Even a global brand, has a local reputation
I often hear talk from those that focus on global branding while others keep their efforts fixed on local marketing. The thing is, everyone has both.
While a Fortune 500 company may indeed have a brand that blankets the entire country, and even other countries, it should not take its attention away from its local reputation. Further, it should not assume that its local reputation is the same as the one it manages around the world.
Your local reputation can be determined by the employees that work at a specific local office or store. And, it can help and hurt. In Repped, I talk about how The Mattress Firm was my last choice for mattress shopping due to what I had read about the national brand. However, when I finally shopped there, the location nearest to me was outstanding in their assistance and treatment of me as a customer.
That’s just one example of how a national or global brand can have a different local reputation. Location, pricing, cultural nuances, neighborly recommendations, even how cutthroat your competition, can all affect how you are perceived, and reviewed, locally.
And, if you’re a local, small business, the opposite is also true of you. I’ve lost track of the number of small businesses that I have seen receive national news coverage–good and bad–because of something they did at a small bricks-and-mortar store, located at a town with just one stoplight!
Do not dare confine your reputation management to just one view: global, national, or local. Instead, monitor all of them. Learn where you earn praise. Understand what leads to criticism. Embrace each, learn from each, and your reputation will benefit immensely!
