You’re only as good as what people say about you. Now, while this may not seem fair, it doesn’t make it any less true. The perception that others have about your business or brand creates trust, improves recognition and creates financial value.

Therefore, it is incredibly important to keep your reputation flawless. Especially if you want your business to grow.

There are a few key steps in maintaining your brand’s reputation. Follow them to craft a reputation that is not only flawless but great for business!

The Feedback Loop
One of the most overlooked tools in building your brand is your past customers and clients. Since they have already interacted with you, there is no one better to judge where you stand.

Therefore, I would recommend that you ask for their feedback on how to improve your operations. Their feedback is essential in monitoring and managing your business. By gathering – and analyzing – what people like or dislike about your business it will enhance your knowledge of your operations and convey to customers how much you value their opinion.

First Impressions
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. And in business this is doubly so.

When a potential client hears about you, they may head to your website for more information. And if your business is web based, then your first interaction with clients will be through your site.

Therefore, it’s important that you not only get it right, but make sure that your layout and design is crisp and clean and professional. Ensure that it is up to date with the current web design trends and proofread all of your content.

The last thing you want is a potential customer to click back because of a sub par website. By keeping it up to date and up to standard you will turn visitors into customers!

Reviews
When you’ve had a successful relationship with a client, I would suggest that you remind customers that you are on Facebook, Yelp, etc. Then, you can add this review to your website. This will build credibility within your community and garner trust from potential clients.

Monitor Your Reputation
It’s not enough to build your reputation; you also have to guard it.

Use Google and Yelp to find out what people are saying about you. Scour complaint website for negative reviews. Try to address the negative reviewer’s problem directly. Sometime a simple apology can work wonders. It demonstrates your attentiveness to the issue and displays an attitude of problem solving and customer satisfaction.

Use Google Alerts to set up notifications whenever your brand or business is mentioned online. They are invaluable tool to maintaining your reputation. And they’re free!

Check social media constantly for any comments and to watch out for spam. This is an essential yet time consuming task. If you find that you don’t have the time for this, I would suggest you use the following social media tools: Tweet Alarm, Hootsuite, SalesForce or Hyper Alerts.

While they require a small fee to use, they will assist you in tracking, monitoring and analyzing your social media presence on the web.

Hire a Pro
If you feel that you are not up to the task of monitoring your brand or would rather focus your attention on another aspect of your business, then I would suggest hiring a public relations expert.

They can assist in tracking your brand’s mentions on the web, creating press releases, fixing any bad press and securing good press. A PR pro can also help you to build a reputation management strategy for your brand.

Conclusion
Your reputation is your key to success.

Consider it a tool to be used in your favor. Keep that in mind and you will be well on your way to a flawless reputation and a successful brand!