Being in charge of your own business means you’ve got to handle many different tasks to keep things running like a well-oiled machine. While it’s easy to get caught up in the small daily activities that come with being a business owner, you’ve also got to consider the long-term impact of everything you and your company do. Most of all, you have to make your business’ reputation a priority. You can do this by following these 10 tips to help ensure your company’s online reputation remains strong.
1. Have a Mission Statement
A strong company gets its direction from your original business plan and mission statement. A mission statement is a few sentences describing what your company’s values and goals are. Companies that have a sense of values are more likely to have a stronger idea of purpose and make the right decisions that don’t result in angry customers. If you don’t have a mission statement, you can create one, or you can change an older version of your mission statement if you need to.
2. Keep Your Promises
If you want your reputation to stay strong, it’s also vital to keep your promises. You’ll be less likely to let others down if you mean what you say and stick by your word, no matter what happens. Business leaders and companies that don’t stand by what they say get called out on it, and their reputation loses big-time.
3. Do Business With Integrity
Your business’ integrity is also important to keeping your reputation positive. This means your company should do business honestly. If you sell a product or service, be sure to keep your marketing language from exaggerating the benefits or features. Otherwise, your reputation could suffer.
4. Hire Good People
Another big part of a company’s reputation is the reputation of the people who work for you. While the owner or the leadership of a company ultimately controls the decisions and direction of a business, sometimes it only takes one rogue employee to ruin your valuable reputation. It’s essential to work to hire people who share your company’s values and to train employees properly.
5. Follow Federal and Local Regulations
Your company’s reputation may also be impacted by a lack of oversight with federal or local regulations or laws. Even if your company never intended to do anything wrong, if you miss something important, such as filing paperwork by a specific deadline, your company could get fined or punished in some way. Sometimes, this information is made public, and that could weaken your organization’s reputation.
6. Make Sure Your Finances Are Correct
Money is another topic that is a huge deal when it comes to a company’s reputation. As a company leader, it’s your job to make sure everything in your books is accurate and true. Be sure to pay bills on time, and keep up with your tax filings to keep your organization from seeming like a deadbeat.
7. Defend Yourself When Needed
You also need to know what to do when a person or a group of people are taking steps to damage your company’s reputation. If you start seeing the signs of your business’ reputation suffering, it’s time to take action quickly. Consult a company such as Reputation Defender, and look to ReputationDefender’s Facebook to see how you can fight back.
8. Apologize When Appropriate
Another thing to realize is that everyone makes mistakes at times, even the leader of the company. If something does go wrong with your organization, and people are negatively impacted, you need to do some damage control. The best place to start is with a meaningful apology.
9. Connect With Customers
Keeping your reputation where you want it to be also requires steady communication with your base of customers. That’s why it’s important to keep a strong connection with your customers and to open the lines of communication. The more transparent and open your organization seems to be, the easier it will be to manage your company’s reputation. With today’s prevalence of social media, it’s more convenient than ever to stay connected to your customers.
10. Highlight Your Accomplishments
Finally, don’t be afraid to show off every once in a while to help maintain your positive reputation. If you have consistent strong reviews from customers, highlight them on your website. If your company is doing something positive for the community, talk about it through your social media accounts. When you are recognized for something noteworthy, tell the world about it. When you are more visible about your achievements, people tend to start trusting your company’s name more.
A company’s assets are usually measured in physical things, such as cash, real estate, equipment, and stock. One asset that isn’t a concrete thing is your organization’s reputation. Having a positive reputation is one of the best ways you can keep your success going, so be sure to follow these tips to keep it up.
