We tend to think that reputational management is about us, the providers. Well, if we dive deeper into this concept, we’ll realize that our clients validate our reputation; nothing new here. Basically, reputational management becomes a function dependent on the customer experience. With this perspective in mind, the present article navigates around the actual laws that make experience and loyalty converge into a culturally new purchasing commitment. Moreover, we also aim to raise awareness of the importance of this systemic employee – customer relationship as an inside out performance practice.
Defining Reputational Management having Customer at core
In terms of reputational management indicators, customer experience almost identifies with customer satisfaction. The explanation – in order for people to “talk” about you, it is imperative that they manifest reactions towards who you are, towards your brand. Going even further, in today’s definition of highly demanding standards, personal satisfaction has a lot to do with what people already think you should be or do for them. Thus, reputational management becomes an expression of customer expectations more than an objective opinion over a real, present experience.
Reputational Management = ƒ(customer expectation)
Defining Reputational Management having Employee at core
Clients’ expectations are observed, measured and translated into performance indicators. On the supplier’s end of the rope, though, reputational management becomes more dynamic for the simple reason of being strategized and put into actual goals, projects and action steps. For these to be successful, we need employees to realize them; but for our endeavors to be excellent and boost reputation, we need highly qualified talent.
Thus, we call for the right employees to consciously create quality customer experiences. But at the same time, we are responsible for providing a challenging environment for that to happen. It becomes essential to equip workers with both a proper KSAV package (Knowledge – Skills – Attitudes – Values) and highly attractive and motivational performance systems.
In these terms, notoriety becomes a combination of people and systems meant to satisfy the end receiver of what we have to offer.
Reputational Management = ƒ(employee competence)+ƒ(performance systems)
1st LAW – The Law of Transitivity
The law of transitivity says that if A equals B and B equals C, then it must be that A equals C. Using the same reasoning, customer expectations are met when high potential people make good use of their organizational systems.
We know customer expectations because that’s where we start from when analyzing reputation span. We also know employee competence, for we use organizational assessment tools all the time. Right?!
Well, the upfront utility of this mathematical equation, then, resides in discovering the actual systems that we need to implement in order to take customers from just experimenting with our products or services to becoming loyal to our brand and, ultimately, to achieve behavioral consistency.
What performance systems support Reputational Management?
| EMPLOYEE STAGE | EMPLOYEE COMPETENCE LEVEL | PERFORMANCE SYSTEMS – ƒ(employee competence) | REUPUTATIONAL TRENDS | CUSTOMER VIEW OF OUR BRAND/ PRODUCTS/ SERVICES | CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE – ƒ(satisfaction) | |||
| KNOW | HOW | |||||||
| Entry Level | Fair | Poor |
|
Decrease | Functional Our products/services meet or satisfy specific consumer needs; there’s no emotional connection |
Non-atachment, easy to let go | ||
| Has abilities to fix easy problems | ||||||||
| Likely to switch to another provider | ||||||||
|
||||||||
| 3-5 yrs | Good | Fair |
|
Slight Increase | Accessible Besides the specific function, our products/services are also easy to get to |
Curious, experimental behavior | ||
| Has abilities to set up simple processes | ||||||||
| Somewhat likely to recommend our products/services to other people | ||||||||
|
||||||||
| Leadership Role | High | Good |
|
Considerable, relatively short term Increase | Loyal Customer intentionally chooses our products/services |
Makes a reasoned, comparative purchase choice | ||
| Has abilities to set up complex processes | ||||||||
|
||||||||
| More likely to recommend; becomes a “lead generator” | ||||||||
| Cultural Impact | High | High |
|
Considerable, Steady long term Increase | Recurrent, Advocate Customer keeps coming back for more |
Emotionally attached to products/services/brand | ||
| Has abilities to educate customers and change cultural | ||||||||
| Client becomes relational to the brand and influences others’ purchasing behavior | ||||||||
|
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2nd LAW – The Direct Proportionality Law or the Obvious Law
It is obvious that when customers are satisfied, reputation levels will rise; the opposite applies the same way. The interesting fact about the Proportionality Law is that its negative span is going to be much wider than the positive one. In other words, it’s way easier to drop in customer affection than to build a long term engaging relationship with your clientele.
Now we can probably be tempted to say that steady levels of satisfaction – which could easily be a form of indifference because it doesn’t arouse any reaction – determine a steady notoriety trend. In the words of the Red Devil from the Cow and Chicken cartoon we grew up with, “That’s so sweet, but it’s wrooong!”. People are hungry for reactions, stating own opinions and self-expression. It’s up to us to give them something to remember us by; specifically a feeling. Otherwise, they have a wide range of competitors to choose from. Èven more, these segments are going to share our shallowness with their friends preventing them from trying out our services. In conclusion, in terms of reputational numbers, it’s better to strike the wrong chord than none at all.
Solutions – What Performance Systems support Reputational Management?
As we were pointing out at the beginning of the article there is a systemic connection between employees and customers. This translates into Performance Management. So, depending on their developmental stage, how can we support our employees into a) increasing reputational outreach and b) improve reputational management effectiveness? The table above highlights just that. It only proposes a few examples of what can be done independently and with the help of Best In Test as a reputational management system itself. There are much more features that we are waiting for you to discover through a free trial period.
Whether we’re talking systems or relationship or who knows what off the radar connection between these two concepts, the two laws (transitivity and proportionality) are universal.
Yes, we want to bridge employees and customers, just so the first category can feel responsible and directly in charge of their results. Responsibility attracts assuming and that leads to improved management systems to begin with.
So, in terms of organizational strategy, we need performance systems to support the improvement of how we regulate and streamline reputational management. Once more, BiT is here to do that for you through easy and specific features.
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