We often get asked this question and it is a good one. It can sometimes seem difficult as a business owner to build a reputation when starting out. But there are some really good ways of building your reputation, especially if your business is online.
Firstly, we need to think about what a reputation is. It is what people think about you (wrongly or rightly) and their perception of you or your brand.
A lot of this can be preconceived ideas as to who you are or what your business is like.
However, if you are a new business, this can be difficult as there is not a lot of substance for people to rely on when forming an opinion about you. However, there are many ways in which you can build a reputation and make it easier for people to get a picture of what you and your company are.
Your online image encompasses everything – your website, social media, imagery and press features. Your website should be clean, easy to navigate and hopefully showcase your business appropriately. So whether you are an accountant or musician, it should accurately represent you, giving your target audience a good first impression.
Social media is brilliant for building a reputation. It allows you to interact with your target market as much as you can and enable you to build relationships. You are able to showcase your work and give a more casual insight into your life or business. It takes down the invisible wall between you and your audience, which can be a great way of gaining new business.
Reviews are another way of building your reputation – they are now a huge factor in whether a potential customer decides to make a purchase or use another supplier or business. If you are a new business it can appear as though you don’t have any reviews and so may not be trustworthy. However, there are ways to handle this. Firstly, you want to do all you can to get a review from a recent customer. We recommend asking via email or at the end of an online purchase, if they would be happy to write a short review. Or you could embed a review section to your website, to make it easy for people to leave a star rating. If you meet clients at an office or in the community, you could have a card or poster visible which asks for a review.
Press features another way of building your reputation as a new business. This can be a real game changer – if you can get a mention in the newspaper about your product or service it can really smash sales. This could be your local paper and depending on what you offer – possibly a national one.
Features in other online publications is another avenue to explore. You could offer to write about your service or product on a blog in your industry which is another way of gaining exposure and ultimately building your reputation.
These are just some of the ways you can build your reputation and your business. If you are looking for help in building your reputation online, we can help. Our team are well versed in helping clients grow and develop their online reputation. It is an essential part of business development and can be neglected from a business plan. Online reputation and perception should be at the forefront of any business, as it what will make people decide to contact you or make a purchase.
To speak to us about building your reputation, please call us 0800 088 5506.