Brand Reputation: Strategy, Tips & Guide [2026]

Don’t know how people really perceive your brand? It’s an honest brand reputation risk.

Positive brand reputation shapes trust, credibility, and buying decisions long before a customer reaches your website.

In this guide, you’ll learn how brand reputation is formed, where it’s influenced, and reputation management tips based on real data from online conversations, media, and customer feedback.

Why does brand reputation matter in 2026?

In 2026, emotional connection with a brand is what wins customer loyalty.

Overall brand reputation is shaped far more by real-world proof like reviews, experiences, and public behavior than by polished marketing messages alone.

Before anyone clicks Buy, Book, or Sign up, they’ve already decided whether your brand feels credible and familiar.

And the numbers make that clear:

• 81% of consumers say they must trust a brand before even considering a purchase, turning trust into the baseline for market entry. (source: Exploding Topics)
• 88% of U.S. consumers say trust directly influences which brands they buy from, and 87% are willing to pay a premium for brands they trust. (source: Capital One Shopping)
• 73% say their trust in a brand increases when it authentically reflects today’s culture, proving that reputation is shaped by values as much as performance. (source: Edelman Trust Barometer 2025)

This shift is especially visible among younger generations, who increasingly favor brands that reflect their personal values and social beliefs.

🧠 Reputation is no longer what you say about your brand.
It’s what people learn about you when they’re anywhere but your website.

Every review, social mention, comment, article, and recommendation quietly answers one question:

Can I trust this brand?

What is a brand reputation?

Brand reputation is the overall public perception and opinion of a brand shared by people who might have had contact with a particular brand. 

It’s the sum of how customers, employees, partners, and stakeholders perceive your brand across every interaction and channel.

Brand reputation informs how well a brand is recognized, trusted, & valued and, thus, influences the brand’s success or failure.

Brand reputation is shaped by:

• products or services quality
• brand identity
• online presence and community engagement
• customer service and experiences
• marketing and public relations efforts
• corporate culture & social responsibility
• and more!

Together, these factors create people’s overall impression of a brand – whether they trust it, admire it, or choose to stay away.

Why is brand reputation important for business?

A good reputation means that customers and stakeholders trust the brand and want to support it by buying its products or services, investing in it, and recommending it to others.

And it creates a snowball effect!

Over time, reputation becomes a powerful competitive advantage. Strong brands don’t just win attention, they win preference, even in crowded markets.

Happy customers are more likely to stay with your brand, leave positive reviews, and tell their friends about you.

Because of that, brand reputation is no longer a “soft” metric. It’s a core business asset that directly influences revenue, growth efficiency, and long-term valuation.

On the flip side, a damaged reputation makes acquiring new customers significantly harder, as negative perceptions spread faster than marketing messages can correct them. 

Each satisfied customer is a potential brand advocate who adds new ‘reputation fuel’ to the brand’s credibility and reach engine.

Strong vs. Poor brand reputation – Comparison

	Strong brand reputation	Poor brand reputation
Trust & credibility	Shorter sales cycles because buyers already trust the brand before the first demo or sales call	Longer sales cycles due to skepticism, extra validation, and security reviews
Customer retention	Higher renewal rates and lower churn as satisfied customers stay loyal over time	Higher churn as customers leave after negative experiences or unmet expectations
Word of mouth & referrals	Customers recommend the product internally and externally, driving low-cost pipeline growth	Few referrals; negative reviews actively discourage prospects
Crisis resilience	Customers give the brand the benefit of the doubt during outages, bugs, or PR issues	One incident can trigger customer loss, social backlash, or contract cancellations
Revenue & pricing power	Ability to charge premium pricing (e.g. enterprise tiers, long-term contracts)	Pressure to discount heavily to close deals or retain customers
Investor confidence	Strong brand perception supports higher valuations and easier access to funding	Weak reputation raises risk concerns and lowers perceived company value
Talent attraction	Easier to attract senior talent who want stability, credibility, and brand recognition	Hiring slows down; top candidates avoid the company
Visibility & discoverability	More positive mentions improve brand visibility in search, review platforms, and AI tools	Negative sentiment suppresses discoverability and harms brand authority
Growth efficiency	Reputation acts as “reputation fuel,” compounding growth through trust and advocacy	Growth relies on paid acquisition and constant reputation repair

What reputation risks to avoid? (examples)

According to the WTW’s Reputational Risk Readiness Report, reputation is among the top five corporate risks for over half (55%) global senior executives. For 26% of them, reputation gets to the top 3 risks.

