passive in the face of any positive voices, rather it must ride the wave. Amplify positive content by encouraging employees to share social content. Content shared by employees appears to have a different credibility than content shared by official brand pages
- Strengthen B2B marketing programs (business to business: trade and information exchanges between companies), according to Forbes magazine, B2B influencer marketing, “it is one of the most significant transformations of the modern era in the marketing industry, a fundamental component of marketing strategies everywhere”, able to strengthen the brand reputation of a brand
- Innovation, it is important to be flexible and try, in a timely manner, to adapt to changes in reality. Monitoring and updating the products is an essential prerogative, making sure to always maintain a high level of security offered by every single product and service of the company
- Quality of products and services, if the product is not of excellent quality, not reflecting the advertised characteristics, obviously the reputation will inevitably suffer. It makes no sense to deal with the creation of a brand reputation if you are not able to offer a product in line with consumer expectations
- Be present on online platforms, to be appreciated, you need to show up in the places where consumers are looking for you. Channels must be reported with care, paying attention to third-party content that is displayed on each specific platform. Inappropriate content could in fact also harm your brand
- Communicate corporate values and culture, it is necessary to carry out clear and transparent ethics, promptly communicated through the web pages. Consumers want to know about corporate social responsibility and company values. Not just words, however, it is also appropriate to show the efforts that are concretely supported regarding social causes
- Stability of financial performance, boasting financial stability is a further element that contributes to creating a good reputation. The more the brand is consolidated on the market, the more it will enjoy a good reputation. Equally important is the ability to react to any crises and deal with critical issues
- Show respect for privacy, both customers and employees
- monitor reputation, activate web alerts (online alerts) to keep an eye on customer comments. Being able to listen to users and interact with them (always responding to comments), plays an important role in favor of reputation
READ ALSO: How Great Leaders Communicate (And 10 Tips for Doing It Like They Do)
Strengthen employer branding to attract talent
Survey data Randstad 2018, show that 86% of workers would neither apply nor continue to work for a company that has a bad reputation with former employees, or the general public. 65% say they are ready to quit if employers are portrayed negatively on social media due to bad business practices.
Per attract the best human resources present on the labor market, it is not just a matter of recruiting, but of showing oneself as the best working environment in which one can operate.
The coveted “talents”, in fact, have the possibility of choice before them, and in the event of a bad corporate reputation, they will migrate to something else. The primary element that attracts the best potential employees to propose to the company is the positive working climate and corporate culture.
The study “Guide to Employer Branding” by LinkedIn showed that the hiring costs of companies with a good reputation are up to 50% lower than those with a worse reputation. Not only that, in cases of better reputation, employee turnover seems to decrease by 28%.
READ ALSO: Employer Branding: how to attract talent to the company through marketing
Communicate to ensure a good reputation
The communication has a strong impact on brand reputation.
Working to achieve a respectable reputation is meaningless if this is not communicated in the best way, paying attention to the various forms of communication, voluntary and involuntary. Not only in words but also in deeds.
Watzlawick’s first axiom of communication teaches that “it is impossible not to communicate”. Il behavior and concrete actions put in place by the company represent the primary communication, which is inferred even if not consciously expressed in words.
Secondary communication concerns the signs sent in a strategic way by the company, which reinforce the primary communication ( , packaging, logo…). Much of the company’s secondary communication is now conveyed online.
The editorial plan must be specifically structured to generate positivity through updated and quality content (tutorials, ebooks, videos…). Particular attention deserves listening to the public, which requires continuous monitoring to find any link building (external pages that speak positively of the company), which must therefore be added to their web pages.
Finally, tertiary communication, represented by the set of messages disseminated by the various sources independent of the company. These are rumors that spread through interpersonal relationships, such as powerful word of mouth from customers, or opinion leaders such as influencers.
Examples of campaigns that have built a good reputation
Apple
The video links the good reputation of the company, leader in the technology market, to the excellent quality and long life of the products.
Lacoste
The brand’s 2018 campaign is aimed at supporting endangered animal species. For the occasion, the company has replaced the iconic crocodile logo with that of the various species threatened with extinction (Gulf of California seal, Burma turtle, rhinoceros…)
Burger King
To support LGBTQ+ pride in San Francisco, all of the fast food chain’s sandwiches were wrapped in the same multi-colored paper. The wrapping doesn’t count, inside are the rolls of all time, this is the message launched by the brand. The video achieved a strong impact among users by registering approximately 1.2 million interactions.
Procter & Gamble
Olympics and mothers: this is the combination on which the company has focused, emphasizing the central role that mothers have in the growth of athletes.
READ ALSO: Corporate Social Responsibility, the steps to follow to really achieve it
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