SUCCESS magazine interviewed Proven Media Solutions founder Dustin Siggins about what every entrepreneur needs to know about building brand credibility in the 21^st century.

Press is good – surround-sound marketing & branding is better

Press is a great tool for building trust with target audiences. But in the modern world, no single tool – whether social media, digital or traditional advertising, e-mail newsletters, etc. – is enough. Surround-sound marketing and branding is much, much better.

“There are two strategic approaches for media,” Siggins says. “One is brand exposure. You just want your coverage. You want to talk about your ideas for whatever reason you want them out there and you don’t care if it drives sales or any other outcome.” 

“Or you want to drive an ROI with earned media,” Siggins says. “Typically for that, you need to have a robust marketing team in place. Because if you don’t, it’s just hanging in the ether in today’s media world. …. [Y]our team should have a well-developed, well-thought-out, well-executed marketing plan that is going to take earned media and drive more value from it.” 

Who represents your brand?

The best brand exposure comes from having the right people presented to the right audiences. For example, customer endorsements and culture praise from employees can often mean more than a speech from the entrepreneur founder, especially during a potential crisis.

“And then you have to think about the kinds of media that work for your company and the tone that you want as the spokesperson,” Siggins explains. “If you’re the CEO and you’re a nerd, maybe USA Today isn’t the best, but maybe The Wall Street Journal is or Gartner or Forbes—or if you have a stutter and you’re very shy or camera-shy, you probably don’t want to go on CNBC. Maybe have somebody else do that for you.”

And, of course, every spokesperson needs to practice. You don’t want to be flat-footed on TV or caught in a hot-mic ambush moment.

Stay on point

It’s very easy to get your narrative off-brand in a world where outrage generates viral distractions, and when a million topics come across your screen. Stay disciplined about your narrative and to whom you are spreading the narrative. Otherwise, you may become an ex-entrepreneur because you are no longer focused on what matters: growing your company.

“If you have a great connection with a consumer products reporter at The Wall Street Journal and you’re talking about lawyers and accountants, it’s not really going to work,” Siggins notes. “You have to have the three T’s: right topic at the right time from someone with the right title.”  

Even if you see something outrageous.

“Wait 48 hours [to put] an opinion out there,” Siggins says. “Second, If you care about the subject matter, seek original sources.”

And even if you’re getting criticized.

“Unless they’re relevant to your target audience, ignore them,” says Siggins. “People have too much time on their hands today. There’s easy access to the internet. Also, generally don’t talk about politics if you can avoid it.” 

The situation was so bad that Southwest CEO Gary Kelly took take time away from growing his company to staunch the bleeding with appearances on Good Morning America and CNBC, and a public apology to customers.  

Today, every mistake can turn into millions of dollars of damage to a company’s bottom line or brand. In 2018, one Starbucks manager’s decision in Philly became a shutdown for every Starbucks store in America. Chick-fil-A angered conservatives when it stopped donating to The Salvation Army (donations which angered the left). Delta angered all sides when it ping-ponged about Georgia’s voting law. Burger King’s effort to promote female chefs ran into a Twitter mob that forced the multi-national corporation into a full retreat.

But as quick as the public is to judge and attack – we also have short attention spans. United is #3 in the trusted airline survey, despite its CEO blaming a customer when the customer was assaulted on a flight. The company recovered millions of dollars in stock losses within days. Chick-fil-A continues to thrive, including by earning the most revenue per location in the fast-food industry.

Businesses need to recognize that they may be attacked at any time. You may not actually do anything wrong – but when it bleeds, it leads in a social media-driven news cycle. Therefore, businesses should engage in a proactive marketing and branding strategy to build customer trust that will keep revenue coming during and after a crisis.

First, put value to customers before customer values. No liberal goes to Starbucks for accountants, and no conservative goes to Chick-fil-A for mechanics. Most people make purchasing decisions based upon quality, customer service, price, reputation, and/or convenience. Focusing on universal needs and timeless values allows company executives to focus on growth while creating a bastion for crises. Putting value to customers before customer values also protects you from getting the “wrong” answer as values change.

