CGM blog: Why image and reputation matter

04 Apr CGM blog: Why image and reputation matter

The theme of April’s Business Media Club meetings is Image and Reputation Planning – How to develop a plan to raise your profile, build credibility and develop a respected reputation.

Chris Green explains why this is vital to every business.

Image and reputation – probably the most valuable assets a business can have.

How so? Surely what you do and how you do it matter more?

Delivering quality products and services is important but so is being able to make, develop, market, sell, employ and deal with administration and operations.

But those are harder to achieve without a credible image and reputation. Will you get the chance to win new clients unless your image and reputation are right? If you lack sufficient profile or a decent reputation will you get the chance to win people over? Maybe not.

So while many businesses shape detailed marketing and business development plans, too few focus on image and reputation. That’s why we think it is an important theme for the Business Media Club.

No one is given a great reputation or image – you have to earn it. This isn’t vanity or narcissism. It is about developing a structured plan to raise your profile, build credibility and gain trust.

Image is the way you present yourself to the world – and is subjective rather than uniform.

CGM creative partner Brendan McMahon and I recently presented a wall chart of rival company website home pages to a prospective client.

“What do you see?” we asked. “They’re all the same…(pause)… except for that one.” Nestled deep within the pack was a solitary stand-out page in a clean, contemporary design.

It was one we’d made up. “That,” said Brendan, a wily fox who knew exactly what he was doing, “could be how your business looks.”

So our client did something they’d never done before – stand out from the crowd. It wasn’t just a different image, it was better. It said something about them and their aspirations – confident, clear, fresh, progressive, forward thinking. An entire marketing rebrand was built around this simple observation.

Not that image will ensure a great reputation.

Reputations can be good or bad. Having ‘a reputation’ is often a bad thing, especially if ‘…it goes before you’. Being ‘a character’ isn’t the same as ‘having character’.

So you need a positive reputation. It means people not only recognise but also respect you (maybe as an expert in your field), so you have credibility, trust, respect.

Pam Easen, the inspiring founder of H1 Healthcare, has built a successful multi-million pound business. But what is truly remarkable about Pam, and gives her a unique edge, is that she started H1 when she was over 50. A mum of six, she was living in rural Aberdeenshire, working double day nursing shifts and didn’t even have a PC or laptop.

See how you suddenly have more respect and admiration for Pam? She’s toughed it out, she’s done the hard yards, she knows the nature of her business inside out and she’s had the guts to go for it and grow a business at an age when others are slowing down.

Whether it is being a media go-to person, an informative blog writer or having constantly updated online profiles, telling your unique story should form a key part of building the image and reputation of any business.

You can find out more about image and reputation planning by attending our Business Media Club meetings in Birmingham (April 22) and Worcester (April 29)

Chris Green is an award-winning author and broadcaster – and managing partner of Chris Green Media – which inspires business people communicate better by connecting deeper.

CGM Business Media Clubs offer a monthly blend of media training, personal development and quality networking in a sharing setting. For details visit Business Media Clubs