Brand Image and Reputation: What's the Difference?

Brand image and reputation are both tightly linked, but they are not the same thing. Understanding the difference between the two can help companies to focus and prioritize how they are being perceived by customers, ultimately shaping the company's brand image. This can be especially important when looking to make data-driven public relations decisions. Read on to find out more about the differences between strong brand image and solid reputation and how having this knowledge can help your company. If you are looking to make an important decision that may affect the image or reputation of your company, consult an expert marketing design company like San Diego’s Lien Design to get you on the right path.

The public’s impression of a business is known as “brand image.” This encompasses how customers perceive a company’s brand image, including past and present perceptions, as well as potential customer views. It includes considerations such as quality, value, variety, and customer service experiences, which can influence consumer preferences and actions. Marketing, advertising, and public relations all play a role in developing a company’s public image. Customer experience and feedback, online reviews, and recommendations from friends and family all play a role.

The public’s perception of a brand is known as its “reputation.” It takes into account the brand’s overall business success and its previous and present activities. Reputation is harder to establish and keep up than mere appearance. Earning the public’s trust and admiration is a process that requires patience and perseverance.

To illustrate this topic, here’s a table that summarizes the key differences between brand image and brand reputation:

To begin, let’s attempt to define image and reputation in relation to branding.

Consistent Brand Image

Here are some brand examples:

Apple: Consistently cutting-edge innovation and high-quality manufacturing. Apple has crafted a brand’s identity of innovation and luxury through deliberate branding efforts and marketing campaigns.

Nike: the pinnacle of sportswear, motivation, and performance. Nike has successfully shaped its brand’s core values, market positioning, and identity around athletic excellence and inspiration.

Coke: represents joy, history, and patriotism. Coke’s brand’s identity is built on creating a sense of happiness and nostalgia.

This would be defined as how customers perceive your brand and would encompass perceptions from the company’s growth strategies past and present as well as considering how potential customers might view your brand. This would include the quality, value, variety and customer service a customer experiences when purchasing and using your product. A comprehensive brand perception attracts and retains customers, builds trust, and provides a serious competitive advantage or edge.

Consumers’ actions can be affected by how a brand’s control and is perceived. When consumers have a favorable impression of premium quality of a brand, they are more inclined to make a purchase.

One of the reasons some brands may secure top rankings in their fields may be simply due to the fact that old habits are hard to break. Maybe their mother purchased the product when they were young, and it is one they have come to know and trust over time. It is one that is comforting and familiar to them. They may have gotten used to the taste smell or feel of the product, or even its color. All of this is part of brand loyalty and it is hard to win over consumers who have already established loyalty to another product.

There may be other factors that affect a brand’s ability to gain top ranking that may be more obvious. These include:

Methods for establishing one’s brand as trustworthy and reputable:

A company's brand image for customer retention and reputation among socially conscious consumers can be strengthened through the following strategies:

Create a brand identity that is distinct and recognizable. Having consistent brand messaging, a memorable brand name, logo, and slogan all contribute to this. This includes crafting a brand voice and personality that is represented in all of the company’s marketing and communication efforts to maintain a consistent brand image.

Provide excellent service to your customers. This involves meeting or exceeding client expectations in terms of service quality, response time to complaints, and product range.

Take care of your community. This includes doing things like being environmentally responsible and supporting worthwhile causes.

Honesty and openness are required. To achieve this goal, employees must tell the truth about the company’s offerings and accept responsibility for errors.

Brand's Reputation

Reputational Examples:

Amazon: Dedicated to its customers, dependable, and easy to use

Google: a cutting edge technology on-edge, reliable, and useful

Disney: wonderful with kids and adults alike

These companies have achieved high levels of customer satisfaction through consistent product quality, innovation, and exceptional customer service.

To what end internal and external factors are brand reputation and brand image important?

Reputation is built on a company’s corporate culture and actions and how they affect public opinion. This could include charitable giving, the business’s potential to build community, their hiring and general policies and citizenship. Companies can be seen as good guys or bad guys in the eyes of the public.

