Genius, Virtue, and Reputation were close friends. They decided to take a trip to Great Britain, to see what they might see.

“What if we become separated from each other?” they worried, “We should decide how we will find each other again.”

“If it’s my bad luck to get lost,” said Genius, “You will probably find me reading in front of the tomb of Shakespeare, or contemplating in a grove where Milton spoke with angels, or writing in the grotto where Pope found his muse.”

Virtue sighed and acknowledged that she didn’t have many friends. “It is so important to me that I don’t lose you two. But if we are separated, you might find me in a great cathedral, or a palace, or in parliament.”

She paused thoughtfully, then continued, “But if none of those let me in, look for me in a cottage where Contentment lives. You will certainly find me there.”

“Oh, my friends,” said Reputation. “I’m glad that you both feel so confident that we will find you. But, please, be careful never to lose sight of me.”

“If I’m lost, it is most likely that I’ll never be found again.”

• Author Unknown

Reputation and Business

Reputation makes or breaks businesses.

I started my first business, with two friends, when I was 20. It was a coffee shop. I can summarize most of that experience with these words: learning curve.

Coffee is a commodity business. Connoisseurs are, in most cases, too small of a market to build a business on.

And because one decently made mocha isn’t radically different from another, what is really being sold is convenience, environment and experience. Those are perceptions. And perceptions build your reputation.

We didn’t understand that:

1. People needed to know about us. And not just any people but morning coffee drinkers. Specifically upper-middle-class women with jobs. The backbone of any coffee shop.
2. We needed to quickly make a positive habit-forming impression. If someone visited for the first time and had a negative experience, or even just less than stellar, we could lose them forever.

We wanted to create a place for teens and college students to hang out. But to build a thriving business, we should have targeted their moms.

Two Different Elements of Reputation

There are two major elements of reputation:

• Are you known or not?
• Are you positively regarded or not?

If you aren’t known, then it’s very difficult to be effective. This is what most marketing efforts focus on. Helping you become known. Helping you stay front of mind.

If you are known for the wrong things then you have a serious problem.

If you are positively regarded, people will come back. They’ll tell their friends.

Who Cares?

It’s not just customers who matter. Although they matter a lot.

How you are known also matters to:

Employees: Reputation impacts the ease with which you can attract or retain employees. The nature of reputation will also attract or screen out or hold on to your ideal or preferred employees.

Strategic partners & vendors: Your reputation will impact your access to partners or vendors, their quality, your ability to negotiate terms, and their willingness to work with you during challenging times.

Investors and buyers: At some point, every business will need either an investor or a buyer. This might be as simple as establishing a line of credit or acquiring a loan. Or ultimately selling a company. Investors and buyers pay very close attention to the quality and nature of reputation.

What Builds a Reputation?

Reputation comes from repeated experiences. It only takes one experience to make an impression to get people to talk about you. But repeated experiences cement it in the minds of others.

To build the reputation you want, start by answering two questions:

• Who needs to know about us?
• What do they need to know?

Once you know Who and What, these following questions will help you understand how to build the reputation you want.

• Do they trust us? What are we doing that builds or reinforces trust? What are we doing that weakens trust?
• Do they know we care? And if so, what specifically are we doing that communicates this? What do we need to do?
• Are we good at what we do? Are others fully convinced that we will deliver the value we say we’ll deliver? If so, what are we doing that convinces them? Is there anything we are doing that weakens this?

The more trusted you are, the more people feel like they are valued, the greater their confidence in what you offer – the stronger your reputation will likely become.

Final Thoughts

“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” – Socrates

Reputation is one of your most valuable assets. It doesn’t overtly show up on a balance statement.

But it does show up in a valuation. In fact, for many businesses, up to 80% of their potential value is derived from intangible assets. Much of which is reputation.

This article isn’t intended to present ideas about marketing or public relations. Both have value. But both are about magnifying and projecting an image or perspective.

My intent is to encourage leaders to consider three things:

• Reputation awareness: Do you know how you or your organization is experienced and perceived by others? How do you ensure positive experiences are repeated? How do you address negative experiences?
• Obligation to be known: If you offer anything of value, it’s an act of service to make sure people know about it. Because they are looking for it.
• The sizzle should match the steak: Ensure you are how you want to be known.

Take good care,

Christian

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