Brand reputation serves as an important aspect in the modern business age which provides an insight into the brand to the customers.
It is built from the customers, stakeholders and the market’s perceptions towards the brand.
These views and reactions present a piece of detailed information that can be used by the organizations to conduct further actions or marketing plans to improve their brands and meet the customers’ needs.
Now let’s delve into the definition of brand reputation, the importance of building it, and some tips on how to maintain it.
Definition of Brand Reputation
Brand reputation is simply how a brand (a person or an organization) is viewed by everyone else. A great brand reputation shows consumers’ trust in your brand and that consumers are confident to do business with you.
With the use of social networks, review sites or online discussion forums, consumers are able to share and contemplate the usefulness of all types of brands.
Through the experience of the respective customers, a brand is readily available to other customers and the target market in assisting their decision-making process.
This experience can be before the purchase of the products or services or during the purchase or after the purchase process.
Some even perceived the after-sales service offered by the organizations as an essential factor in their buying experience.
That briefly goes over what brand reputation is, but what’s so important about it?
Important Reasons to Build Great Brand Reputation for Businesses
The collection of customers’ perceptions towards brands enables more people to learn and decide whether to choose and compare with other brands in the market.
In the sense of how brand reputations’ role in providing information for both customers and organizations, its importance to strengthen the brand is an advantageous aspect to the brand owners. Here are several reasons to have and maintain a good brand reputation:
- Customer Trust
- Customer Loyalty
- Greater Sales
- Business Growth
- An Edge on Competitors
- Free Advertising
1. Customer Trust
The true power in decision making lies in the customers’ hands, literally. Online discussion and review sites, as well as social media, work in delivering the customers’ feedback about a brand.
Attention will be given to brands with positive reviews, massive numbers of hashtags or the frequency of its products or services mentioned in a favorable manner.
As the customers put their trust in the brands, this will attract a higher number of customers thus help them to provide a positive brand reputation.
2. Customer Loyalty
From building trust, a great brand reputation also builds great brand loyalty.
The customers of a particular brand would normally be informed or acknowledged in the mass media or on any Internet platforms.
Some brands even publicly announce their achievements of the total purchase made by the people in a month or a year.
This routine helps gain the customers’ loyalty and purchase the brand’s products or services with less hesitancy.
Customers’ loyalty to brands guarantees a further increase in brand reputation, causing customers to not opt for other brands although they offer massive discounts and promotions.
3. Greater Sales
With the gain of trust of customers who favor a brand, a domino effect may take place.
The positive views from the customers provide the demand for the related brand in the market, thus boosting their sales and monetary returns.
The organization’s financial value also attains a rise due to the positive views from the customers retrieved from online platforms such as social media, online discussions, and review sites.
These brand impressions play a vital role in attracting more potential customers as they are speaking out the brand’s users’ voice.
Customers share a similar way of thinking about a certain product or service, and they always ask the same questions; ‘Is the product worth my money?’ or ‘Should I promote this brand to my friends?’.
This unofficial PR team helps to secure an expanded engagement between the brand and the market.
4. Business Growth
A powerful brand reputation represents the overall perceptions of product/service users.
With this being said, the management of the organizations would observe this feedback. From this feedback, companies will be able to plan and navigate their next plans for growth.
This growth could be venturing into new markets in new territories, as well as exploring new possibilities for a new product line for both domestic and international consumers.
5. An Edge on Competitors
Brand reputation holds a significant impact on the organization’s growth.
Frequent mentions of the products or services in the Internet signal the presence of the brand, and thus attracts circles of new supporters.
Unique differences provide a competitively advantageous state between the brand and other competitors.
Great impressions of the brand make it the deciding factor for the customers to choose them over other organizations.
6. Free Advertising
Customers are best known as the brand ambassador that deliver their honest views and experience on any products or services that they have chosen.
Working for free, these customers provide meaningful insight into the brand and slowly build the reputation needed.
