Importance of Reputation Management

Importance of Reputation Management

In any organization, an excellent reputation is something that is pursued by management. Excellent reputation is pursued at two major levels. The organizational level and reputation of management. Reputation management is critical since it also leads to an improved image of the company in the public realm. Reputation management refers to a managerial aspect where management thrives on influencing the positive reputation among various groups at the organizational level. Management aims to influence and control the reputation of groups that are in direct contact with other stakeholders, including customer service support and public relations officers at the company. In the past, reputation management was conducted through public relations. However, the management field is growing exponentially due to the advent of social media. Such platforms can be used to tarnish the reputation of an organization in the market and thereby need to be managed to influence the behaviors of the company’s officers.

Reputation management is important for several reasons in relation to the credibility of an organization. One of the reasons is that it is critical towards better search engine ranking. Such ranking is often determined by online reviews that are conducted by customers who purchase various products and services from the company. Through reputation management, a company can drive customers into doing positive reviews about the company and its products. Once this has been done, the search engine ranking can be improved, and this can help direct sales in the future. Reputation management is also important since it helps avoid a negative reputation for the organization. Negative reputation is not desirable since it may make potential customers shun away from the company and its products in the market. A company should thereby invest in appropriate reputation management tools that improve the image of the company in the market or industry.

Reputation management at the organizational level is also important in relation to the credibility of the organization since it determines the trust that customers have towards the company. When trust is present, customers consider the organization to be credible at offering high-quality products at the correct or fair prices. However, when such trust is absent, customers cannot rely on the organization to deliver value through the products and services that are sold and marketed by the firm. Customers highly trust online reviews that have been conducted by other customers. With this in mind, it is important that an organization also invests in the quality of its products. Durable brands often have positive customer reviews, unlike brands that are not durable or reliable.

Higher revenues through increased sales can also be observed when reputation management is in place at the organizational level. Increased customer trust and credibility of the organization drives sales since potential customers desire purchasing goods and services from the company. The credibility of an organization through impeccable trust and reputation can thereby drive the sales of the company to levels that are desirable for management. Reputation management is also important since it helps improve the professional image of the company and its officers or employees. A professional image is important since it ensures that compliance is met while at the same time addressing the needs and demands of the customers in the market.

When a PR person has great credibility to offer and has a great deserved reputation, social media can have an influence on that reputation. PR individuals need to be careful when using social media. Social media has been observed to have a lot of power since consumers associate what one posts to the company that they are representing. Social media has the power to harm or improve the reputation that is associated with a given company’s PR officer. As a result, it is critical that reputation management is used to influence the behaviors of PR officers. One of the ways that this can be achieved is through monitoring what PR officers post on their private social media handles or platforms. Consumers are keen on what representatives of a company post on social media. If an individual posts something that tends to harm the reputation of a company or its products, the reputation of the company may be harmed with relative ease.

The second strategy that may be applied by reputation management to control and influence the behavior of PR officers is educating and training them on the importance of avoiding issues that may tarnish the reputation of the organization. Such training can help PR officers to identify certain loopholes that could reduce their credibility when interacting or relating with customers or potential clients in the marketplace. The third strategy would be to enter into contracts with the PR officers. Such contracts should indicate the repercussions that would befall PR officers if they tarnished the image of the company in the public realm. Doing this may offer great deterrence, which may easily influence the behavior of PR officers at the company level. If such strategies are not in place, the image of the organization could be tarnished with relative ease.