And new reputation threats are also emerging.

Companies must now watch for AI-generated deepfakes, fake brand accounts, and impersonation attempts that can damage trust almost instantly.

So, let’s take a look at the six common reputation risks:

1. Cyberattacks and data breaches

Equifax experienced a huge data breach that leaked the personal data of 147 million people, including Social Security numbers and credit card details. 

The company was heavily criticized for delayed information and poor data security practices, leading to a $700 million settlement and long-term damage to its reputation.

2. Frauds

Wells Fargo – one of the largest and most respected banks in the US – was caught in a major scandal after employees secretly opened millions of fake accounts to meet sales targets. 

The loss of trust led to angry customers, big fines, and long-term damage to the bank’s reputation and finances.

3. Poor customer service experience

United Airlines faced huge criticism after a video showing a passenger being dragged off an overbooked plane.

The airline’s first response didn’t show much care or responsibility, which made people even more upset.

The video quickly went viral and damaged brand’s reputation.

4. Low quality of products or services

Boeing – once known as a very reliable and respected airplane manufacturer – lost a lot of trust in January 2024 after a serious safety problem.

A part of the plane’s side (a door plug) blew off mid-air on a new Alaska Airlines flight, causing a hole in the cabin wall. Later, it turned out that important bolts were missing. 

Boeing had to stop many planes on the ground, and people started to question how safe and careful the company really was.

Investigations revealed poor manufacturing practices, such as accepting substandard parts and prioritizing speed over quality, which contributed to ongoing safety concerns.

5. Negative reviews

A Union Street Guest House in Hudson got into serious trouble after the news that it threatened to charge wedding guests a $500 fine for every negative review they posted online. 

The hotel’s controversial policy went viral, leading to thousands of 1-star reviews on Yelp and public scrutiny.

6. Underdelivering

In 2020, Cyberpunk 2077 was one of the most anticipated games in the world. But when it was released, it was full of bugs and didn’t work well, especially on older consoles.

Despite the game developers fixed most of the problems, the huge hype led to big disappointment. 

For many players, the game became a symbol of a flop, causing serious reputation and financial losses for the company.

How to build a brand reputation?

You build a strong brand reputation by consistently delivering on your promises and actively listening to, engaging with, and acting on what customers and the market say about your brand across every channel and touchpoint.

Here’s how to do it step-by-step:

Step 1: Check your current reputation

To start building your brand reputation management strategy, you should know your current reputation.

Having a reference point is important because it allows you to check if your further actions (that we’ll discuss in the next steps) really enhance brand reputation.

How to do it in practice?

You need to check relevant brand reputation aspects, such as:

1. Brand sentiment

Sentiment analysis is a process that helps you understand how people feel about your brand when they discuss it online.

Tracking sentiment over time can show you whether your reputation is improving or quite the opposite. 

And, you don’t have to do a sentiment analysis manually. There are tools that can do it for you.

I created a media monitoring project in the Brand24 tool for this article’s purpose.

I got an analysis based on mentions from:

• Social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, Reddit, Bluesky, Telegram & Twitch
• News sites, blogs, video platforms, podcasts, newsletters, forums & other websites
• Review sites – TripAdvisor, Yelp, Booking, App Store, Google Play & Trustpilot.

Let’s get into a real example now!

Below, you can see the sentiment chart for Garmin – the world’s leading brand in sports smartwatches.

The advantage of positive mentions is overwhelming and indicates a very positive brand sentiment.

2. Share of Voice

Share of Voice (SOV) is a metric that shows the percentage of all online conversations that mention your brand, compared to selected competitors or the whole industry.

In other words, SOV shows how big your brand’s slice of the conversation pie is.

The more people talk about you (compared to others), the bigger your Share of Voice.

