Business reputation – what do people say about your business when you are not in the room?

“A brand is what a business does, reputation is what people remember” – Ted Rubin

Did you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall in a room filled with your customers or business partners? Sometimes you want to know what they say about you, maybe you need confirmation that you are doing the right thing, maybe sometimes you feel insecure. The good news is that when you build your reputation right you don’t need anyone’s confirmation. You just know you are doing well. A good reputation will also protect you from competitor’s attacks; your good reputation will transform your customers in allies in this case.

            Of course reputation is not transferable, you have to work on building it and when you have a good reputation you have to work even harder to keep it. Reputation represents the perception of differences and value between you and your peers and or competitors by customers or business partners. Reputation is the emotional connection stakeholders have with a company. You can only follow some ways that can help you build a good reputation but the perception is strictly linked to people mindsets. Don’t confuse reputation for advertising; there is no case of a good “bad reputation”.

            Let’s take a look at some ways of establishing a good reputation:

   Build trust. You need to establish a relationship based on trust with your partners. They need to be sure that every time they do business with you or enter your shop they will receive the same quality and that you will never go back on your promise. If they trust you, your customers will recommend you to others as well as becoming loyal.

Manage complaints. Don’t find an excuse, don’t blame the customer. It doesn’t really matter what is the reality, your mission has to be finding a solution and not looking for someone to blame. You can turn an angry customer into an ally if you are able to solve his complaint and make that quick. The statistics are very clear, more than 80% of customers that had their complaints solved continue to be your clients.

Be there for your customers. Don’t delay answering to requests coming from customers or partners. If you answer quickly you make them feel important and you show them that you are always present and working for their best interests. This gives strength to your partnership and they know you are reliable.

Add value. You have a satisfied customer when you deliver what he was expecting; you have a happy customer when you exceed his expectations. Special offers for loyal customers, small gifts on their anniversaries, remembering they like their stakes medium rare and so on. Most of the time is about the details, so pay attention.

CSR (corporate social responsibility) – getting involved in the community started to be more and more important. Saving the environment, helping the elders or establishing some study grants make you an active member of the community. You give some back to the people that helped you build a business. You care about them and you are not just another greedy business man.

Communicate fair and correct. Don’t have a hidden agenda in your messages; don’t use fine print and false statements. Communicate fair and to the point, everyone will appreciate that even if some will not become your customers. And remember to check your grammar.

Get certification. You should take every opportunity you can to get certified in your field of activity. You will look like a professional, an expert in your field. Use these certifications on the website, business cards and even your advertising. You worked for it so you can use it.

No matter how many things you will do, please remember that you can’t please everyone. Reputation is based mostly on people’s subjective perception. You can build on general agreed factors but you can’t control all. You just have to do your best.

Warren Buffet said: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” In the information age we’re living, and with the speed everything becomes public through social media the five minutes mister Buffet was talking just became five seconds. Yu have to be more careful than ever in these times to your actions and statements.