Bad Brand Image and Reputation: 9 Causes and Impacts

Having a strong brand image is a considerable asset for your business.

It builds brand awareness, adds value to your products and services, and plays an important role in your e-reputation. After all, how your target audience perceives your business is one of the key factors in their purchasing decisions!

While every business strives to develop the ideal brand image, it can be difficult for some to identify its various components. What factors impact your brand image? And what are the risks of a poor brand image?

To help you better understand what's at stake for your company's reputation, here are nine causes and negative impacts related to a poor brand image.

What is brand image? Definition

Concretely, brand image is the representation of a company as perceived by a consumer. It's a feeling — or even a judgment — that an outside person forms regarding the message conveyed by a brand. This perception, based on several criteria (most of them intangible), helps consumers and employees make decisions.

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Today, it is important to avoid spreading a poor brand image, as it can greatly harm your company's reputation. Potential customers will choose to do business with the brand that makes the best impression on them. As such, it is important to project a brand image that reflects your company's true identity!

To summarize, the definition of brand image includes:

• The values, messages, products, and services a company broadcasts to its customers;
• The target audience's perception of the messages conveyed by the company.

The components of brand image

Contrary to popular belief, brand image is much more than just a logo representing your company's services. It encompasses your prospects' perception of your brand and the message you convey to potential customers. However, it can be difficult to identify the various factors that shape how your customers perceive your brand.

What is brand image? How can you prevent a poor brand image? To help you better understand these issues, here are seven components of brand image along with their definitions.

1. The brand's visual identity

Visual identity is the set of graphic elements that allow consumers to identify a company. It consists of the various visual materials that help the company attract the attention of potential customers.

Several elements make up a company's visual identity, including:

• The brand name;
• The logo;
• The company's primary colors;
• Typography;
• The layout of your website;
• Product packaging.

A neglected and overly generic visual identity can quickly give consumers a poor brand image. Its design must be thoughtful and easy to adapt across multiple visual mediums, so that your potential customers can recognize you at a glance. Remember that this factor is one of the key aspects that gives your business its recognition and memorability. Potential customers are more likely to remember a brand with an optimized brand image!

2. The company's digital platforms

Nowadays, it is important to view your digital platforms as stakeholders in your organization. As such, it is important to optimize your online presence, whether that's your website, social media, or even your online review platforms.

To prevent a poor brand image, maintain your digital platforms regularly. The time you invest will certainly pay off! For example, when you move, make sure to update your address and phone numbers across your various web platforms. Similarly, keep your company description, products, and services up to date. You can even optimize your local SEO to make it easier for nearby potential customers to find you! An active online presence encourages consumers to turn to your company. Local SEO also helps grow your web traffic, which will benefit your ranking in search engine results (SERPs). Investing time in your digital platforms is a must — it's a best practice for avoiding a poor brand image.

3. Points of sale

It is well known that the appearance of your locations has a direct impact on customer satisfaction. No one enjoys being in a space cluttered with boxes, or waiting in a room with windows that haven't been cleaned in days. These details may seem obvious, but they can definitely affect brand image!

When a customer arrives at your point of sale, they are greatly influenced by the state of the space. A clean environment, moderate background music, and an uncluttered layout all contribute to a quality customer experience. Your prospects will be drawn to your welcoming environment and will be more inclined to make a purchase.

On the contrary, a neglected-looking point of sale will deter potential customers from doing business with you. Avoid projecting a poor brand image: keep your locations in good shape and update them to better welcome your customers. The results will be beneficial both for your reputation and for the customer experience!

4. Reputation on online review platforms

The buying experience is increasingly taking place online. Review platforms now play a crucial role in attracting new prospects: according to The Power of Reviews, 95% of consumers rely on online reviews before buying a product. In this light, it is important to maintain your e-reputation so you know what your customers think of your products and services.

A good method for preventing the spread of a poor brand image is to regularly monitor your online review platforms. This tactic allows you to identify the needs of your target customers and to respond to negative reviews in order to address customer dissatisfaction.

Did you know that Bazaarvoice confirms that 41% of customers feel valued when a company responds to their comments? Seize the opportunity to improve your brand image: respond to customer reviews and let them know how much their opinion matters. This will improve your online reputation, as you'll show your community that their well-being is at the heart of your priorities.

