Brand reputation represents who you are in customers’ eyes.  Though it is intangible, it is one of your most valuable assets.
This essentially means that if you do not guard your brand image and reputation jealously, your influence, advantage, and social proof in the marketplace will be affected negatively.Â
Also, as you develop your social media presence, keep in mind that social media is not without its downsides. For example, if you are not cautious, phishing hacks can damage your reputation within seconds, and this can take you months or even years to recover from.Â
Because brand reputation determines whether a person will do business with you or not, it is important that you protect and monitor it, particularly online. This is essentially the process of tracking and checking how customers perceive your brand and then take the necessary action to improve your image.
Currently, reputation protection is mainly about online reviews on Google and social media. While it may seem like an overwhelming endeavor, there are strategies you can implement to ensure you are protecting your brand.Â
These transformative tips will help you not only help protect your reputation but also enhance it in 2021 and beyond.
Apologize regularly and genuinely in an upheaval
Blunders and mistakes happen in business. It is normal. You can fail to deliver on time, deliver a damaged product or send a wrong tweet.
Do not allow a single mishap to taint your image and client experience. Instead, admit the mistake as soon as you notice it, apologize and promise to resolve the issue immediately.Â
You might be surprised at how understanding your target audience is. So, ensure you do everything possible to handle the problem, please customers, and earn their loyalty. Then, your brand’s story advocacy will just come naturally.
Build your foundation on ethics and sincerity
Clients nowadays only invest in brands that they trust. Therefore, the ethical practices you standby will play a critical role in your marketing efforts and provide a set standard your employees and workers will adhere to.
Also, keep in mind that you have a responsibility to your trading partners, customers and employees. So, ensure you maintain a good reputation by consistently adhering to your legal and moral obligations. For instance, OSH (Occupational, safety, and health) should be a priority.Â
Similarly, take aspects such as your employee’s data very seriously. A data breach can give cyber criminals access to both their data and your business. The Billington Cybersecurity Summit has more on this.
Actually, Cybersecurity is every entity’s responsibility, particularly businesses. As such, guard your sensitive information jealously through cloud solutions, data encryption, and firewalls.
Keep your promises
If you want to be perceived as a reliable and trusted business in the industry, keep all your promises.Â
For instance, if you promise free shipping, do that. If you guarantee the best value price, don’t let competitors change your mind. If you do the opposite, customers will regard you as unreliable and will do business will another brand.
Enter awards
Winning awards increase credibility for your brand. They provide a reliable third-party endorsement for your firm. Depending on how important the award is, it could give a stamp of authority to your brand.Â
Vendor partners and customers will feel safer and better about doing business with you. And as you win, don’t forget the people behind the success; your employees. Â Award or reward them too.
This plays a critical role in a brand’s culture and has various benefits. For instance, showing your employees, you appreciate their hard work can enhance productivity, inspire teamwork and help you attract more talented staff to your team. The rewards can be in the form of  canvas prints https://www.photowall.com/ca-en/wall-murals/children money, salary increase, or even promotions.
Support the community
Be on the lookout for your community. Try to give something back to society locally and support important causes. Â This will positively affect brand reputation and will allow customers to trust your company further.Â
Human beings like seeing brands that help worthy causes and helps personalize your firm. Â And as you do that, promote your work on social media, newspapers, tv stations, and your website.Â
Do not take negative reviews personally.
It is not possible to please everybody. Every business will certainly get a complaint or a bad review at some point or another. So do not take this personal, and do not respond rudely. Just reply in a professional, respectful, polite, and fair way. This will help you to avoid turning an already bad scenario into a worse one or a crisis.
The Bottom Line
Chances are, you are not running all the campaigns or marketing tactics you planned for 2021. However, most brands are struggling to cope with the new reality that the Covid 19 pandemic brought.Â
Use these tips to build a reliable, trustworthy, and approachable business that clients can trust in 2021 and beyond. Make sure you run a business that both you and your customers or suppliers are proud of. Good luck!
