Good. Better. Best.

“Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” - Abraham Lincoln

An excellent reputation is one of the greatest assets in competitive industries like transport. Reputation assists in many aspects of business from increasing sales, to liaising with government and councils, to attracting employees. But managing your reputation is an ongoing, long term commitment that can face setbacks, especially if you’re not properly prepared to mitigate issues.

Whether you are growing your reputation or trying to keep it intact, here’s eight tips for building your business reputation:

1. Be professional

A professional appearance and proper behaviour adds credibility to your business, and fosters trust and confidence in customers. Follow industry best practice and provide good quality goods and services, this includes ensuring your suppliers and contractors are up to scratch. Whether on the road or in the office, staff should adhere to a policy regarding customer relations, so that the client experiences a consistent interaction with your business. Websites frequently offer the first impression of a business, so make sure yours is up to date and reflects your values, and check regularly for any broken links.

2. Be seen

Be active within your industry by joining an industry body and attending events like the RTF Annual Conference. ‘Networking’ can be a real put off for Kiwis, but just view these events as meeting real people face-to-face who have similar work interests. Becoming more active will help you to build business relationships and be aware of opportunities and issues within your industry. A good way to stay in the loop is reading trade media like NZ Truck & Driver, Dieseltalk, and NZ Trucking Magazine .

3. Be a winner

Apply for awards that are suitable to your business, they can be within the transport industry like the NZ Truck Driving Championship or wider such as a trusted brand award. Being an award winner places your business as a leader, marks it as ‘the best’ in a category and adds a sense of quality and authority to your brand. Seek out and work towards certifications. Being certified provides outside validation of your business’ capabilities and demonstrates commitment to professional development.

4. Be prepared

Prepare for issues before they occur by identifying possible problems and planning how your business and employees would respond. This could be anything from major crashes, business scandals or unhappy customers. Try to solve problems privately. Attend to any issues quickly, especially publicly aired issues like those on social media or in the news. If you have done something wrong, then show genuine care for those affected and communicate clearly with media and stakeholders. Communication around difficult issues may take some expertise from a public relations advisor or brand manager.

5. Be consistent

Define your business character and use this to develop a strong message around who you are and what you stand for. Follow through on this message by engaging with suppliers and brands that are aligned with your ethos. Make sure employees are aware of the values and abide by them whilst representing your business. Nothing looks worse than uniformed employees displaying behaviours opposite to company values.

6. Be a good citizen

Contribute to both the industry and the wider community. Driver shortages are an ongoing issue, so you could focus on internships with younger drivers, or engaging with local secondary schools for work experience days. Support projects and charities that relate to your business such road safety projects, men’s mental health, or local sports clubs. Encourage or actively set aside some time for employee volunteering to make a positive difference for the both community and your staff. Past, current and prospective employees will be spreading the word about your business, so treat everyone fairly and respectfully.

7. Be friendly with competition

Although it may seem counter-intuitive, being sociable with competitors demonstrates that you are mature, professional and confident in your business’ capabilities. The public will appreciate this. Being aggressive, competitive, disparaging, or throwing the competition under the bus will reflect badly in the long run, even if you predict short term gains. Plus, the industry competitors often need to rally together when pushing for government or council change, and showing that your business treats peers fairly is important.

8. Be A+

Encourage customers who are happy with your service to spread the news through offering incentives or handing over a few business cards to pass on. Encourage reputable supplier and customer brands to say nice things about your business so that their reputation rubs off on your reputation, and voice approval of those brands in return. Consider a customer case study to obtain a real-life story and quotes that others can read.