Company Reputation: What It Is and How To Improve It

Updated June 24, 2022

A company's reputation affects growth and revenue. It's important to maintain an outstanding reputation in order to attract and keep customers as well as employees. Learning what affects a company's reputation and how you can improve the reputation of your company can help accomplish your expansion goals, establish your brand and increase your sales. In this article, we explain what a company's reputation is, why it's important and discuss what factors can impact a company's reputation, with tips to improve how the public perceives your business.

What is a company reputation?

A company's reputation is a public perception of the company and how it operates. This includes public opinions on the company's products or services or how the company treats its employees. A reputation can be positive or negative, and it can change over time. For example, a popular news story about a company can change its reputation, but so can word of mouth among customers of the business. Since a company's reputation is controlled by consumers' perceptions, it may not always reflect how the business operates. It's important that the company manages its reputation to reflect the business accurately.

Why is a positive company reputation important?

A positive company reputation is important because it can help your business grow. Monitoring the opinions of your customers helps maintain your reputation. When customers and potential customers feel positive about your company, they're more likely to continue to patronize your business. They're also more likely to feel good about supporting your business and to tell others about their experience. This can all result in larger profits and increased success.

Related: 17 Ways To Build a Reputation

What factors impact a company reputation?

Here are some factors that can impact a company's reputation:

Customer service

Customer service can have a large impact on your company's reputation. Customers who have a positive experience with your company and the personnel who provide customer service are more likely to do repeat business with you. They're also more likely to tell others about their experience, which can increase your customer base. However, one negative interaction can affect your reputation, so it's important to provide a consistently positive customer service experience.

Product or service quality

The quality of your product or service, including how safe it is, can affect your company's reputation. If your customer service is great and the quality of your products or services impresses your customers, they'll feel that your service matches the quality of what you're selling. This can greatly increase your positive reputation. Creating a high-quality product or service that customers value can also help increase revenue and expand your customer base.

Marketing

Marketing is a way your company communicates with consumers and can have a big impact on your company's reputation. If your company's reputation isn't as positive as you want it to be, you can use marketing as a tool to improve it. Marketing techniques, such as a brand campaign, can help improve a company's reputation. For example, brand campaigns seek to increase brand visibility and influences consumers' views of your company. It's important that the content you share with customers is consistent and reflects the values of your company.

Employee treatment

Creating a positive experience for your employees can be as important as creating one for customers. If employees enjoy working at your company, this can influence their work and increase quality and productivity. Employee satisfaction and their views of your company also influence how customers feel. When employees love to work at your company, customers can assume that your company has good values and cares about people over profits. You can ensure a great employee experience by offering benefits and soliciting feedback from employees to help improve the work environment.

Financial performance

A good financial performance provides credibility to your company and affects its reputation. Often consumers perceive financial success as an indicator that it's an excellent company with quality goods and services. Inversely, if your company isn't financially successful, consumers may be less confident in their choice to invest in your company by purchasing products. Your financial performance can give insight to consumers about how efficiently the business operates and what the company culture may be like, which can influence their views of the company. Financial success benefits your company in many ways, one of which is providing a positive reputation.

Environmental impact

The impact your company has on the environment matters to consumers and can impact your company's reputation in a positive or negative way. You can show social responsibility by limiting the environmental effect your company has. For example, you can introduce a recycling program in your company to reduce waste and take precautions when disposing of hazardous or dangerous substances. Being an environmentally conscience company can earn you respect and admiration from consumers which has a positive impact on your reputation.

Corporate culture

Corporate culture is an expectation of behaviors within the company for employee interactions and external business interaction. This affects the hiring process, employee retention, communication and management. Corporate culture can encourage high performance when your company hires employees whose values align with the company culture. Your company's interaction externally can be with other businesses or communities. It's important to foster meaningful relationships and this can help gain an excellent reputation.

Philanthropic efforts

Your company's reputation can improve through philanthropic efforts. Being charitable as a company and promoting general welfare towards others encourages a positive perception. The philanthropic efforts of your company also help build relationships and establish trust with customers, which can increase loyalty and revenue for your company. Philanthropy can also boost morale amounts employees and attract talent to your workforce. Donating to charity, taking part in gift matching programs and starting initiatives to help in communities are ways your company can increase its philanthropic efforts.

Customer privacy

Customers value their privacy and it's important for them to trust your company to protect their information. This includes sharing their address, name, purchase history and payment information. Privacy affects your brand and your company's reputation. It's an ethical practice to keep customer information private and consumers appreciate companies that take ethical responsibility seriously. Maintaining customer privacy can grant a competitive advantage over other businesses that may share or sell customer information. You can instead increase your revenues by offering customers security and gaining their loyalty.

Diversity and inclusion

It's good to have a company reputation for being inclusive and hiring a diverse workforce. A diverse workforce also benefits a company by providing various perspectives and encouraging innovation. Your company can be inclusive and diversified by hiring employees of differing races, religions, ages and cultures. This also helps ensure representation and better serve your customers.

Tips to improve your company's reputation

Be mindful of how aspects of your company affect its reputation and consider these tips to help improve your company's reputation:

Improve internally

When trying to improve your company's reputation, start internally. One way to gain a positive perception of your company is to identify internal factors that you can influence, such as employee satisfaction, corporate culture, product quality and customer service. Try sourcing opinions from your employees to find out where and how you can improve.

Increase quality and value

One method of improving your company's reputation is to offer customers more value and ensure the high quality of your products and services. Marketing can increase the perceived value of your product with targeted advertising or by accentuating the product's benefits. Enhancing safety features can also attract customers.

Keep employees happy

Employee satisfaction leads to high productivity, quality work and improves retention rates. These are all factors that can also improve company reputation. To keep employees happy consider these ideas:

Provide benefits such as health insurance
Introduce a wellness program
Recognize and reward success
Provide effective training for new hires
Allow flexibility in employee schedules
Encourage collaboration
Offer transparency of business objectives

Provide a consistent experience

Maintaining a relationship with your customers is key to a successful business, which includes a positive reputation. Providing consistency in your customer interactions can aid in customer satisfaction. This means promoting company values in each interaction, staying on brand and sharing messages that don't contradict each other. Consistent positive customer interactions encourage loyalty and can increase patronage for your business. Here are some ideas for how to provide a consistent experience:

Provide customer service training to employees
Create products and services to align with your company's goals and core values
Define your company brand

Increase philanthropic efforts

Philanthropy often causes consumers to perceive your company positively, which improves your reputation. It's important to be charitable and show compassion as a company. Customers take notice of whether a company is socially responsible and this can influence their purchasing behavior. Here are ways your company can increase its philanthropic efforts:

Volunteer to clean litter in a local neighborhood
Host a food drive
Give money to charity
Donate items to a shelter
Create a scholarship fund
Start a toy drive for local children
Raise awareness for a cause