There’s a lot of chatter on talk shows and social media about reputation – mostly when something goes wrong. Most recently, the focus is on Patriots Coach Bill Belichick since news broke of deflated footballs in the AFC title game. This isn’t the first time for Belichick, and he can’t exactly draw from a reservoir of goodwill among fans of other teams.
Before those inevitable challenges occur in your organization, we recommend taking steps to build a solid reputation so that your employees, customers – and maybe even the public – will give you the benefit of the doubt when bad news breaks.
A company’s reputation is one of its greatest assets. Even though it may not show up on your balance sheet, you’ll definitely notice a shift in the bottom line if something happens to seriously damage your reputation – and the shift will not be in the right direction.
Your reputation is a reflection what other people say about you. Their perceptions can be greatly influenced by the small things – how people answer the phones at your call center, how visitors are greeted when they walk in the door, how clean your facilities are and what people say about you on Facebook, Twitter and Yelp.
In the simplest terms, a good reputation is built by doing the right thing. The “building blocks” of that foundation include:
- A commitment to quality – quality products, quality service, quality people.
- A commitment to innovation. Customers are inclined to trust companies that consistently introduce new products and adapt to the changing marketplace.
- A commitment to safety – making sure your employees have the proper training and the proper equipment to do their jobs safely, and making sure your facilities are safe for visitors.
- A commitment to sustainable practices – not just respecting the environment, although that’s important, but also choosing long-term viability over short-term profits.
- A commitment to your community. It’s important to take your neighbors’ concerns seriously because, ultimately, companies operate with the consent of their communities.
- A commitment to transparency within your organization so that, if employees see something wrong, they will speak up.
Good marketing and public relations are designed to build positive impressions and, by reaching enough people with strong marketing messages, you’ve taken the first step. But, because people make decisions based on trust, marketing and public relations aren’t enough if you don’t do the other things. Whether customers and visitors have a good experience will determine whether they return and recommend your company to family and friends, or whether they post negative comments online.
You can build up a reservoir of goodwill by doing the right thing, and that goodwill can be invaluable if something bad does happen.
