2008-10-27
Managing Your Business Reputation - You Are What People Think You Are
By John M Adams III
Whether you own a long-established business, one with a track record of growth and success, or you’re just starting your first venture, your reputation within the community you operate - whether it’s Main Street or in the e-commerce sphere - is a valuable asset. Building a reputation for quality takes time, but there’s lots you can do to hasten the process and ensure that your hard-earned reputation is kept tarnish-free.
Business Transparency People (especially customers) don’t like to be fooled. It makes them mad. And that means your reputation around town is going to suffer as clients or customers spread the bad word about your hidden fees or last-minute charge on the client’s invoice. Be transparent in all activities - fee structure, services provided, statement of work (SOW), delivery dates - everything. And if a problem or setback does occur, be transparent with your client, explain the problem and how you plan to fix it.
Corporate Citizenship Your business is part of a community - a real community or a virtual, on-line community. Your reputation is tied strongly to how good a corporate citizen you are in all commercial spheres. There are lots of ways to demonstrate your corporate citizenship:
* sponsor a sports team in your community;
* donate time and money to local charities;
* maintain your storefront or office - even if it isn’t your job!
* Contribute your thoughts and ideas. Write a column for the local newspaper on your area of expertise.
* Join the Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau.
All of these show prospects that you’re a proud member of the local business community.
Warranties, Guarantees and Kept Promises Do you provide a guarantee for the services your company delivers? A guarantee of complete customer satisfaction? This one is a no brainer. Guarantees, warranties and such cost very little because few consumers ever take advantage of these promises.
One publisher in Colorado offered a 30-day, complete money-back guarantee. Each buyer could try a product before buying it - even if it was a book, a book that could be read in less than 30 days and returned for a full refund. This on-line business owner reports a less than 3% return rate and his guarantee keeps those orders coming in to more than offset that 3% rate.
Client Satisfaction After 40 years as an independent businessperson, I believe that client satisfaction is the number one key to business growth and long-term success - even if it costs you money.
If you’re a retailer (I am) you know that all client requests are…well, let’s say legitimate. I’ve had customers try to return items I don’t even sell! So, yes, there are times when you just have to live with a dissatisfied client - one who’s trying to rip you off.
However, these are the exceptions. Most customers don’t want to fuss and hassle to have a satisfying buying experience so if there’s a problem, in most cases it deserves to be fixed at your expense. Why?
Even if you lose a few dollars on the transaction, that happy customer will talk you up to neighbors and friends in the area, so maybe it cost you $40, but you better believe you’ll get more than that in good word of mouth (WOM) advertising - the best advertising there is.
Conversely, if one of your customers or clients has a legitimate gripe that you opt to ignore, that one person becomes toxic, spreading bad reviews of your company’s service - and that’s the kind of reputation management you need to control.
The Business of Business Ethics If you run an ethical business, one that goes out of its way to provide services or goods to people at reasonable prices and on time, your reputation will grow both on Main Street and within the commercial realm of the web. News spreads fast today. How do you think Amazon.com keeps growing? Ethical, responsive customer service and complete transparency, down to offering lower-cost shipping options at Amazon’s recommendation! That’s business ethics.
Run your business honestly and fairly. Become a member of your town’s business and public community. Offer and honor your warranties and absolutely ensure client satisfaction.
The Small Business Administration reports that 50% of all new business launches fail within five years. The record is even worse on-line with only 6% of new site launches delivering success to the owner after 12 months. The odds are NOT stacked in your favor.
However, don’t let that stop you. If you run your business with client care and business reputation foremost in your daily activities, you can sure you’ll be one of the success stories.