What kind of reputation does your business have?

When you launch a new business you usually have an idea of how you want your market to see you, but how do you ensure you get what you want?

Reputation is based on what other people say about you – and word-of-mouth is an incredibly powerful tool.  While you can’t prevent people from gossiping, you can ensure that the information in the public domain about you is positive.  Better still, that it’s glowing!

This is easier said than done and I’ve had conversations with many business people who think it’s impossible to control what people say about you when you’re not there.  I don’t agree.

If your company has strong values, an inspired leader and staff who are engaged you find your reputation reflects that.  Not only do customers want the kind of service that kind of organisation delivers, but people want to work for you and you’ll get the pick of the best candidates.

It starts with a vision

Many small businesses are started because someone either has an idea that they think will make them a good living or has been made redundant and decided to see if they can go it alone.  There’s nothing wrong with either of these reasons for starting a business, but the danger is that the foundation stones are not laid to give the business a sound footing.

A true entrepreneur doesn’t leave success to chance and starts with a vision – that they then turn into a strategy and an action plan.  It’s important to be able to see the big picture and then have a plan to deliver that.

It’s especially important when you have staff.  To get real engagement your team need to buy into your vision, understand where the company is going and be ready to do their part in making it happen.

Involve your team

Everyone needs to be pulling in the same direction – which is why your business plan should be transparent.  If your team really get where you’re going, they can actively help you.  If you’re practising mushroom management (kept in the dark and fed crap)) don’t expect your team to have great ideas, be innovative or take responsibility for getting results.

Engagement only happens when members of your team feel they can make a difference.

Focus on results not tasks

When your business is focused on getting specific results, rather than simply carrying out the tasks on a to-do list, people become much more pro-active.

Empower your staff to make decisions as long as they are within given parameters (e.g. budget, ethics, values).  You’ll almost certainly be surprised at the improvement in productivity and job satisfaction.

Keep a light hand on the reins

You can’t abdicate all responsibility, but let your team be creative and innovative and you’ll build a company others will respect and revere.  A reputation for excellence is within your reach.

Build a channel

Video material is powerful – just look at how many people use YouTube for learning and entertainment and the rapid rise of TikTok.  Even Instagram quickly realised that still images aren’t as powerful as video content and reels were added (initially as IGTV in 2017).  But how do you build a successful channel on YouTube?

1: Plan first

You need to think before you launch your channel and consider:

• What kind of material it will feature – it needs to be consistent so subscribers know what to expect
• Who your subscribers will be and what they want
• How people will discover your channel, what they will search for and where you’ll be able to reach them
• What the channel and individual video branding will look like
• What key words and phrases you want to focus on
• A list of subject you can create videos about
• How often you’ll post material
• What length video you’ll aim to produce
• Who will be responsible for generating material, editing, uploading, etc.

This will create a schedule and list of responsibilities and enable the channel to be set up professionally.

2: Create your brand

Unless your business is very niche, you may need more than one channel, each focused on a key area.  For example, as a professional copywriter I could have channels for Content Marketing, Commercial copywriting, Marketing strategies, etc.

Your company brand and your channel brand need to be congruent, so people can see the association.

You need to create a thumbnail style and endscreen style for your videos and ensure that these are maintained by your creators/editors.

Your key words and phrases also need to be used consistently both in the video files prior to uploading and in the description you add during the uploading process.

3: Your starter for 10

One video looks very lonely and new viewers quickly see that there isn’t much going on.  Ideally, aim to upload ten videos to populate your channel when you launch.

If they all look professional (with the thumbnails all looking consistent) they create a great first impression, showing visitors that you have a substantial amount of knowledge to share and that you’re delivering good quality content.

4: Get your team on board

Ensure that everyone in the team logs into YouTube as an individual and watches the video – from start to finish (abandoned views don’t count).  Then encourage them to like it, comment, and like your opening comment too.

If you’re a sole trader or independent consultant put together a YouTube group with other businesses and carry out these actions for each other’s channels.

Add your YouTube channel link to your website, social media platforms, email signature (everyone’s) and announce it in your newsletter.  You can even add it as a blog footer.

5: Be consistent

This is where your plan comes into play – keep creating content regularly and consistently.  It’s better to publish one good video a month, than four not very good ones.

Ensure your target audience are aware of your channel, not just on launch, but ongoing.

Help people to buy

Most small business owners find selling hard.  They don’t want to be thought of as ‘pushy’ and yet worry that if they aren’t, their business won’t thrive.  

I was talking to a business colleague who used to be in sales – and he said “The days of cold calling and sales pitches are dead.”  So if a sales professional doesn’t think that the traditional sales strategies don’t work, what does?

It’s all about relationships.

People buy from people they like.

So how do you become liked by your target audience?

1: Know them well 

Having a specific ‘snapshot’ of what your ideal client or perfect customer looks like, in as much detail as possible is essential.  The more your know about your audience, the better you’ll be able to match your offers to them.

2: Understand their wants and needs

When you have a crystal clear image of your perfect client it’s easier to get inside their head and understand what makes them tick.  What is important to them, what keeps them awake at night, what problems they’re facing; when you get all that information clear, it’s so much easier to address these with your solutions – whether that’s a product or a service.

3: Deliver value

Remember you’re dealing with a human being, not an organisation – that means that emotions will be involved.  It doesn’t matter that they are the representative of an organisation – they still get frustrated by things that don’t work or missing items that they need to get the job done, they worry about how their performance will be assessed if they don’t get it right, they want an easy solution to their current problem to take the pressure off.

If you can deliver useful information regularly, they’ll start to see you as a resource that they value.

Email marketing is your most powerful tool

If you’ve done 1 and 2 above you should be able to grow an email list that is highly focused.  If all the people in your list have chosen to be there because they want what you’re offering – in the way of information, at least – they’ve self-identified as potential clients.

While social media is a great tool – it doesn’t guarantee that all the right people will see your messages.  Email is delivered directly to the people who have asked for the kind of value you deliver.

Does that mean you can pitch your products and services in every email?  No!

Deliver good value first with useful tips, advice and ‘how to’ information and you’ll be building your reputation up in your highly-targeted audience’s minds as someone who knows their stuff and offers excellent value.  When you send them a special offer, they will appreciate the information as they’ll see it as more value.

You don’t need to have glitzy, all-singing, all-dancing emails, your brand and a powerful message is enough.  As long as your focus is ‘how can I help these people?’ you’ll create an excellent reputation as a helpful expert.

Now you’re solving their problems and helping them to buy the best solution for them.