As per the article published in PRWeek – a study conducted by Weber Shandwick has identified 23 factors that affect corporate reputation; thus, suggesting the requirement of hyper-vigilance when it comes to protecting brands.
The report states that ”The top three factors for reputation are “quality of products or services,” which was rated highly by 63% of respondents, “quality of employees” (63%) and “quality of customer service” (61%).
Other factors include safety of products or services; respect for customer or employee privacy; product or service innovation; industry leadership; financial performance; value for cost or price of products or services; ethics and values; technological advancement; corporate culture; corporate purpose; quality of CEO or chair; training and support for employees; marketing and communications; quality of senior leadership other than CEO or chair; diversity and inclusion of the workplace; community relations; and governance.
At the bottom of the list of reputational drivers are environmental responsibility (51%), global presence (50%) and philanthropy or charity support (48%)”
Is brand reputation that important?
Well, people these days google about almost everything; top restaurants, best hairdressers, durable sports shoes, long-lasting lipsticks, etc. What they read about your organization and its products online helps them decide if they should do business with you. Because no customer would want to invest in products or services of a brand they can’t trust. So, your brand reputation online can literally make or break your company.
So, let’s check out some elements that affect your brand’s online reputation:
● Reviews: There are various platforms where customers can review your products and services online; be it social media platforms, Google My Business, Quora, Amazon, etc. This creates the first impression about your brand; however, negative comments can result in people losing trust in your brand. So, companies should pay attention to these reviews and rectify their faults wherever necessary.
● Your Response to Customer Reviews: When customers reach out to you with queries and feedback, interacting with them can help you build a relationship with them. When you appreciate your customers for their positive reviews and showcase that you’re trying to rectify their grievances; it can help strengthen your brand reputation and thus provide a better customer experience.
● Social Media: While social media has a shorter shelf-life than search queries, about 78% of consumers are influenced by posts on social platforms. So, it’s important for organizations to keep an eye out for posts and comments related to their brand. Certain consumers even provide recommendations about products which creates an opportunity to attract new customers.
● Wikipedia: Wikipedia not only ranks at the top for most of the search queries but also shows up on the first page of SERP about 50% of the time. While it’s not a popular place for small entities, information like personal background, awards, controversies, mergers and acquisitions exist about large companies. Sometimes many people even use this as a tool for corporate vandalism. So, companies need to keep an eye out in such cases.
Managing your brand reputation online could be a daunting task for you as a business owner – while you would rather focus on building your business. A credible online reputation management provider can be your best bet. Drop us a line to know more.
