Loyalty Is The Center Of Good Reputation Management
Loyalty in a business has several different components. You have customer loyalty, staff loyalty, and perhaps even supplier loyalty. When it comes to an online business, you can have social media loyalty, and for some businesses, affiliate loyalty. That’s a lot of loyalty that needs managing, yet it only takes one of those loyalty areas to unravel, and your whole businesses reputation could be down the drain.
Managing that loyalty is not as difficult as it sounds. If you take the top three components for most online businesses – staff, customers, and social media – they all cross paths at some stage. Here are a few suggestions for managing each component.
- Staff Loyalty – Staff loyalty requires both a firm hand and good management skills. Providing fair work conditions is always a good start. Having social media policies in place that are fair but firm are also a necessity. If you manage those two areas carefully, then staff loyalty need not be an issue, even if one employee leaves and tries to bad mouth your business.
- Customer Loyalty – Customer loyalty comes to the basics of good business. Provide a good product at a fair price and back it up with a good customer service policy and you should have customers coming back time after time.
- Social Media Loyalty – Social media loyalty is perhaps the hardest of the three to manage. However, if your social media approach is social and less marketing, and your communication is honest two-way communication, then you have a good start. Understanding why users are connecting with you through social media and feeding that motive in a positive way will seal their loyalty.
Loyalty is not that difficult to attain if your approach is positive and honest. With a strong loyalty base, you have a rock solid reputation management foundation. If anyone does try to undermine your business, those loyal to you will stand up and defend you without having to be asked.
Who Is Competitive Intelligence Really For?
Who are you conducting competitive intelligence for? Are you doing it for you or for your customers? Or maybe for your stockholders?
Competitive intelligence should be seen as an asset. Whether you are a corporation or a small business, you have competition and if you expect to remain competitive within your niche then you need to stay on top of what your competition is doing. Your stockholders expect it. Your customers will appreciate it (even if they don’t know you are doing it). Your employees need it. And you have a responsibility to each of them.
Competitive intelligence is something that must be done for your company’s survival. Without a good idea of the competitive landscape within your industry you will likely not survive. That will place your stockholders’ investments at risk, your customers could end up doing business elsewhere, and your employees may lose their jobs. A good competitive intelligence strategy is a necessary part of doing business.