Why Your Reputation Trumps Your Marketing – Every Time

Why Your Reputation Trumps Your Marketing – Every Time

If your goal is to be the best-known brand in your industry, a massive investment in marketing can be a smart marketing strategy.

But you’d better be selling a truly great product or service. Because if the customer’s experience falls short of what you say in your marketing campaigns, no amount of marketing investment is enough.

Case in point: A local waterproofing company in Cleveland.

Here’s why the things people say about your business matter far more than what you say about yourself – and why your reputation (good or bad) will always trump your advertising and marketing.

The Advantages of Being the Best-Known Brand

We recently had a water issue in the basement of our home in Cleveland, Ohio. As we began looking for a waterproofing contractor, one vendor was top of mind. I’ll call them X Waterproofing.

From TV ads to direct mail to mall kiosks, X Waterproofing is the most active marketer in this category in Northeast Ohio.

High brand recognition can pay off for lead generation. Since X Waterproofing offers free estimates and I had little to lose, I called to schedule an appointment.

Red Flags on the First Call

Red flags began popping up on my inquiry call. The scheduler asked lots of questions, but not about our water problem. They were evaluating our value as prospects – home ownership, years in the home, etc. They also insisted – in fact, demanded – that both my husband and I be present for the appointment.

Was this because I’m a woman and they’d rather sell to a man? (If so, that’s insulting.) Or was it because they need to explain their methodologies to both decision-makers at once? (If so, it might make sense.) Despite my misgivings, I set the appointment, if only to get some education about the nature of our problem.

The day before, they called to confirm (again) that both homeowners would be present. Now I was really irritated, but I decided to let them come.

“Let’s Talk – About Us”

When they entered the house, we started toward the basement to show them the problem, but first, they wanted to sit and talk with us in the kitchen.

Wait, what? Weren’t they here about the basement?

Then began the sales pitch by a fast-talking representative using a fast-moving (and very outdated – I’m a fast reader) PowerPoint about their experience and credentials. Fifteen minutes later, they finally looked at the basement and quickly proposed a huge, extremely expensive project. We said we’d think about it. Needless to say, we didn’t.

The next day, we got a call: The sales representative had talked to the company president about us and he agreed they could do the job for less, since they’d be doing another job soon in our neighborhood. Were we ready to schedule?

Of course not. We declined and told them never to call us again, feeling dumb for having wasted our time.

Reputation Rears its Ugly Head

Then we did what we should have done from the outset – asked our neighbors and friends who they’d used for water issues. Here’s what we heard:

• “Well, I can tell you who NOT to call – don’t EVER call X Waterproofing.”
• “You talked to X Waterproofing? NOOOOO!!! They’re the worst!”
• “Oh, no, not X Waterproofing! NEVER!”

We also (finally) checked Yelp.com reviews and it got even uglier. Brutal reviews of X Waterproofing echoed our experience and underscored what our friends told us.

The Big Lesson for Your Smart Marketing Strategy

Your reputation is driven by the customer’s experience. If you have a bad reputation, marketing can’t fix it.

Should you find your business in this position, I’d advise you to take a hard look at how you got there. Identify the factors and business practices that need to be fixed and pour all your effort and energy into correcting them. Focus especially on the interactions between your staff and your customers and prospects. The single most important factor in successful branding is how people feel after interacting with your business.

Once you’ve gotten back on track, marketing can help you tell the world – especially former customers who left in dissatisfaction – that you’ve recommitted to being a trustworthy, high-quality provider. Then prove it in everything you do going forward.