Your business reputation, i.e. people’s perception of you, is arguably your most valuable asset. It’s key to successful customer recruitment and retention. It’s why people refer you to their family and friends. It’s built on trust. It’s very important.
Doing a great job for your current clients is, of course, the best reputation builder. But to promote the value you’ve created to a wider audience you need to do more.
Here’s how you can create five positive perceptions that will help your business grow:
- ‘This business has plenty of happy clients’
Ask ten clients, with whom you have a good relationship, to give you a Google Review. This instructional draft email may be useful.
- ‘Their clients clearly trust them to do a great job’
Add single-minded, benefit-led testimonials to your homepage that support the primary customer headline.
- ‘Their clients also trust them to do a great job for their friends and family’
Feature and promote your referral programme on your website.
- ‘The customer support team seem friendly and helpful
Use a professional photographer to update your ‘meet the team’ pages and/or add a short and engaging video to your homepage.
- ‘They’re always recruiting, so must be doing well’
Add a ‘We’re hiring’ link on your homepage. It is important to position this message correctly, for example, due to business expansion / team growth. Otherwise the message could be mistaken as a business struggling to retain staff or keep staff happy.
Businesses where their reputations precede them (in a good way) don’t have to sell themselves, because others are doing it for them. There is no more effective business tool than a positive reputation. Manage it, refine it, maybe even redefine it and then watch your business grow.