Reputation is Everything

Warren Buffet once 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.” Let that sink in for a bit. It doesn’t matter if you have endless dollars for marketing including the best website you could possibly imagine, because if you don’t service your clients well resulting in a bad reputation, you may as well light that budgeted money on fire. A good reputation for running an honest business and taking care of customers has always been the cornerstone of businesses long before the internet. It makes perfect sense, right? Take care of your customers, treat them right and they will take care of you. Now, that fact has never changed, however, it seems as if today a business’ reputation and the importance to maintain it is amplified 1000 times due to information being at customers’ fingertips in an instant as well as client reviews about your business. How exactly does a bad reputation or even the idea that your business has a bad reputation affect your business? For starters, potential customers most likely do not want to do business with a company that has a bad reputation. Those online reviews are golden as they can make or break a business. I’m not sure about you, but I have an inkling that you do the same because if I am thinking about doing business with a company, I look at their reviews. If the first three or four reviews are negative, I don’t use the company. If on the other hand, the majority of the reviews are good, I will most likely use that company. Of course, there are some instances that no matter what you do, you will not make a customer happy and they will write a bad review. Check out our past blog about how to handle a bad review.   Social media has suddenly given everyone the ability to have a voice about everything under the sun. Which is great, everyone deserves to be heard; however, those comments will stick around for a long time and if they are negative, even longer. In short, your company’s reputation is a priceless asset and you should protect is and treat it as such. Damage to your company’s reputation can have a lasting and possibly the inability to overcome ruining your business. Here are a few ways to protect your reputation:

• Take care of customer problems as soon as possible. Addressing issues with clients lets them know you are interested in their concerns and your top priority is making them happy. Ignoring problems or delaying addressing them, will give the impression that you don’t care.

• The same can be said for employees. Keeping your employees happy will help prevent damaging your reputation. Disgruntled employees are often overlooked. Whether their claims are true or not, words on social media can have a lasting effect. To help avoid issues, make sure all employees are treated fairly and do things to boost employee satisfaction by letting them know you appreciate them. I’ve said it a million times, I will give a restaurant that served me less than great food a second chance before I will a restaurant that has bad service. Your employees are your reputation!

• Never deviate from your core values and moral compass. To help achieve this have clear workplace practices and policies. In today’s ever-growing global economy, be aware of laws and appropriate conduct when dealing with other cultures. Reputations can be ruined from ethical slips whether intentional or not.

A good reputation is the first and possibly most important step in creating a successful business. Call CyberSpyder Marketing Services today to see how we can put all these marketing pieces together for you. Our expertise coupled with your good reputation will certainly put your company ahead of the rest.