When it comes to sales, your brand and what people think about your business is key. People buy from companies they like and trust. It is why a poorly managed crisis can easily hit turnover and see a business quickly struggling to recover. Managing brand reputation and building a business that people can relate to takes careful planning and consideration. Mixed messaging and poorly thought-out communication can be just as damaging as saying nothing at all.
We look at what companies can do to make sure that they protect their brand reputation and keep their products and services at the top of consumers’ agendas.
Control the narrative
Consumers are naturally nosey they want to know what other people think about your products, whether you are growing, succeeding, how you compare to other brands. It is important that you are in control of how that story is told and you explain it in a way that you want people to hear.
Most consumers search online for a business or do some research before making a purchase. If they can’t find anything about your business in Google searches, reviews or news, they will make their own assumptions. If you don’t tell people why your management has changed or how your product works, people will come up with their own opinions and may rely on information that isn’t 100% accurate.
It is always important to manage your narrative and explain the key parts you want consumers to understand so that misinformation doesn’t spread and you don’t rely on someone else explaining things for you. Be consistent and clear and that narrative will build and project a clear brand and message for your product or service making it easier for people to understand why they need it and want to buy.
Don’t firefight be proactive
If you are only ever using PR when something goes wrong, then you aren’t maximising your business’ potential. Don’t just tell your story when journalists call because they are writing a story about your business, make sure you are actively building relationships with key publications. Talk about your successes, show the company is growing and innovative, share your good news. For a business to be successful they need to stand out from competitors. A big part of that is having a larger share of voice in their sector. Build relationships with key journalists in your sector so that when there is a key development in your industry you are the go-to brand to talk to. You want them to turn to you as the leading expert in that field. You may not be the biggest company in your field but if journalists automatically think of you because you have built up a relationship with them then your brand is automatically seen as the most trusted and your brand will be at the forefront of consumers’ minds.
Stay true to your brand
Honesty is key when building a brand. Make sure that your values and ethos are aligned with how your business actually operates. There is no point shouting about how being environmentally friendly is important to you and top of your agenda because you think that is the latest trend. You need to believe and build that ethos into everything you do. Otherwise, all you are doing is building mistrust and mixed messages. Be clear on who you are and what you do. You do not have to appeal to everyone just your target market. When your brand perfectly aligns with its messaging it makes it so much easier for consumers to understand what they are buying in to.
Keep consistent
With marketing and PR the key is always being consistent. If you continually have fits and spurts in activity, then it can give people the impression you aren’t reliable. If when someone Googles your brand you have lots of activity come up from two/three years ago shouting about your successes and sharing new lines but nothing new it can give the impression the business is struggling. Equally, if you can’t find any information at all it makes it seem that you can’t be trusted and aren’t popular. It is important to create a consistent buzz around a brand so that people know who you are and that you are still relevant in the sector.
Don’t be afraid to admit mistakes
When errors occur owning that mistake and being open about how you have learnt and moved on is important in building trust. Some businesses feel that admitting mistakes when they happen is a failure and protecting their brand is about pretending it never happened.
Lying or ignoring a crisis to ‘protect’ an image is one of the worst things you can do. Nobody likes to be lied to, and it is always better to be honest and clear about how you are moving on than it is to hide your head in the sand and hope the problem will go away.
Managing messaging around mistakes isn’t simple though and it is important to carefully plan before responding so always take advice to make sure your ‘apology’ doesn’t make things worse rather than better. At the end of the day we are all human so brands can be forgiven for making mistakes but what they do when it happens will ultimately define what happens going forward.
When you are building a brand don’t underestimate the power of messaging. Creating and maintaining a positive reputation is one of the most important things you can do. This means being consistent and clear in what you are saying as well as knowing how tone, voice and values can all affect consumers’ perception. If you want to know more why not get in touch and I would be happy to help you get your reputation on track.
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