How is Your Company Developing Strong Reputation Management?

Maintaining a solid company reputation is critical, not just for success and growth, but for survival. After all, potential customers and job seekers consider brand reputation when deciding whether to join your organization or to do business with it.

So how can you ensure your company’s brand is strong and reputable? Here are 14 ideas for you to consider: 

1. Employ public relations: A strong PR campaign can mend a damaged reputation or thrust a little-known brand into the limelight. Start by speaking with an industry professional.

2. Utilize search engine optimization: SEO reputation management gets more eyes on your company, which builds authority and improves public perception. SEO reduces the negative information about a company from search engine results and replaces it with positive content. 

3. Get active on social media: Establish your company as a source of information regarding your organization. Showcase and expand your brand reach.

4. Develop a content marketing strategy: A well-planned content marketing strategy will transform your company into a credible authority on relevant industry topics. Building audience trust has a significant impact on your company’s brand reputation. 

5. Improve customer satisfaction: Satisfied customers are one of your greatest assets or your biggest threat. One-to-one interactions, product quality, value, and support impact customer satisfaction. Develop a reputation management strategy around improving customer satisfaction, and your customers will do the rest of the work for you.

6. Deliver a good customer experience: Make every step of the customer experience a good one. In an ultra-competitive market, customer service excellence is an important differentiator for company reputation. 

7. Provide excellent customer support: Customer support is needed most often when a customer is experiencing an issue with your product or service. It’s a vulnerable point in the customer relationship that can harm company reputation if not handled well.

8. Personalize customer reactions: Customers feel valued when you recognize them as individuals. Develop a strong rapport to make loyal customers. It’s essential to respond promptly and professionally to all customer reviews, including negative ones.

9. Build a crisis response plan: Crisis communications help companies respond to unforeseen issues promptly and professionally. Identify responsibilities ahead of time. Building a crisis plan helps maintain consistent messaging, even during periods of chaos. 

10. Leverage competitor data: Watch for issues at other organizations, and take notes. That way your teams can focus on creating a competitive edge, instead of repeating competitors’ mistakes. 

11. Nurture brand advocates: Satisfied customers, engaged employees and loyal partners are among your company’s biggest brand advocates. Use social listening tools to get notified when your organization is mentioned in a positive light, and then take the time to respond. Engage with your brand champions.

12. Feature customer testimonials and success stories: Encourage praise from satisfied customers. Potential customers will take their word far more seriously than they take yours. Encourage positive feedback in the form of good reviews, written testimonials, or positive social media posts. Offer rewards and perks for those who provide the feedback you want.

13. Improve employee satisfaction and engagement: Prioritize employee recognition, develop a people-first culture, and encourage feedback through employee surveys. With virtual work environments on the rise, take time to implement remote employee engagement strategies that ensure your dispersed workforce remains committed to your company. 

14. Earn recognition as an employer of choice: Third-party awards showcase the qualities of a great workplace with a seal of approval.  

Revisit your company reputation management plan often. Note what is working well. Track key performance indicators: customer loyalty, customer feedback, employee engagement, online reviews, sales performance, and social media reach.

Bob Helbig is media partnerships director at Energage, a Philadelphia-based employee survey firm. Energage is The Washington Post’s survey partner for Top Workplaces.