So we see that brand image and a company's reputation are two different entities. However, they are often directly related and can help companies in times of crisis. For instance, if a company does something that may affect their reputation, a strong branding and well crafted brand image may help to reverse negative perceptions.

A positive reputation for a product or service in the minds of consumers allows businesses to command a higher price point, expand their customer base, and inspire greater customer loyalty. Companies with a strong brand reputation and equity are better able to weather storms and bounce back from disasters.

Branding and Reputation Management:

Constant vigilance over the look and feel of your brand across digital platforms is essential. Methods such as social media monitoring, surveys, and analysis of the market trends and data can help with this.

Businesses need to have a plan for handling customer complaints and criticism. In addition, they need to actively promote their brand identity, repeat business, and their positive brand reputation, via public relations, social media, and other forms of marketing.

For instance, a company like Walmart may have made some questionable decisions in the past that puts them in a poor light as far as customer perception. However, they are able to keep their customer base by offering low prices irresistibly low prices. In this case, brand image has the ability to make up for reputation. However, quality may be a sticking point here, as customer feedback and concerns about the poor quality of a product is rarely able to be overlooked no matter what the company attempts to do in it’s branding and reputation.

So we see that both reputation and brand image are important and careful consideration should be paid to developing both. However, when a company starts out, it’s important to focus on brand image as reputation will be something that will be developed and paid more attention to as a company grows. Technology helps companies to grasp how they are being perceived by the public in regard to both brand image and reputation and can help companies take prompt action in controlling feedback and negative reviews. For more information on what you can do to show your company in a positive light, consult branding and graphic design experts at Lien Design. They will always make sure your company's success is being properly represented.

Conclusion: Online Reputation Management

Companies should study the principles of brand image and brand repute. Brand reputation refers to how people feel about a brand, while brand image refers to how people actually feel about a a brand's image.

Consumers' actions can be affected by both the brand's visual representation and its reputation. Having a well-respected and well-known brand allows businesses to command a higher price for their goods and services, as well as to attract and retain more customers.

A company can strengthen its brand identity and reputation by being transparent and honest with its customers, providing them with excellent service, caring about their community, and being socially responsible.

More suggestions for preserving a positive public perception of your business operations. brand's mission to follow:

• Get in touch with your clientele via various social media platforms to establish stronger bonds.

• Produce and disseminate excellent content tailored to your target audience.

• Promote your brand to new customers by holding contests and giving out freebies.

• Cooperate with like-minded businesses and groups.

• Be fast to respond constructively to criticism.

• Keep an eye on how people see your company constantly.

• If businesses follow these guidelines, they will be able to establish and maintain a positive brand image and reputation.

Frequently Asked Questions for Brand Image and Positive Brand Reputation

What is the difference between image and reputation?

Reputation refers to the evaluation process for entities that evaluate their actions and performances in the past by their stakeholders. They are built upon credibility, trustworthiness and reliability. Image, however, is a perception of identity and personality from an audience. 25 March 2020.

What is the relationship between brand and reputation?

The relationship between brand and reputation is close but distinct. A brand represents a company's identity and promise communicated through messaging and visuals. Reputation, on the other hand, reflects how stakeholders perceive the brand based on their experiences and external factors. A strong brand with consistent messaging and positive customer interactions tends to build a good reputation, while negative experiences can harm it. Managing both involves nurturing brand identity, fostering positive interactions, and monitoring external perceptions carefully.

How do you measure brand image and brand reputation?

Measuring brand image and reputation involves methods like customer surveys, online reviews monitoring, brand tracking studies, competitor analysis, employee feedback, and financial performance analysis. These methods provide insights into how your brand is perceived and its impact on business outcomes.

How do you build positive brand image and reputation?

Building a positive brand image and reputation involves consistent messaging, quality products/services, excellent customer service, transparency, community engagement, online reputation management, and fostering employee advocacy. These efforts help build trust, loyalty, and a strong reputation over time.