Every brand needs to consider its corporate image, especially in a time when consumers are becoming increasingly selective of the businesses that they frequent. Consumers will lean towards the businesses that have a positive corporate image and do good in the world, which is why it is so important for businesses to consider how they are seen by their target market and to take steps to improve their reputation. How a brand is perceived can take a while to improve but fall very quickly, so it requires ongoing work and great care. Here are a few effective ways that you can improve your corporate image.
Look After Your Employees
One of the most important ways that you can improve your corporate image is to look after your employees. There have been a number of high-profile businesses whose reputation has plummeted after stories have emerged of how they have treated staff, so you will want to avoid this at all costs by making employee wellbeing a priority – this will bring a handful of other benefits too.
Engage With the Local Community
Brands that have a good corporate image also are ones with a strong presence in the local community. This might involve partnering with local schools, forming alliances with local businesses, hosting events and raising money for charities, to name just a few ideas.
Provide High-Quality Customer Service
Customer service will have an enormous impact on your brand’s reputation, so you will want to make this a priority area. This should mean being easy to contact, being friendly yet professional, being transparent and honest and handling issues as swiftly as possible. Small touches like thank you notes, personalized shopping experiences, free gifts and responding to comments on social media can go a long way.
Reduce Environmental Impact
In today’s day and age, one of the most important ways to improve your corporate image is to reduce your environmental impact, and this is becoming an area where many are passionate and will only use brands that are green. You can improve your green credentials by using renewable business energy, which is also an effective way to lower your energy bills too and it can be an easy enough process to make the switch. You can then use press coverage and/or social media to boost your public image and show that you are taking action to battle climate change.
Use Social Media Effectively
Following this point, social media can be a powerful tool when it comes to corporate image in that it can lift your reputation to new heights but it is also very easy to destroy your image with one mistake. How you use it will depend on your industry and the type of image that you are cultivating, but regular posts of high-quality content, engaging with your target customer and humanizing the brand are usually effective ways to boost your corporate image with social media.
Hopefully, this gives you a few ideas for ways in which you can improve your corporate image and enjoy all of the benefits that this can bring.
