Business Continuity and Brand Reputation

Why should brand reputation be an integral part of an organization’s business continuity plan?

There is no denying that customers like organizations with a strong brand reputation. Brand reputation management is an essential factor for any business to sustain itself in the market. When a disruptive event happens, organizations must take steps to mitigate any negative impact on its reputation. A brand is an identity that speaks for organizations’ reputation and trust among their customers. When there is something not good for the organization, it will consume time for the organization to recover from it. Reputation management should not be considered only when a crisis occurs; it should be incorporated in an organization’s business continuity plan at the initial stage itself.

Factors impacting brand reputation

Social media

Messages can spread instantly through social media and may get attention from social media enthusiasts and spread to other mediums. Information broadcasting through news media has checks and balances in the way of regulatory and government control, but social media platforms are bigger and hard to be controlled. The recent incident of a Hyundai Pakistan’s official handle managed by a dealer who tweeted undiplomatically with a geographic sensitive message caused an outrage in India where the brand is positioned No.2. The brand prompted its PR crisis team to avoid backslash and negative impact on its identity.

A robust social media policy for organizations can be developed to mitigate such brand damage. Organizations can develop crisis management strategies and include in business continuity plans for social media disasters.

Reviews and ratings

Reviews inspire people to trust the brand. They act as the voice of customers, and users assess the brand through them. Reviews of those who have reviewed the brand will instill confidence in consumers.

Customer experience management

Customer experience is a broad concept; it starts with customers’ initial exposure to the brand and proceeds with their buying experience. It also relates to the impression they have of the brand. In order to enhance an organization’s brand reputation with a customer experience strategy, the organization can map out the customer’s journey, be involved in customer interaction regularly, and gather feedback proactively and eventually improve.

Steps to augment business continuity plans to maintain brand reputation

Give priority to the well-being of employees

The safety of an employee should be given significance by organizations. Organizations should be prepared such that there is nothing detrimental caused to employees. A business continuity plan would be meaningless if employees’ well-being is not regarded. Employee well-being strategies offer far-reaching benefits for all organizations irrespective of their size. These strategies bolster the brand’s reputation by demonstrating that the organization is genuinely interested in employee well-being.

Make reputational risk part of business continuity plan

Organizations should recognize that brand reputation can be rewarding. They should find out where the company is lagging, and keenly assess various scenarios wherein the business reputation could be damaged. This process can be carried out with employees to get unique perspectives.

Keep track of conversations about the brand

To respond proactively to online conversations, organizations have to keep track of everything that is being mentioned about them. Doing frequent searches about the brand across all platforms to know what people are talking about the brand will help in enhancing brand reputation.

Include customer interactions in planning endeavors

Organizations must make every effort to ensure that they readily understand customers’ mindset during any disruption. There should not be any possibility for friction in customer relationship as this will lead to reputation risk. They should be well-equipped for any downtime or any lost customer dealings.

Test as frequently as possible

There should be frequent exercises and tests to assess concerned members’ preparedness. Whether manual or automated, organizations should ensure regular testing. Organizations cannot afford to wait for a crisis to happen and then take steps to address it. Systematic planning, testing, and reviewing will ensure that the business functions in a streamlined manner. Moreover, testing the plan will have minimal chances for an organization to experience downtime. This will eventually bolster the organization’s reputation because they will be in customers’ good books.

Introduce a culture of work ethics in the organization

Reputation is crucial for an organization, and once it is lost, it will not be easy to rebuild. A good reputation is the result of consistent adherence to work ethics. A culture of work ethics will benefit organizations more than they could imagine. Not following it will damage the brand, and the company will not gain customers’ loyalty.

Time is crucial as far as crisis management is concerned. Brands need to be both clear and timely in their response. Hiring a PR firm specialized in crisis management would minimize the damage to reputation and help to reclaim the brand’s position. Seasoned PR firms in crisis management will handle the crisis situation with great care and with adequate amount of knowledge.