Why your business reputation is the ultimate currency

Your reputation is your most valuable intangible asset and critical to sustainable business success. Customers want to buy from companies they trust. Employees want to work an organisation aligned with their beliefs and values. Investors want to support businesses they value, writes brand reputation specialist, Ros Weadman.

It’s not surprising then that brand-savvy entrepreneurs like Gary Vaynerchuk believe reputation is the ultimate currency.

What’s your reputation worth?

When I ask this question of my clients, without exception, they say, ‘It’s priceless!’. People are generally reluctant to put a dollar figure on their reputation because its worth is invaluable when it comes to building a successful career or business.

As currency, your reputation embodies your individual/organisational character, capability and credibility, providing the foundation of trust for value exchange – with employees/employers, customers, investors and other stakeholders.

And while reputation is intangible, it has demonstrable tangible return on investment. For instance, research shows that organisations with a strong and positive reputation:

• Attract, recruit and retain the best talent.
• Are perceived as providing more value so can charge higher prices.
• Have greater customer loyalty.
• Have greater influence when it comes to advocacy and negotiating.
• Are more likely to receive the benefit of the doubt from stakeholders in times of crisis.

On the flip side, having a poor reputation also has tangible costs, such as reduced employee productivity and morale, higher employee turnover, lost sales, to name a few.

Although your reputation is not in your direct control because it’s a perception that resides in the minds of others, you can ensure that the image you project, the words you convey and the customer experience you deliver in the name of your brand, are done with the aim of positively influencing your reputation.

Five tips to build your brand or personal reputation

Here’s my five-point plan to propel more personal and/or business success though the power of a strong positive reputation.

1. Deliver extraordinary product/service quality

Rolex has been ranked the most reputable company in the world five times in the last decade, including this year in the Global RepTrak® 100 ranking. RepTrak™, the world’s leading reputation data and insights company, measures the key drivers of reputation, including products and services, performance, innovation, leadership, conduct, workplace and citizenship. According to RepTrak™, the strength of Rolex’s reputation lies in the quality of its products.

2. Align your brand with a higher purpose

While product/service perception remains a top driver of reputation, companies that align their brand to a higher purpose do better in the reputational stakes.

A global survey by Harvard Business Review and EY Beacon Institute found that those companies that clearly identified their purpose as providing societal benefit reported that their customers were more loyal and their employees more engaged. Rolex has also highlighted its corporate citizenship as contributing to its reputational leadership: “Our aim is to constantly improve not only our products but also our environmental and social performance, as well as our impact on society”.

3. Humanise your brand

Cut through the message white noise by applying a relatability lens to your communications. For example, by ensuring your marketing collateral is accessibly-written, with a simple message that’s relevant to people’s lives today.

In a world where people are craving connection and belonging, caring can also set a brand apart from another. There’s endless ways leaders and organisations can show they care. For example, by cultivating a caring culture, showing staff and customers empathy, acknowledging contribution and celebrating achievements.

4. Prioritise communication

While most people would consider that communication is fundamental to everyday business, it’s amazing how many businesses and organisations don’t prioritise it as part of the customer experience process.

Did you know you are communicating even when you’re not? Every phone call you don’t return, every email you don’t respond to, every update you don’t give is sending a reputation-defining message.

Similarly, many organisations don’t prioritise internal communication. One of the most powerful trust-building things an employer can do is to be a trusted source of information for their employees. Communicate openly, truthfully and regularly, and welcome two-way dialogue.

5. Empower your people to be brand ambassadors

Virgin Group founder Richard Branson is well-known for prioritising staff over customers, empowering them to be walking, talking brand ambassadors that build company reputation.

It just makes sense that if people wake every day and feel motivated to go to a workplace where they know they are valued and feel connected to a shared vision and values, they are going to give a great customer experience. And a great customer experience, again and again, builds a great reputation.

The more effort you put into developing a great culture, the more reputation takes care of itself.

With people increasingly making their purchase and employment decisions in line with their beliefs and values, there’s no better time for businesses to prioritise their people and play a stronger societal leadership role. This, in turn, will drive a stronger positive brand reputation.

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