How To Protect Your Reputation As A Business Owner
As a business owner, one of the things you must guard at all times is your reputation. Having a good reputation is some form of goodwill currency you can use as leverage. Your personal and public life often overlap, and the actions of one part of your life may impact the other. Even when private matters such as needing the help of a domestic violence lawyer to help you unravel situations at home get out, it may hurt your business. To avoid such a situation, here are some ways you can protect your reputation as a business owner.
Engage in CSR
As a business owner, one way to gain goodwill is via corporate social responsibility. This means being active with community and social projects that add value to the communities you operate in. This is one offline tactic that will boost your reputation. Identify projects that will improve the lives of people in the communities where you work. Actively participate in such projects, and the people will appreciate the gesture. Another way to improve your public and image and business reputation is to work closely with sustainability consultants. They'll be able to highlight ways in which you can decrease your carbon footprint and make your company greener - a common and highly important factor nowadays.
Separate your private life from your public life.
With social media rife with personal opinions on several matters, it can be a slippery ground for you as a business owner. When you feel pressed to comment on an issue, you should be careful how you craft your message and not be too quick to let people know your take on the subject. If not, you will end up rubbing some people the wrong way, and this will, in turn, affect your business. Topics like religion, politics, and gun laws can be particularly polarising. Avoid these hot topics as much as possible.
Issue a company policy on public posts
In most cases, your reputation is inadvertently damaged through the public posts of other people who work for your organization. Employees and freelancers can often affect your brand reputation through their positions, and to avoid that, you should have a company policy on public posts. This will offer guidelines on what type of content the employees put out concerning the organization to avoid placing the organization’s reputation at stake. And sometimes, ex-employees may post negative reviews on Glassdoor or elsewhere. If you feel that these are hurting your business, you can remove negative glassdoor reviews and boost your business’ reputation.
Take crisis communication serious
Often the best way to deal with a damaged reputation is by swiftly addressing it. To do this effectively, you must have a crisis communication plan in place. This will provide guidelines that will ensure that the damage is controlled and passes quickly. It usually entails, what to say, how to say it, and when to say it. If you intend to take crisis communication seriously, you must have a plan for multiple scenarios.
Think through before acting or speaking
Often, you can avoid a lot of bad press by just thinking things through. Every action or utterance you make will be scrutinized to find faults, so before you do or say anything, think it through. The internet never forgets, and statements you made in the past can come back to haunt you. When you are being asked questions, be mindful of what you say, as they may be twisted to suit other purposes.