Reputation building is done both online and offline as the existence of online discussions and social networks encourage customers to share their opinions with one another.
The importance of the views from the users is essential as it also portrays the nature of the brand to the outsiders or potential customers.
With this being said, brand reputation is as important as the quality of the product and service itself.
As we can see having a great brand reputation is definitely important to gain a variety of benefits. Now let’s go over some tips on how to your brand reputation.
Tips On How To Maintain Your Brand Reputation in Your Business
Create Quality Content Marketing
The advanced technology nowadays has proven to be helpful in many ways, particularly in the challenging business environment.
Content marketing has been providing significant and useful content that enables necessary information about a brand to be delivered to potential customers.
Such platforms like blogs, eBooks and infographics are produced with one sole objective; to inform the people about the brand while influencing their decision-making process in their buying habits.
In the sense of creating content and details that allow the customers to engage with and drive them to share the information.
Again, brand reputation is built from customers’ perceptions and this is an effective way of spreading the positive vibe of the products or services.
Ensure Customers are Satisfied
Brand reputation is nurtured from customers’ responses and experience with a product or service that they chose.
The feedback received from the customers is not solely for the company’s positive reputation but as the reference of the future marketing campaign and strategies.
Gaining the customers’ satisfaction is truly important to ensure business stability and long term revenue generator.
The word-by mouth referrals are the element that persuades other potential customers to opt for the brand and develop a positive impression towards the brand.
Provide a Good Customer Experience
While there is a huge emphasis given on customers’ opinions and personal views of a brand, these good impressions may not be achieved without a meaningful experience faced by the customers.
Brand reputation derived from positive customers’ views is one of the most important aspects of the decision-making process.
Therefore, the organizations must identify and filter the necessary details online that highlighted their brand and resolve the issues related.
By contacting the customers personally, the feeling of being appreciated gives a major boost for the brand in capturing their customers’ hearts and pockets.
At the same time, sending out surveys to identified customers with issues on the products or services is an effective way to win their hearts.
This sends a message to them that their voice is acknowledged and in serious consideration for further actions.
Give 5-Star Customer Support
Implementing effective conflict management strategies is necessary as this also leads to a positive brand reputation.
The quick response towards negative views is a must as this helps to avoid redundant conflicts that happen simultaneously.
By setting a proper and well-managed guideline, the customer support department could engage with as many issues at one time successfully.
Management aid software is a frequent solution as a help desk automation system that streamlines any issues or complaints received.
Besides the automated help desk, multiple platforms should be offered for the customers’ convenience. Such channels like phone, live chat, emails or social media allow the customers to choose their preferred method in conversing their issues related to the respective brand.
Use Social Media as A Listening Tools
As soon as the brand advertised to the public, the respective organizations should brace themselves with the incoming responses; both positive and negative.
As this happens, preventive measures should be well-planned in order to mitigate any issue rise instantly.
Negative sentiments are as dangerous as they can quickly spread like wildfire as it can cause huge damage to the brand.
Utilizing social media and assigning an efficient support team to manage the platform is imperative in maintaining a friendly and humble response towards the customers’ complaints.
Make sure the customer circles stay positive and deliver impressive voices and experience online as this is another indirect way to cultivate a positive brand reputation.
As they are the reflection of the brand, this also attracts more influencers to comment and the community to learn more about the brand.
Summary
No one is perfect, as no brand would receive 100% positive reviews from the people and the market.
With this being said, it is not a crime to encourage the public to think that you are moving towards that 100% at full speed.
Brand reputation allows the community to observe the customers’ opinions on the brand thus it is critical to preserve the positive impression at all.
Strong emphasis should be focusing on the customers’ positive experience, any online discussions that mention the brand, or any negativity trend that surround the brand.
Using the online platforms is indeed an advantageous addition as it provides an on-going resource to identify more strategies in gaining more support from the people.
It is essential to note that making customers happy can build a really impressive reputation of a brand hence promote growth.