Rockford’s Top Marketer Explains the Importance of Reputation Management

As a Rockford, Illinois-based marketing and advertising agency, Cain & Company knows that effective marketing runs deeper than an attractive landing page, evocative content, or effective search engine optimization. A rock-solid reputation is the backbone of your efforts, from your “About Us” page to your social media marketing. And a good reputation isn’t built by accident; it’s cultivated through careful management. At Cain & Company, we are eager to help you positively influence public perception, build your brand, and safeguard your reputation.

What is Reputation Marketing?

Simply put, reputation marketing identifies, then amplifies, your brand’s strengths as a selling tool. You’ve probably heard of social proof; this is a way to leverage that “proof” to enhance your brand’s visibility and customers’ positive feelings, which in turn allows your products and services to benefit from the trust you’ve worked so hard to build.

So where is that reputation coming from?

• Online reviews, both on your site and on review aggregators
• Your social media marketing and your mentions across channels
• Your efforts to promote your brand’s activities as much as your products and services (here, think of things that give back to your community, boost other businesses, or provide good stewardship to your city, state, or even the planet)
• Paid and earned media
• The many ways in which these conversations continue offline

Reputation Marketing for New Businesses

New businesses are beset by challenges on all sides. You’re struggling to build name recognition, earn trust, and even acquire and retain better talent. The tools you need to accomplish all of these are hidden in plain sight, and Cain & Company is poised to help you optimize them for maximum results.

• A quality website
• A content marketing strategy that hones your message to a fine point and delivers it to the right people at the right time
• Social media marketing that reaches your fans where they are
• Search engine optimization that ensures you get found
• Listings and reviews in the right places, so your prospects can verify what they see with solid social proof
• Offline advertising, from billboards to trade show exhibits (both physical and virtual), builds visibility and reputation alike

Reputation Marketing for Legacy Businesses

For legacy businesses, awareness already exists to one degree or another. However, this can be a double-edged sword, since much of your reputation may stem from what people think they know about you—not all of which may be accurate and some of which may actively work against you. Here, it’s not enough to simply attract and respond to reviews. You’ll also need to look at the bigger picture, taking items like public relations and corporate social responsibility into account and also being proactive in putting an employee-positive message forward. With nearly five decades of experience, Cain & Company has a proven track record of staying on top of the latest marketing trends.

Reputation Management, Public Relations, and Crisis Management

Reputation marketing and reputation management might seem to be terms with only minor semantic differences between them. However, the distinctions run deeper than that. Simply put, reputation marketing builds, promotes, and maintains your good name. Reputation management, on the other hand, seeks to repair the damage from an adverse public relations event or to mitigate bad reviews; in short, it’s a form of crisis management.

Each has its place, but we find that effective reputation marketing now tends to ease the need for reputation management later. After all, reputation marketing uncovers, then builds upon, a reservoir of goodwill you’ve built with your clients and the public. The importance of that shouldn’t be underestimated, since it can help you weather the occasional misstep or blunder; when you’ve built a solid reputation and the trust that goes with it, your clients and fans want to see you succeed, and it’s likely they’ll even help you do so.

Reputation Building in the Rockford Area

Your clients aren’t the only ones who can help you evangelize for your brand. Having an experienced Rockford marketing company on your side helps as well, which is why a wide range of manufacturing businesses, healthcare organizations, financial institutions, nonprofit organizations, and others rely on Cain & Company for help building and maintaining a sterling reputation. From small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, we have built longstanding partnerships with clients across a variety of markets and can identify and seize opportunities for reputation enhancement. We are committed to supporting your goals and protecting your reputation where it starts, here at home. To get started, get in touch today!