Reputation Management.

Today's Marketing Cookie is about reputation and expectation.

Reputation management has never been more important for companies than in a social media world. The reasons why are all so obvious to most, they could almost go without saying. For example, the way in which a company speaks and responds to customers and prospects through social networks greatly affects their reputation. Is the voice of the company managed by inexperienced interns, or is the relationship with the customer being guided by knowledgeable experts? How a company speaks (or doesn't speak) in such public forums exhibits the priority placed on building and maintaining a respectable brand reputation.

While there are many aspects of reputation management I could discuss at great length, I'd like to skip onto what I believe to be the most critical: expectations. Through the use of social media, customers can openly throw sticks and stones when their expectations have not been met. As you can imagine, the results of poor reviews will persist as a wine stain (get it?) on the rug in the lobby for everyone to see. Lousy ratings can be devastating.

My team and I were on a business trip in New York City recently, and one of my colleagues was in charge of locating a good restaurant near the hotel for dinner. She took out her iPhone, tapped on her Yelp app, and found a few choices for us to consider. Before we picked anything, she read the reviews from other customers, and promptly dismissed about half of the options. Our final choice that evening was guided by a reputation formed through social media.

My mother always told me, "You ARE your word, Myles. If you don't keep your promises, you might disappear altogether... or worse, you could just become world-famous for making broken promises." Most companies could learn something from my mother! What do you think would happen if companies focused their attention on delighting the customers they have, rather than being constantly focused on trying to find new customers? I'll tell you what, if a company spent more of their budget on exceeding expectations, their customers would become a crowd-sourced sales team. The reviews they get would reflect more positively on the company, they would increase goodwill, demonstrate more general trustworthiness, and improve their reputation.

My mother was a smart lady. If you were to listen to her sage advice, you would decide not to disappear and choose not to become world-famous for making broken promises. If you are really committed to taking your company's reputation seriously, you would make your voice a priority and elevate the quality of what you share, post, and publish. Even if you'd rather not listen to the sage advice of my mother, I would encourage you to at least listen to the wisdom found in today's fortune, and "Take no risks with your reputation."