Hands up, who likes a good gossip?

People hate to think they’re being talked about negatively behind their backs.
It could be gossip about our weight and health, our alleged behaviour, fictitious relationships, or our children’s misbehaviour. Sometimes the negative communications are based on some degree of fact, other times they’re just malicious or based on envy.
Whatever the theme and whatever the reason, it’s hurtful and emotionally damaging. There are those that fight back, either by confronting the gossips or setting positive examples of behaviour. We want to have a good reputation. When it’s damaged, our feelings take a hit and our self-esteem falls.
So why don’t businesses monitor what is being said about their products, services or market sector, either by gossips, the media, competitors or online commentators?
It takes a long time to build a brand but much less time for it to be destroyed. This is a health warning: gossip and negative messages may harm your brand.
A strong brand relies on the values, beliefs, behaviour and experiences that exist in the collective mind of the partners, stakeholders, consumers, customers, competitors, suppliers and even the media.
It’s one of your company’s most important assets and should be prized as such. Modern marketing must therefore take account of the fact that an organisation communicates in a thousand different ways, whether it wants to or not, whether it plans to or not.
Success depends on creating and managing the ‘brand’. A strong brand is achieved through measurable marketing objectives and the most successful organisations and companies have a clear brand, which they manage effectively, never relying on any one else to do it for them.
Building a strong brand value embraces everything that’s said and done by an organisation. It’s also about consistent use of corporate identity, strong advertising messages, and effective media presence.
Therefore, it’s important that someone somewhere manages that brand.
If you don’t, the gossips may just do it for you.

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