Let’s check the SOV for three smartwatch brands: Garmin, Apple Watch, and Suunto.

As you can see, Apple Watch is the most frequently discussed brand among the three of them when it comes to social and non-social media presence combined.

The situation changes when we focus on social media presence only.

It turns out that Garmin has a definitely stronger position there. 

Not surprised at all, as the brand strategy centers around encouraging its target audience to share the user-generated content.

A conclusion?

Garmin should invest more in its PR efforts to increase its total Share of Voice (and thus, brand reputation).

But when we consider only social media presence, Garmin enjoys the highest Share of Voice

3. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a simple but powerful metric that tells how likely your customers are to recommend your brand to others.

The score is based on one key question: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our brand?

Depending on the score, people are categorized into three groups:

• Promoters (9–10): Loyal customers who will keep buying and encourage others to do the same.
• Passives (7–8): Satisfied but unenthusiastic customers who are pretty likely to migrate to your competitors.
• Detractors (0–6): Dissatisfied customers who might discourage others from choosing your brand.

Ultimately, the NPS is counted as follows: NPS = % of Promoters – & of Detractors.

This score can range from -100 (everyone is a detractor) to +100 (everyone is a promoter).

The higher your score, the stronger your brand reputation and customer loyalty.

For more details about checking your current reputation, read our article: How to measure brand reputation?

Step 2: Build a strong brand identity

Whether you like it or not, people judge the book by its cover. 

Your logo, color schemes, typography, tone of voice, and personality shape the people’s perception of your brand.

A consistent brand identity positively impacts how others perceive you and sets customers’ expectations from their interactions with your brand.

The more harmonic your brand identity is, the higher the chance your company’s image will be positive in customers’ eyes.

Further read: How to build a strong brand identity?

Step 3: Deliver quality products and services

Okay, it seems obvious, but I still see many brands that do not understand this simple truth: if you want a positive brand reputation, deliver quality products and services!

It’s extremely important, as product quality is the most important factor impacting trust and repeat purchases (data source).

Seriously, in today’s tough competitive market, quality is not a bonus but a basic expectation.

You can have the most creative marketing campaign, an outstanding brand identity, and even the kindest customer care, but if your product or service disappoints, people will walk away. 

Even worse! They’ll talk about it.

In fact, customers are 21% more likely to leave a negative review after a bad experience than to publish a positive review after a good one.

And that’s a direct route to a poor brand reputation.

Don’t go this way.

Step 4: Buil your online presence

If you take your brand reputation strategy seriously, you should also implement a strong online presence.

People trust the things they know, so let them know you!

Social media is where brands can communicate with their target audiences in the most direct and authentic way. 

It’s your chance to show personality, share your brand values, tell your story, build relationships, and convince people that your brand is worth their time and trust.

But it’s not just about being present – it’s also about being intentional.

Every social media post, comment, story, and reply is a small brick in your brand reputation house.

Besides, social media presence really impacts business success!

77% of consumers are more likely to buy from brands they follow on social media (source: Sprout Social Index).

💡 Pro tip: Be active where your audience is

If you have limited resources, focus on the most important social media platforms.

Advanced tools can show you which sources generate the broadest reach of your brand message – make sure to be present there!

In the case of Garmin, other socials (like Reddit and Quora) generate the most reach while videos are the most reach-efficient.

Here’s what this data looks like in the Brand24 analysis:

Step 5: Provide excellent customer service

Your customer service isn’t just solving problems – it’s shaping your company’s reputation every day.

Therefore, customer satisfaction should be one of your top priorities. 

Every interaction, whether it’s answering a simple product question or resolving a serious issue, is an opportunity to build trust, loyalty, foster brand advocacy, and increase spending.

And there I have data for that claim!

3 out of 4 (73%) customers will abandon a brand for its competitor after a few bad experiences (source: Zendesk Benchmark data).

Poor service doesn’t just hurt customers… it also affects internal morale.

Constant negative feedback can lower employee engagement and increase turnover.

Okay, but what should you prioritize to make your customer service support brand reputation?

