Reputation - success and better profit margins.

A recent survey finds that reputation determines how much you can charge for your products

Reputation counts for more than some businesses might think especially in the retail market, where a recent CBI (Confederation of British Industries) survey has uncovered the fact that over half the public surveyed will pay a premium if buying a product or service from a company with a good reputation - go to our links page to get the full story.

Reputation - success and better profit margins.

A recent survey finds that reputation determines how much you can charge for your products

Reputation counts for more than some businesses might think especially in the retail market, where a recent CBI (Confederation of British Industries) survey has uncovered the fact that over half the public surveyed will pay a premium if buying a product or service from a company with a good reputation - go to our links page to get full story

All the signs are there that business, especially in the retail sector here in the UK is going to get tough over the coming year with the number of houses being sold in some London areas at only 25% of the average this year in September.

With this in mind it is clear that knowing you can maintain your prices to some degree, just by reputation can be a comforting thing to know, especially when the economy appears to be on a slow down.

With over half the public surveyed saying they will pay more for the same product from a company that has a good reputation, it becomes clear that this is something we should all be looking at if we are to keep our profit margins intact when the going gets rough.

So how much extra will they pay for reputation: Of the 58% who said they would pay more to a company they help in high regard, 43% would pay up to 5 percent over the cheaper price, 29% would pay between 6 - 10 percent extra and 16% would be willing to pay more than 10 percent premium. 

So what is this thing called reputation? How do you measure it and how do you define it? Well according to the survey delivery and service seem to be the magic words and Marks and Spencer seem to have them in abundance over everyone else on the high street, with their great products and customer service and a challenging environmental and ethical campaign, which all go together to help set them apart.

So we are still left with the question how do you actually define what it is that M&S do that sets them apart from the rest of the crowd. Service is a word that can be glibly used without any real understanding of what it takes to deliver GOOD service.

If you have ever worked at being a supplier to M&S it soon becomes clear that they are in a different league with regards to the standards they set and once you have achieved that standard, it is generally accepted that you can supply anyone.  What this does is ensure only top quality suppliers supply M&S, hence the quality of product.

So when you look at this company that leads the way it is clear that the quality of the company from the beginning to end plays a part in achieving the standards of service they achieve. It also takes management that is totally committed to achieving the standard of operation from top to bottom.

If you just try to put on a show on the coal face, the lack of belief will show through in the staff, because they will know it's all for show and that there is no real commitment behind it.

Measuring reputation and service: the obvious way this happens is by the customer coming back for repeat business, which is ultimately the measure of success for any company - hence the reason a shady car dealer will have a limited life expectancy, once the word gets out it will become harder and harder to sell cars.

This brings to mind "word of mouth" which once achieved will set you on the road to success (assuming the word of mouth is saying good things!) - who hasn't heard of M&S!

So what is good service, well we at VGP Marketing believe it's a lot more than just talk or looking pretty, it is more a way of life or a way of operating in business that becomes the norm. It is also going that extra mile to find out exactly what the customer needs and wants, delivering over and above what is expected also contributes - so where a lot of company's will deliver the bear minimum, the better company's will go that extra mile to make sure the customer is happy and has been well serviced.

At VGP Marketing we like to know exactly how we can help our customers and as someone once said you have two ears and one mouth, so we need to listen more than we talk. At VGP Marketing the philosophy is, if we have listened well, other than the questions, we only need to tell you how we are going to deliver exactly what you want.

VGPM Team