If your personal or business brand lives online, you’re rightfully concerned about how the fickleness of the internet could tarnish your brand. You’ve got
everything to worry about. The internet loves a scandal, and to tear down its idols. Today’s hero can be tomorrow’s pariah. Right or wrong, it’s easy to
think of a list of these types of brands and personalities who have fallen from grace in the
past year. You don’t want your brand to be listed among them next year. So how do you keep this from happening? Perhaps it’s better to look at the ways
that people wreck their brands best.
Stay away from these practices and you’ll be on the track for long term reputation health.
-
Don’t Be Who You Say You Are. Nobody likes a hypocrite. And while all of us have secrets of certain kinds which we aren’t comfortable talking about
with our friends and fans, it’s important not to be night-and-day different from your public persona. This is especially true for you if your
secret life is illegal or unethical – duh. But there are lots of grey area secrets that you’ve got to manage with great care. If possible, make
these things known and let them become part of your story. Recent cultural conversations about sexual identity, substance use, past indiscretions,
and more, make this a time when vulnerability can add to a brand. When secrets are discovered, they can lead to a witch hunt. But when they are
revealed by the secret-holder, they can become an endearing part of the brand. -
Don’t Consider the Feelings Of Your Customers. Lots of brands think themselves too big to fail, even if they’d never put it in words like that.
These brands ignore the experience of their customers, even when they complain. They might lash out as customers online, or make them seem small and insignificant. The thing is, customer disappointment can spread like wildfire online, and one person’s offense can be spread to thousands of people over night. If you aren’t online,
hire a reputation management company to manage these encounters. An online reputation management company like this can make all the difference between success and
overnight failure. -
Cut Corners Frequently. Quality declines in the products and services of companies all the time. These cut corners accumulate until the brand we
used to love is a symbol of deep mediocrity. Take a careful look at the feedback you receive online. Do people think that you’re keeping up the
quality you used to be known for? If not, it’s time to make a change. Sew some of those corners back on and enjoy the boost to your reputation when
your customers start to notice.
There are lots more ways that brands ruin the reputations in short order, but these are three of the most common. If you find yourself doing any of these
things, it’s time to stop and try the opposite approach. People want to love you, but if they sense you doing any of the above, you could be a pariah
overnight.
