Do you track your reputation?

The challenge about your reputation is that you don’t always know what other people say about you.

Friends and close business associates may report what they’ve heard, but there are very, very few people who will be brave enough to tell you if it’s not good news.

I’ve heard plenty of negative comments made about others.  If there’s some grounds for the comments you can bet someone else will agree, and then a whole conversation, heard by people who may not even know the person.  And we all know how much we like to gossip.  Whenever that name comes up, even someone who has never met them will wade in with what they heard.

Unfortunately, it’s human nature to repeat negative information.  While people do pass on good things, they have to be way beyond expectations to merit mention.  If you consistently meet the expectations of your clients, that’s what they want, they’re only going to notice if it’s something extraordinary, while it only takes a little wobble to make the ‘gossip news’.

How do you get control of your reputation?

The first step is to build your reputation network.  These are people you know and trust who will tell it like it is.  Ideally, you’ll do the same for them.  As the saying goes ‘knowledge is power’.  If you know what is on the gossip line, you can take steps to deal with it.

Step two is working with the client – or the person who has had a bad experience of you – to rectify the situation.  Ask the client what a successful resolution would look like to them – but don’t be steam-rollered into something that is either more expensive than merited or going against your values.  Discuss, explain and negotiate a reasonable solution.

If it’s an individual who isn’t a client, approach them and ask them what their experience has been that has led to their beliefs about you or your company.  If it’s something you can address, do it.  If it’s just that they don’t like you, there may be nothing you can do to change that – being universally loved isn’t a goal you’ll ever achieve!  However, the fact that they know you’re aware of what they’ve said may be a step towards them being less keen on bad-mouthing you behind your back. 

Step three is transparency.  When you make a mistake, own it.  People respect those who are willing to say ‘We made an error … and this is what we’re doing about it.’  Not just to the client that had the problem, but using it as a case study at networking events and on your social media.  Admitting you’re human endears people to you – and gets them on your side, rather than spreading malicious rumours.

Leverage your influence

People who already know you will have their own opinions of you – and, providing you are a reasonable person, know your stuff and are helpful generally – they’ll be able to tell when the gossip is malicious and not factual.

The people you need to educate are those who don’t yet know you.  That’s where your social media, newsletters and blogs come in.  If you consistently share good value, people draw their own conclusions – usually positive.  If everything they see is good stuff, when they hear something that doesn’t ‘fit’, they’re less likely to take it seriously. 

The secret is to be active in knowing what the grapevine or bush telegraph says about you, then you can take action to deal with the negative and enhance the positive.

Is social media still ‘social’?

 

The dictionary has a lot to say about the word 'social': human society, companionship, friendly interaction, cooperative relationships, organised communities.

Nowhere does it say 'sales vehicle'.

I think online platforms offer a digital form of networking, whether personal or business. Countless people have found old friends they'd lost touch with, rekindled relationships or reconnected with extended family, all on social media. Facebook, in particular, has been a place where personal connections flourish.

At the other end of the scale, LinkedIn started out in 2003 as a business connection platform, a sort of 'dating' agency for employers and job seekers. When Facebook arrived with a completely different look and feel, LinkedIn realised it needed more to attract people, and groups and a feed for sharing thoughts emerged. Facebook then added business Pages. So the gap between friendly and social and corporate business has closed quite a bit.

Don't forget the human beings

Whatever the platform, none of them was built for being sold at. And let's be honest, you don't want to be sold at.

From the human perspective, social media is about connection and entertainment, and I include education in that. If a post is interesting, it's entertaining me, whether it's a cat video or a hot business tip.

If you're using it as a marketing tool, keep that in mind. I think of social media as the online equivalent of a networking meeting. You don't walk in, grab someone and pitch your latest offer. You say 'Hi', you smile, you ask questions and you show an interest in others. If they become a client or customer, that only happens once they know you well enough to trust you'll do a good job.

I'm happy to talk to interesting people, and I judge that in a few ways:

• Their profile: a friendly-looking headshot and an interesting bio.
• Their content: useful and interesting posts, or an endless sales pitch?
• Their messages: if the first DM is a sales pitch, especially one that shows they haven't read my profile, I'm not interested. If they're friendly, helpful, interested in me and offer something useful with no strings attached, I'm far more likely to pay attention when they have something to offer that has a cost.

None of this is about polished video or beautifully aesthetic images. It's about content: what do they have to say?

People don't do business with people they don't like. Offline, it's hard to avoid the sales-only person (though their lack of success will eventually teach them a lesson). Online, they simply get blocked or disconnected, and never know why.

Is a list of 5,000 connections a network?

If you have 5,000 connections, how do you stay in touch? 'Social' means interaction, and you can't maintain that with 5,000 people. Accepting a connection doesn't make a relationship. How many of yours have progressed from the click of a button to a conversation?

A social network is not about the numbers; it’s about the relationships.

Marketing is more than a few posts

 

Many moons ago when I did my professional qualifications, I was astonished to discover that the label ‘marketing’ covered far more than advertising and promotion.

It starts with market research – know your market place

• Companies that offer a similar product or service
• Pricing – lowest to highest – and why the difference
• The consumer and what they are actually looking for.

With that information in hand, marketing moves into development, the ‘D’ of ‘R&D’.  It’s where you look at whether your products or services fulfil current buyer needs.  Do you need something new or to revamp an existing offer?  How does it satisfy the consumer demands and what can you offer that is better in design, pricing, functionality than your competitors?

Now finance joins the party and looks at cost of sale, competitive pricing, profit margins, etc.

Now the action moves over to what most people (including me at the time) consider to be ‘marketing’.  That’s the advertising, promotional activities to raise the consumer’s awareness of the exciting new offer!  In those days this would include press ads, maybe TV ads, getting coverage in the relevant media – publications, etc.  PR – on a broader basis, getting key people (usually the CEO) interviewed or authoring thought-leader articles, and things like getting the organisation entered for awards – and, ideally, winning one or two.  In today’s world, social media, blogs, video material and podcasts all play a part.

The launch campaign is critical and will launch your new product or service into the right communities.

On the back of this the sales team now takes on a critical role, contacting either consumers directly or wholesales and retailers who will stock your product or white label your service.

I remember there being a lot of arguments – about whether marketing is part of sales, or sales is a part of marketing.  I was taught that sales is part of marketing, but it doesn’t really matter – as long as sales are made!  The way I see it a business is really a huge marketing machine.  Every part of it should be focused on delivering value to the customer.

Someone once quoted Karl Albrecht to me ‘If you’re not serving the customer you’d better be serving someone who is’.