Second, build brand trust well before crises arrive. United, Chick-fil-A, and Starbucks held onto core customer markets even during the worst of their crises. This starts with a surround-sound marketing strategy which includes:

• Getting press which your target markets trust. This will help drive sales, giving you a bigger customer base and more revenue to overcome crisis-related dips. It will also help people see the good about you before and during a crisis. Quality press includes first-person interviews and op-eds by your spokesperson, a profile about your company or leadership, and inclusion in wide-scope articles, podcast segments, and TV clips.
• Turning press into website, social media, and newsletter collateral. In the short term, this will improve your marketing outcomes. In the long run, it will build a digital foundation for trust.
• Building relationships with influencers, such as media voices, industry leaders, and community leaders. Getting these people on your side before a crisis means they will hear you out and may have your back when times are tough.

Third, don’t panic during a crisis. A well-prepared company has customer trust, a positive digital brand, and a limited target market. Silence can be your friend; never punch down or respond to irrelevant haters. The public has a short attention span, so stay focused on what you do best, quickly own up to mistakes, and accurately deflect falsehoods through trusted media.

The bad news about owning a business today is that critics can turn one bad event into a groundswell of opposition. The good news is that the new rules of business branding have a time-tested solution: be the best at what you do, and build trust through company culture, and effective marketing and branding. Your company will grow faster, avoid and deflect critics more often, and bounce back from true crises more quickly.

This piece was originally published by Dustin Siggins at Inside Sources.

• The vulnerability of living with online haters and trolls who have low barriers to entry to hurt your company’s brand.
• The challenge to express the “right” values the “right” way even as values rapidly change.
• The risk of incurring the wrath of customers and other stakeholders if you express values even the “right” values the “wrong” way.

A single mistake can be costly. As our founder highlighted today, Starbucks lost over $10 million in 2018 after a store manager’s decision led to accusations of widespread company racism. Burger King’s UK division was lambasted across the Atlantic when it turned a sexist trope on its head to promote its female chef scholarship. And just this week, an Asian-owned media firm received terrible press after the Asian spa shooting when its solidarity attempt led to accusations of stereotyping and improperly using a Black Lives Matter symbol.

Rules of the road

The good news is that the new rules have old solutions. The first, and best protection, against the new rules of business branding is to be the best at what you do. We recently urged small business owners to put customer value — what you do and how you treat people — over customer values. The reason: even the most ardent liberal won’t go to Starbucks for a car, and conservatives won’t get accounting advice at Chick-fil-A.

In other words: don’t divert scarce resources. Invest those resources to create your company’s most powerful branding strategy.

The second step to protect your brand is to make it part and parcel of your firm’s overall infrastructure growth. Our founder recently laid out a four-part communications and branding strategy that lives up to the adage, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”:

Have a good law firm on retainer that knows your company, industry and target markets. Those looking to malign your company will often back off once real consequences flash in front of their eyes.

Don’t scrimp on marketing, branding or earned media. Building great relationships with the public, community leaders and media gatekeepers now makes it more likely that they’ll listen to you in an emergency.

Build a great internal team. The best opportunity to build loyalty is when times are good. Loyal staff breed loyal customers who will stick with you in tough times.

Create streamlined, efficient operations so that your gross and net profits are high, and prioritize company savings. Money can’t solve all of your problems, but it sure can help when an emergency arises – everything from engaging in legal action to hiring crisis communications experts or temporarily increasing your marketing budget until the crisis is over.

The third step to great business branding is deciding how and if to respond to criticism. Not all trolls, haters, and critics are created equal. If your target markets don’t care, you shouldn’t either. If criticism is impacting your brand, consider whether fighting back is appropriate. And if you’re actually wrong — apologize quickly and clearly.

Succeed through courage and preparation

Burger King, Starbucks, and other major multi-national corporations are big dogs in their industries. They are household names. To see them run like puppies from online criticism can make any small business owner queasy. But by focusing on building a great brand, you’ll be prepared for your own haters. Success breeds critics — but it also builds great business branding.