It is hard to disagree that customers tend to buy from companies that provide high-quality products at competitive prices when choosing between alternative options. At the same time, more aware clients care about factors like sustainability, involvement in public conflicts, and fair employment. All the mentioned factors affect a company’s reputation, and this paper aims to discuss this concept, competitiveness, and relations with vendors and customers.
To begin with, it is essential to explore the impact a poor-quality product can have on a company. First of all, it is evident that clients avoid buying unreliable goods, and selling low-quality products means losing customers and, most importantly, their trust. The latter is rather negative because even when the firm improves the quality of its items, severe challenges may prevent it from earning back the trust of people (Vlastelica et al., 2018). Second, additional costs are also the result of low quality – to enhance the goods, the company will have to spend a significant part of its budget. Finally, the organization will also see negative effects on the overall performance due to the weakening brand image.
As mentioned above, the firm’s reputation can substantially enhance its competitiveness. For instance, a high reputation usually means that the company is not involved in any serious conflicts or legal cases, which is vital for some customers (Vlastelica et al., 2018). The more persons value the firm, the greater its client base gets, and the stronger its competitive advantages become. Moreover, when employees are satisfied and treated properly, they are happy to voluntarily glorify their company and write positive reviews on the forums. If workers are satisfied, talent retention and recruitment grow, meaning the firm has a more advanced workforce. As a result, there is a mutual connection between reputation, the mentioned factors, and competitiveness.
Many business owners agree that a company’s reputation helps enhance relationships with vendors and clients. The latter is discussed earlier in the paper – the higher the firm’s reputation, the more customers it attracts since people value good quality, adherence to CSR guidelines, and competitive prices. As for relations with vendors, it is recommended for businesses to promote transparency of operations and be clear and consistent communicators (Gibbons, 2020). Honoring contractual obligations, setting and respecting mutual values, and being fair are the keys to strengthening vendor relationships.
Finally, summarize the examples of what goes into the reputation of a company. The first element is marketing – the way the firm promotes itself and attracts clients affects how people perceive this business. There were numerous examples of inadequate marketing strategies, including when the community got offended by Dove’s advertisement (Wootson Jr., 2017). Second, compliance between the declared and real qualities of the goods sold plays an essential role. Recently, PetSmart and several other pet stores were found to be providing false information on their products, which affected the trust of their buyers (Johnson, 2021). Finally, the third element is customer treatment – for instance, the incident that happened at Starbucks a few years ago (Tangdall, 2018). It involved racial discrimination and mistreatment of the café’s guests, and this case had a great impact on the company and other business owners.
To draw a conclusion, almost all successful and productive organizations have strong reputations. Indeed, if brand image is high, it becomes easier for any business to overcome most external obstacles and maintain competitiveness. At the same time, if reputation is poor, numerous other elements become weaker and decrease in value, including the trust of vendors and clients and the readiness of employees to remain loyal.
References
Gibbons, S. (2020). 7 ways to improve your supplier relationships. Forbes.
Johnson, A. (2021). Four pet supply retailers settle with California prosecutors over misleading environmental claims. Kion.
Tangdall, S. (2018). The CEO of Starbucks and the practice of ethical leadership. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.
Vlastelica, T., Kostic, S. C., Okanovic, M., & Milosavljevic, M. (2018). How corporate social responsibility affects corporate reputation: Evidence from an emerging market. Journal of East European Management Studies, 23(1), 10-29.
Wootson Jr., C. R. (2017). A Dove ad showed a black woman turning herself white. The backlash is growing. The Washington Post.