Managing Your Post-coronavirus Reputation

There’s no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic has been disrupting businesses, both small and large, across the globe. Businesses have had to drastically adjust their operations.

Once the threat of the coronavirus declines, your business may be ready to open up and return to normal operations. Whether your business had to close its doors or you had to set up your employees to work remotely, it’s important to recognize the global pandemic and continue protecting your company’s reputation.

Why Is Your Reputation Important?

Many companies focus on handling reputation threats that have already happened. That is not reputation management. That is crisis management, a reactive approach to limit the damage that’s already been done. It’s important to focus on a proactive approach to mitigate reputational risks before they become a problem.

Simply put, your brand reputation is how the general public—including customers and employees—sees you, thinks of you and talks about you. It’s word of mouth.

How your business has previously responded to the coronavirus and how you move forward can play a big role in public perception and employee recruitment. As much as a good reputation is vital in driving business, it can also reinforce employees’ commitment to the company. That commitment leads to confidence and trust in the company. Employees are the face of the company, and engaged employees can be your best promoters.

How Can Your Reputation Be Affected?

There’s no denying that this global pandemic is changing how people think, behave and consume information. Since we live in a digital age, customers and prospective employees have many channels available to them as they search for and discover information about companies. A good reputation means that a business is more credible than their competitors. Reputation is all about public perception—even if it’s not factual.

There’s a need to be proactive, as reputational risk often strikes without warning. Here are some common online channels to monitor:

·         Business review websites

·         Social media

·         News releases and articles

·         Blog posts

·         Forums

·         Competitor websites

People will talk about your company regardless of whether you have an online presence. But, if you’re not online or monitoring channels, there’s no way for you to discover what’s being said, and you may risk even bigger reputation problems.

Source: Zywave, 2020.