Think about the word ‘reputation’. We all have one. From when we were children growing up in our families, whether it was for being the scapegoat, the funny one, the child the rest thought Mom and Dad favoured. As we became adolescents, that reputation may have evolved — a child one thought to be the ‘good kid’ can morph into the ‘teenager from hell’.
That same challenging teenager can change again, creating a new reputation for being a model citizen or a successful entrepreneur. Someone who can now be trusted. As human beings, we have the ability to change, to make different choices.
Our reputation, unlike the eye colour we were born with, doesn’t come built in. It’s created over time, based on our actions. And we can choose the story we want to be known by through the choices we make.
Talk is cheap
Are your actions telling a different story than the one you want people spreading? People do business with people they can trust, people they like and people who make them feel good.
The people in the image I’ve used here count on the pilots to keep them safe. Before climbing onto these airplanes to perform these stunts, they likely thoroughly checked out their credentials and their reputation. Based on that, they decided to trust them with their lives. Can your audience trust you completely?
Can you be counted upon?
Just like our personal reputations, our company reputation is based on the story people tell about our business. And those stories are based on our actions, not on what we say.
We need to be able to answer these four questions
First and most important, Who do you want to be known to? Defining your ideal client is critical or you are wasting your marketing efforts.
Followed by Why would they choose you?
And What do you want to be know you for?
And finally, What do you need to evolve/change to build this reputation?
It’s what you do, not what you say you will do
It’s not what we tell our audiences about our service or our product. We can all boast about ‘our once in a lifetime offering, latest innovation or incredible team’. But those are just words.
Action speaks louder than words. And if you let someone down, it you don’t keep your word, there goes your reputation.
What’s the story you want told about you and your business? Contact me @ denise@amphoracommunications.ca if you want help with telling a better story.