Monday, 23 January 2012

Can We Really Trust another Brand’s Reputation?

Brand reputation builds trust and trust builds brand reputation. Brands create a buzz if customers can trust our products and services. If we want our customers to refer our products, we have to make an impression and live by that. That’s the challenge for all business owners. That we have to constantly gain customer’s trust and maintain that so they continue to buy our products and services.
The efforts of a business to spread brand awareness and reputation depend on how the business reaches out to their customers. It depends on how honest their products and services are, the quality, and the level of customer service that employee’s give to their customers. Some brands can sponsor personalities to help with their marketing campaign. From top companies like Nike, who sponsor top athletes for each of their product lines, to those who sponsor different events to spread brand awareness.
Getting famous people to endorse a brand is a marketing move. When you get the right person for your brand and you know who your target market is, your campaign can succeed. But this doesn’t always work out. Even if a company pays an endorser for a high price, there’s the risk of it not paying out because your endorser suddenly gets a bad reputation. So how can we trust another brand to market our own brand?
Here are some tips on how to choose someone to represent your brand:
Choose an appropriate partner – it is best to choose someone who can represent your brand because their reputation speaks truly as your company’s vision. Paris Hilton used to get paid to be seen at different clubs, and that’s because she had the reputation of someone who goes to top clubs. If she’s seen at a club, other club goers may prefer that one over others in town. Nike gets top athletes like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant because they are considered the best in the NBA. Nike sells Kobe and LeBron shoes and apparel, and sport fans buy them.
Do your research –getting someone to represent your brand poses some risk that can be lessened if we do our research. Whether it’s a person or an event, make sure that you steer your brand in the right direction. You want to sponsor events for a good cause, something that will add value to your company. Same with a person - there are ways you can find information about them if you want to do a little background check. You can go to their social media profiles, especially when they're public.
This is also a way to find out more about your employees. Your employees represent your brand, therefore you must choose people who will fit in your company to represent, not risk, the brand’s reputation.
Strive for decency – scandals are inevitable. There is that possibility that people will do something “out of character.” Nike let go of Tiger Woods because of indiscretion that tainted his reputation. Nike doesn’t want to get the wrong message sent out by continuing sponsorship. But people are found to be understanding when it comes to mistakes. What consumers are looking for is decency. If your company was tainted because of an endorser, your consumers will still trust your brand if you are a company known for its decency.
Online brand reputation –people can easily talk about your brand online. The web is the fastest way to get news around these days. If you establish a good online reputation and engage interaction with your followers, you build trust and you get feedback from them. In case you suffer a meltdown due to bad publicity, you can use your website to explain and get back to your customers. Make sure to create content that translates to what your brand is really about.
A brand’s reputation depends on how well they establish their credibility with their products, services, and how they value their customers and employees. Choosing the right person to represent a brand goes one of two ways - either they add more credibility or not. It’s a risk to get an ambassador to promote a brand but through proper research and alignment of marketing goals, you can choose a person that will pose a lesser risk in tainting your brand reputation. Establish a good online reputation as well. Engage with your customers and make them feel important. Build relationships and loyalty, because when things don’t go the way you expect them to, you will have a place to rebuild.

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