What brand reputation means and some ideas and strategies to improve it
- What brand reputation means
- How to do brand reputation: the indispensable elements
- Brand reputation in a nutshell
Until not so long ago, the most valuable asset for a business organization was its production equipment. Based on this outdated concept, many companies continue to overlook the impact that intangible assets, such as brand reputation, can have on the perceived value of potential customers.
This concept was amply demonstrated by a study by Thomson Reuters and Interbrand, also highlighted by Forbes:
Three decades ago, about 95 percent of the average value of a company was tangible assets, but today 75 percent of the value is intangible.
Statistics of this kind make it clear to us how, to date, the most valuable asset for any successful business is its name, identity and reputation among customers.
What brand reputation means
Brand reputation is how people perceive your business. The three main factors that constitute it are:
- positive comments,
- negative comments,
- Mixed reviews.
In one of our previous articles, we already told you how to get positive reviews through conversational applications, and more.
Positive customer feedback is the most powerful tool in the world for building good brand perception and thus attracting new potential customers who have not yet made purchases from your company, lowering the cost of acquisition and optimizing the return on investment.
On the contrary, negative and mixed reviews, i.e., not too satisfied, can be very harmful to brand reputation, especially if ignored by the company.
It is obvious that, even in the corporate field, reputation is built over time. A single negative review is not going to destroy your brand, but it is still always best to avoid all the pitfalls that such a risk might bring.
But if we want to understand how to increase brand reputation , we should not only focus on customer feedback. Of course, this is an important part of improving the perception of potential leads, but good reviews are not enough.
To offer a good brand image, regardless of the product or service sold, you need to work on several fronts. Let’s look at them below.
How to do brand reputation: the indispensable elements
Conversational applications such as those developed by Conversational Design can lead to, among other things, an exponential increase in positive reviews on Facebook, Google or other platforms used at the enterprise level, putting one away from negative feedback.
But, as you can well imagine, all this is not enough to improve brand reputation.
Create a good product and be honest
This sounds like obvious advice, but it is not. The world is full of young, dynamic companies that offer products or services that are all the same, or worse, do not meet the promised requirements.
Before investing even a penny on marketing and corporate branding think carefully about what you are offering your customers. Analyze your value proposition and make sure your product/service is ready to go to market.
Also, to retain your consumers and attract new ones, you have to be honest.
For example, if you go on your Web site to indicate that shipment of a particular product will take place within 5 business days of ordering, those timelines must be met.
As shown in the screenshot above, taken from an actual review, failure to be honest results in negative feedback that, when added together, will erode brand perception and drive away potential customers.
What does this mean?
That coming up with a great product or service is critical, as is being honest with your potential customers, not making up unrealistic delivery times or whatever just to close the sale.
Avoid using overly technical jargon
Opening a business, in principle, means knowing well the industry in which it operates. It is not uncommon to see Web sites, social media channels, newsletters and digital content written in overly technical and businesslike language, resulting in completely incomprehensible texts that discourage potential users of the proposed product/service.
For example, today even SMEs are opening up to the world of CRM and ERP. If your company offers these kinds of platforms, it is good to explain what they are about, to go after that target segment that does not chew tech terminologies.
With easy-to-understand language you will be able to communicate effectively with your users, thus improving your brand reputation.
Invest in your social media channels
Okay, here we go. You have created foolproof product/service, your target audience understands you… Now what?
An integral part of brand reputation is social media. Being present where your audience spends much of their free time is important to ensure that your company does not go unnoticed and to create awareness, thus developing what is known as brand awareness.
But what does it mean to have a social media presence?
The first rule for any company is to preside over only those channels on which its target audience is present . Taking as an example the company we mentioned in the previous paragraph, which specializes in products such as CRM or ERP, having a presence on TikTok, Pinterest or Twitch would be absolutely useless. An investment that would not lead to any return in terms of profits. Different discussion for LinkedIn and Facebook, where it certainly becomes possible to intercept new potential leads.
Having identified the right channels for building relationships with one’s audience, it then becomes necessary to develop a strategy and, based on this, to identify an editorial schedule consistent with business goals.
Today most users, before approaching a company, also check the way social media is curated. If there are no social business profiles, or if there are and they are not taken care of, the potential customer will notice, and the risk is that brand perception will diminish in favor of another competitor.
Develop good customer care
It is very important for a successful business to invest in customer care that provides customers, or potential customers, with real-time service. You can embed live chat on your Web site or, a choice more popular with users, provide24/7 WhatsApp support by leveraging the power of WhatsApp Business API and conversational applications.
By doing so you can fully automate conversations, responding to your potential customers even at odd hours, giving them atotally positive experience. This will increase your brand reputation, enabling you to become the company of choice for your specific industry.
Brand reputation in a nutshell
To recap:
- Brand reputation is the perception users have of your brand,
- There are several factors that contribute to building a positive brand reputation, including certainly user feedback,
- Knowing how to communicate with your users by harnessing the power of digital marketing tools and 24/7 customer care will help you deliver apositive experience to your customers and prospects.
