Your company reputation flows into every aspect of your business. It influences the way people view your business, read your emails, interpret your social media, and more. On a deeper scale, it can help or hurt your ROI and growth potential. Reputation is essential for your business, and it’s important to control what you can to strengthen it. No matter what industry you’re in, there are steps that you can take to improve your company’s reputation.
Define Your Brand
In the field service industry, most businesses are on the smaller side; therefore, you’re focused on delivering great products and services. While doing so, it can be easy to forget about the intangible aspects of your business. However, if you want to improve your company’s reputation, you have to start from the basics.
Assess and analyze your brand. What makes your brand unique? What problems does it solve? Understanding the concerns of your target audience can help determine these answers.
Once you understand what you offer and what sets your brand apart, you can then present your purpose to others.
Companies often have a poor reputation because they’re not clear on their brand and offerings. Customers want to see that your brand, purpose, and goals are all aligned.
Provide a Positive Customer Experience
Providing products and services that your customers need is only the minimum. How you deliver those products and services is what matters. Your product or service could be everything that your customers need and want, but you’ll fail to create an impact if you deliver it in an impersonal and ineffective way. Having a plan and putting thought and effort into your customer experience can improve your company’s reputation more than providing a great product.
Nurture Your Relationships
Your relationships with your customers play a significant part in boosting company reputation. People will assess your company based on how you treat and conduct relationships with everyone — customers, community, other businesses, competitors, etc. Managing your reputation is a continuous effort. It’s not just about what you do during hours, but also about what you do after hours — helping and serving those around you at all times.
Go the Extra Mile
If you want to improve your company’s reputation, you can’t settle to be mediocre. A notable experience that resonates with your customers gives them something to share with others.
Boost your company reputation by going the extra mile. Learn who your customers are, learn their names, and check in with them after you’ve provided them with a great product or service. Make an effort to always go a step further and leave your customers with something to remember.
Ask and Respond to Feedback
Feedback and reviews are a crucial component of selling your product and ushering in new customers. According to Qualtrics, customers are willing to spend 31% more on a business with excellent reviews. Also, 93% of consumers say that online reviews influenced their decisions. In simple terms, online reviews can make or break your business.
So, how does this relate to a company’s reputation? Well, negative reviews reflect poorly on your company. To have a good reputation, you must build consumer trust and loyalty.
How do you do this? You do it by encouraging feedback after every product is sold or after a service has been completed. Welcome criticism because it shows that you genuinely care about improving your product or service. No matter how well you’re doing, there will always be someone dissatisfied. Those bad reviews will allow you to redeem yourself. Don’t only respond to the good reviews, but respond to the bad ones as well. Don’t leave your dissatisfied customers in the shadows.
Make sure to apologize to your unhappy customers and find ways to fix the issues they have. It’s best to respond to them privately, either through email or phone calls. When you respond personally, it shows that you are ready to own up to your mistakes, and your customer might even update their original review or leave a new one. Regardless of this, always make sure that you listen to your happy and unhappy customers and find ways to alleviate their concerns.
Make Sure Your Website is Modern
Your current customers and prospective customers are going to want to know more about you. Building a website is a part of a company’s reputation, and it’s a part that you can directly control. Make sure your website is well-designed, seamless, modern, and optimized for mobile. Your website is the first stop for many of your customers, and it will tell people about who you are, what you offer, and how people can get in touch with you.
Update Your Blog Regularly
Not only can blogging help convert your blog readers into customers, but it can also help improve your company’s reputation. Frequent blogging helps demonstrate thought leadership and expertise in your field. It allows you to share your insights and knowledge about important matters related to your industry. In addition, blogging educates current and prospective customers on topics they may not be knowledgeable about. As a result, it helps improve your company’s reputation and reflects well to customers, competitors, the community, and other businesses.
Don’t Neglect Your Social Media
In this day and age, social media is a part of every business. Having a social media account isn’t enough — you need to be active and engaging. Stay current on your industry to garner organic engagement. Whenever you can, be sure to interact with your followers. Share relevant and interesting content, showcase your company culture, and control your messaging to fit your brand. By doing so, you will increase your online presence and improve your company’s reputation. Also, it will establish you as a leader within your field or industry.
Conclusion
As you now know, many parts can improve your company’s reputation. It’s never too soon or too late to start the process. These steps and tips will help build and boost your company’s reputation and establish your business as a reputable and trustworthy company within your industry.
