A good name is preferable to great riches.
Proverbs 22:1
Favor is better than silver and gold.
We’ve all heard it before: first impressions are everything; and a reputation can make you or break you.
I tend to be the type of person with a mindset of ‘who cares what people think,’ but realistically I have to care, at least a little bit.
One of the biggest takeaways from my first business– marketing arts– is that reputation and a ‘good name’ as the Proverb states it, is one of the single most determining factors of success.
I launched a radio project and it was a flop; totally my fault and a major hit to my ego. I did consulting for an art gallery and that didn’t work out either; that was more of a 50/50, but there were many preventative measures I could have put in place to mitigate the collapse of that relationship. In either case, it was a hit to my reputation.
No one likes a scammer!
In the business world there are plenty albeit not all of them have bad intentions. When promoting a startup product or service, it’s likely that the owners would feel like scammers themselves– this is largely due to imposter syndrome which is a common phenomenon in entrepreneurship.
I’ve definitely been there.
What is reputation?
In marketing, reputation simply refers to the beliefs, attitudes, and overall impressions that people have about a brand– whether it’s a business or personal one– regardless of whether it’s accurate or not.
This is one of the classic concepts of ‘the customer is always right’ because if people don’t like you, they won’t buy from you if they don’t have to. Au contraire, if they do like you, they’re more likely to buy from you and to be more forgiving of inconveniences.
The reputation helps people decide if they can trust you or not which is essential to any brand.
How to improve reputation?
You can’t control how people feel about you, but there are things you can do to leave a better impression. Here are a few of them.
- Always underpromise and overdeliver.
- Avoid controversial topics.
- Know your audience– ‘don’t bite the hand that feeds you.’
- Say less; listen more.
- Mean what you say.
Most importantly is to know who you are and what you’re about. It’s not wise to compromise your values to be liked; so know what your values are– know what your boundaries are, and put yourself out there!