Brand Reputation is the perception of the brand and how the particular brand of the company is viewed by the customers, stakeholders, and the market as a whole. It is the culmination of ideas and emotions that a customer associated with the brand with the customer service experienced during the purchase of goods and services, whilst using them, and after-sales services provided by the company.
Examples of bad hits to Brand Reputation
Below we discuss the examples of how one wrong move on the social media affected the Brand Reputation of the firm
1. KFC
Recently, a video had gone viral on the internet of the KFC employees enjoying a bubble bath in the kitchen area at one of their outlets and this had resulted in the instant lash out by the general public and its customers thereby affecting the reputation of their brand in the market.
2. H&M
The retail giant was quite recently accused of racism because of one of the advertisement creative showcasing a black child model wearing a hoodie that read ‘coolest monkey in the jungle’ and was posted on their website. The images garnered widespread criticism with their Brand Ambassador The Weeknd who is the famous Canadian singer broke his ties with the fashion brand. Also, the protestors created the ruckus in the brand’s stores located in South Africa. To combat the same and as a corrective measure, the management had to release an apology statement.
Thus, both examples are of top brands where incidences happened and where the brand should have kept their brand reputation in mind before taking the decisions. To build brand reputation, you need to understand your consumer psyche very well.
7 Ways to build Brand Reputation
1. Be Proactive
With reference to the above-mentioned examples, the management and the brand managers need to be very proactive in their approach especially on the online and digital front in case of any slip up or error during any marketing and promotional activities and should be quick and upbeat enough to resolve the issue then and there rather than waiting for the abrupt reaction from the general public and target audience.
2. Be Specific
The customer nowadays is much more intelligent and aware and has lot many alternative options available due to social media and digital marketing initiatives. Hence, the brand needs to be more specific with the aspects such as delivery time and after sale services to avoid any oblivion. It is always suggestive to follow the rule of ‘Under promise and over deliver’.
3. Be Authoritative
If the brand has full trust and faith in its offerings and knows that they are best in the market as compared to the prevailing competition, it needs to be more authoritative and harp on its best features and benefits offered. Like if the quality of the product is the unique selling proposition, the brand needs to go full throttle and flaunt this factor in its marketing and promotional tactics to elevate the reputation of the brand in the minds of customers and within the fraternity.
4. Be Consistent
The concept and facets of Brand Reputation live even after the company has shut down its operations and there is no existence of the same. Hence, it is imperative to be consistent in the efforts of offering quality products and services, scaling up the levels of customer service and the overall experience with every offering, and continuously promote the values and fundamentals using various promotional tools.
5. Deliver Promises
To scale up the Brand Reputation, the company needs to deliver its promises to the customers as a happy and satisfied customer is the best brand ambassador the company can ever have. He does the word-of-mouth publicity that attracts more referrals resulting in higher sales and increased profits.
6. Collect Feedback
It is also important to listen and gather the customer feedback that comprises of the issues, grievances, praises, tips, and more and act upon. The customer’s feedback is very vital for the growth of the brand and its reputation.
7. Indulge in Corporate Social Responsibilities activities:
It is crucial for every brand to give back to the society by indulging in various CSR activities at regular intervals. It can be done through its business operations or by participating with various NGO’s and related organizations. Such activities create a positive impact in the minds of customers and the overall society.
The strong and positive Brand Reputation is an intangible asset for any organization leading to multiple benefits such as higher brand value, brand awareness, and customer loyalty amongst others. Various promotional tools such as PR, digital marketing, social media, blogs, content marketing, advertisements on newspapers, television, and other media platforms can be opted to promote the values and fundamentals of the company that helps in building the Brand Reputation.
