How do small businesses build their reputation?
Build Your Brand: Shape Your Image, Personality, and Reputation
Whether you’re a turkey farmer, a resort owner, or an emerging medical equipment startup, establishing a strong brand is essential. You might not have a well-known name yet, but now is the perfect time to start building one. Your brand represents how the public perceives your business—through what they hear, what they see, and the experiences they have when interacting with you. By shaping your company’s image and developing its unique personality, you’ll lay the foundation for a lasting and reputable presence in the market.
Business owners need to take control of their company’s public image:
1. Develop a mission statement, even if you believe it's an outdated practice. Everyone who starts a business has a mission, whether they know it or not. It’s their purpose to open their doors. Your reason for starting a company may have been to repair cars, fix teeth or sell houses. That’s your company’s mission. Write it down. Share it with your staff, your customers and your community.
2. Understand your core business values. What do you value most about the business you’re in? If you’re in the dental business, you probably find value in your work, because it makes others more confident in their appearance. You have a hand in making the world more attractive. Voila! You’ve got a mission and values: To help people become more confident by improving their teeth for beautiful smiles.
3. Set goals to achieve your mission and values. Sitting in your office surrounded by thousands of dollars in dental equipment won’t bring in business. To make money, you need to set measurable goals and work hard to achieve them. Sample Goal: Recruit 25 new customers monthly through advertising, speaking to groups and word-of-mouth referrals. Of course, you’ll need to add a few solid steps or strategies to reach this goal.
4. Choose an attractive logo. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but your company logo needs to speak volumes with simplicity and impact. A great logo should be clean, meaningful, and convey something positive about your business. Take Nike, for example—its sleek, minimalist swoosh is instantly recognizable worldwide. If design isn’t your strong suit, consider enlisting a professional to create a logo tailored to your brand. A well-designed logo not only represents your business but also becomes a powerful tool for instant recognition—the ultimate goal of successful branding.
5. Develop a tagline. Taglines distill a company’s mission into a few concise, memorable words. For example, if you’re in the dental business, a tagline like "Dr. Smith Dentistry: Smile Confidently" gets the message across effectively. Once you’ve defined your mission statement and core values, creating a tagline becomes much simpler. Just refine the essence of your mission into a short, catchy phrase that resonates with your audience.
6. Communicate with internal and external publics. Be visible. Put your logo and tagline everywhere! Both will speak loudly for your organization. Your reputation grows when your logo and tagline appear on everything from signs, stationery, and business cards, to products, uniforms, invoices, websites, reports, and advertising. Add to your image by keeping your staff, customers and community informed through brochures, blogs, broadcasting, and other means.
7. Provide excellent customer service. Your company’s reputation depends on the quality of its customer service. A single negative experience can severely damage your brand, as unhappy customers not only lose their loyalty, but often share their dissatisfaction with at least 10 others. To build and maintain a strong reputation, exceptional customer service isn’t optional—it’s essential. This starts with proper training for your team and a commitment to leading by example.
A company’s reputation, much like an individual’s, is shaped not only by words or appearance, but also by actions. Trust is the foundation on which the strongest reputations are built.
Looking to enhance your brand and online presence? CIS Agency offers comprehensive services, including reputation management, professional logo and web design, and PowerListings by Yext. Using advanced AI and reputation management tools that help you manage reviews, improve visibility, and build trust with your audience. Contact us today to take your business to the next level!
Contact CIS Agency
Tel | 616.347.6300 | service@wearecis.com | www.wearecis.com/connect
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