Image courtesy of Photos.comMany big companies are big today because of their names. In other words, they can sell whatever they want because people not only know about them, but also know them; they trust them and, hence, want to be identified with them.
There are many ways to do that and you should use all channels you have available to you to build your company’s reputation. You may use print media, online content and all other types of media publicity to disseminate information about your company and promote an image that people can trust and love. The aim of PR should be to make people see how passionate your company is about its goals.
Most businesses die within two to five years of starting, and not always from lack of finance: They most often die because they could not succeed in convincing their prospective customers to take a chance on them. They could not make people want to know more about their companies; they could not convince them that theirs was a better product than most, if not the best.
So how do you build a good reputation for your company? How do you build a brand? Here are five simple yet very powerful steps you can take for excellent results:
1. Get Online Quickly – You should actually plan for your presence online even before you launch your business. If you haven’t yet, do so immediately. Register yourself on all possible social media networks and have a dedicated team in place to update statuses about your company, events and products regularly and consistently.
2. Build on the Power of Word-of-Mouth Marketing – Have your happy and satisfied customers recommend you to others, but don’t ask for recommendations; that may come across as needy and it may spook them. Offer discounts and deals for happy customers and for the friends they introduce to your company. This is a win-win situation for all.
3. Have Super-Quick and Efficient Customer Service In Place – All disputes should be resolved within 24 hours. Be generous when a client is aggrieved, for this type of happy customer will bring in innumerable leads for future business. With every delighted customer, you are building a viral marketing campaign – at no cost to your company.
4. Project Yourself as an Expert – If you offer a great product but your competitor comes across as the expert, people are more likely to buy from your competitor than from you because they feel they should trust the expert better. Choose your niche carefully. Once you do, learn all there is to know about it and let everyone know that you are the best in this particular niche.
5. Be Loud about Your Achievements – Why should anyone come to you? Because you won the “Best Product (or Best Company) of the Year,” for example. Broadcast every achievement and every milestone with great fanfare. Let everyone know that you are climbing the ladder of recognition and fame at national (and international) levels.
Be at it 24/7; PR is definitely not a 9-to-5 job. Rather, this is a 24/7/365 occupation where you are always on the lookout for opportunities to say something great about your company to the world at large.
by Jason Mudd, APR
Jason Mudd, APR, is the CEO of Axia Public Relations and an Emmy-Award-winning accredited public relations practitioner, speaker, author and entrepreneur. His public relations portfolio includes work for established national and emerging brands such as American Airlines, Dave & Buster’s, Brightway Insurance, Florida Blue, H&R Block, Hilton, HP, Miller Lite, New York Life, Pizza Hut, Ray Charles and Verizon.
Topics: media relations, public relations, PR tips, reputation management, online reputation management, shared media
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