The three golden rules are:

• Responsiveness 
  People expect fast answers. The longer they wait, the more frustrated they become.
• Empathy
  Listen actively and treat people like humans, not ticket numbers.
• Problem-solving mindset
  Focus on solutions, not excuses. Customers want their issue fixed.

Further read: Most Important Customer Service KPIs

Step 6: Ask for feedback – and reply

Feedback is power. 

It allows you to understand how your customers perceive your brand, the company’s products, your customer service, and overall brand performance.

Hence, don’t hesitate to ask your customers for honest opinions and treat them seriously!

Use short surveys after purchases, chat interactions, or support tickets. Metrics like NPS and Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) work great.

But collecting feedback is only half the job. The other half? 

Responding to it.

Why is it so important?

Because 97% of people who read online reviews will also read your responses to reviews (according to Synup).

And how you reply shapes their perception. Sometimes, more than the review itself.

Therefore:

• Thank people for positive feedback – it shows that you care about your customers and strengthens your loyal customer base.

• Address negative feedback quickly and constructively – managing negative reviews is an art of empathy. A thoughtful reply can turn frustration into trust.
• Spot patterns – if several customers complain about the same thing, it’s a red flag. It might indicate the need for product or service updates.

Pro tip: Use AI to uncover frequent problems

I asked the AI Brand Assistant to identify the most popular complaints about the GoPro Quik app (it’s a GoPro’s native tool for editing videos).

As Brand Assistant works similarly to ChatGPT – but is equipped with internal project data – you just need to type a prompt.

And here’s what I received – a list of the most frequently reported issues with examples and a direct link to online conversations. Nice!

Step 7: Keep monitoring your brand reputation 

Brand reputation is not given once and for all. It constantly fluctuates.

Therefore, after examining your brand reputation and implementing good practices to improve it, the third step should be monitoring your brand performance.

The best way to know if your actions strengthen your brand reputation is to have a reference point. 

In other words, you should compare your current performance with the past.

I recommend checking the Comparison tab (select the Compare Periods feature, and set up the dates to benchmark)

Later, scroll down to see positive and negative sentiment charts.

The stronger colors inform you about the sentiment trend in the present period. The lighter ones show what it looked like in the previous period.

Look at the positive sentiment chart.

If the dark line is mainly above the light one, it’s a sign that your efforts to build a good brand reputation are successful.

On the contrary, if the darker line is mainly above the lighter one on the negative sentiment chart, you should revise your brand reputation management strategy.

Step 8: Be prepared for a crisis

Thinking about potential crises is uncomfortable. But not thinking about them is irresponsible.

Here’s how to get ready:

• Have a crisis plan
  Define roles, responsibilities, and communication channels. Everyone on your team should know exactly what to do when things go wrong.
• Set up media monitoring tools
  Use alert features to identify sudden spikes in mentions or sentiment shifts.

• Prepare response templates
  Draft clear, empathetic messages for different scenarios (e.g., service issues, negative press). Customize them quickly when needed.
• Act fast but always stay human
  When a crisis happens, let your audience know you are aware of it, share what you’re doing to fix it, and update people regularly. All with honesty and empathy.

Conclusion

Managing your brand’s reputation is crucial for your long-term business growth.

By understanding how others perceive your brand and actively managing it – from product quality and customer service to social listening and creating a crisis plan – you can build a foundation of trust and loyalty.

Because every interaction matters. And every mention counts.

With the right tools, you can protect your brand from potential risks, respond faster, and turn satisfied customers into advocates.

Want to learn more about how social media monitoring affects brand reputation?

Check out real-time analytics using the Brand Checker.

Final thoughts:

• Strong reputation shields your brand and helps it survive in difficult times.
• Regularly monitor your brand’s reputation to avoid potential issues and understand if your efforts work.
• Quality is essential for a positive reputation. Deliver quality products and excellent customer service.
• Technology is here to help. Use AI tools to monitor your reputation, improve it, and spot emerging problems.
• Treat feedback seriously because it delivers valuable insights. Respond to reviews, spot recurring complaints, and upgrade your products & services.

Start a Brand24 free trial and see how it helps build a strong brand reputation!