5. The quality of customer service offered

One of the main factors impacting your brand image is the quality of your customer service. In fact, a single particularly positive or negative interaction can affect a customer's perception of your company.

A prospect who is warmly welcomed and served with professionalism is very likely to return and even recommend your business to their loved ones. Conversely, a customer left to fend for themselves will feel neglected and abandoned — they're unlikely to leave you a positive review. They could even damage your reputation through negative word of mouth!

According to HubSpot, 93% of customers will do business again with a company that offers excellent customer service. Optimize your customer experience to provide your clients with the service they deserve — this will help you avoid a poor brand image while improving customer retention.

6. Marketing communication campaigns

Once your visual identity is established, you need to distribute it strategically. To do so without projecting a poor brand image, you will need to create effective marketing campaigns.

These campaigns consist of a set of actions aimed at achieving a specific goal. Here are some examples of objectives for a marketing communication campaign:

• Announcing a new product line;
• Promoting a new product or service;
• Increasing brand awareness;
• Communicating an event related to your locations.

You will then need to determine the best channels to reach your target audience. For example, you can run campaigns through online advertising, radio or TV commercials, or outdoor advertising.

To prevent a poor brand image, tailor the tone and message of your campaign to your target market segment. Maintain your visual identity and monitor consumer reactions to your marketing campaigns to ensure they don't develop a negative perception of your brand. A single campaign with a negative image can harm your brand!

7. Company culture

Nowadays, the internal culture of companies can no longer be seen as an isolated world. It is very common for companies with a poor internal climate to make headlines. A company's culture is reflected in its internal structure, particularly at the human level. It encompasses the beliefs, values, work methods, and attitudes adopted by the company. These elements then influence the conduct and expertise of its employees. Make sure to survey your employees to find out whether the current internal culture is positive. By implementing employee satisfaction surveys, you can become aware of certain issues to correct. Additionally, to maximize employee motivation, make sure to provide positive and constructive feedback! InputKit's employee evaluation solution allows you to evaluate your staff in an automated manner based on customer feedback.

All in all, keep in mind that the internal climate will have a direct impact on the external perception of your company. Unhappy employees tend to share their feelings with those around them — who are also consumers.

Causes of a poor brand image

A strong brand image is a valuable asset for your business. It helps maximize the conversion of potential leads! If optimizing your brand image is a challenge, don't worry — it's first important to identify the root causes of your target audience's negative perceptions.

Here are four causes of a poor brand image that will help you better understand reputation-related challenges facing your business.

1. Lack of time

Lack of time is one of the main causes of a poor brand image. To develop a strong brand image, you must consolidate its various components and maintain them over time to adapt to your customers' needs.

An employee who is short on time will not be able to provide quality customer service. On the other hand, a team that must focus solely on the in-store customer experience due to a lack of staff will not have the opportunity to invest in other facets of the business, such as web platforms or advertising campaigns.

It is important to take the time to strengthen your brand image. Running constantly due to lack of time will inevitably take a toll on it!

2. Lack of knowledge

Lack of knowledge is a frequent cause of a poor brand image. Sometimes, employees have no understanding of best practices related to brand image.

Indeed, the knowledge level of managers and employees should not be taken lightly. A team that doesn't understand the concept of brand image won't be able to build one, nor understand how to communicate it to the public. Similarly, an employee who doesn't appreciate the importance of SEO is unlikely to help your brand appear in potential customers' search results.

Take the time to familiarize yourself with brand image concepts before proceeding with development. Educate your employees on the procedures to follow to properly represent your company and improve your reputation, both through word of mouth and online. This will help you avoid creating a poor brand image!

3. Lack of staff

During this period of labor shortage, understaffing can greatly affect your brand image.

If your workforce is reduced, employees will have to juggle multiple tasks in a short amount of time rather than focusing on the customer experience. The stress caused by this lack of time can then create a negative perception among your customers, who may feel that staff are overwhelmed. This can even harm employee motivation and reduce retention.

Prevent a poor brand image by automating certain core business processes. This will improve task management and allow your employees to deliver the best possible experience to your customers.

4. Lack of tools

Whether in the online or in-store customer journey, optimizing the customer experience is essential. To do so, you need to innovate — particularly by adopting new technologies to automate and simplify your processes.

Here are some examples of situations that can create a poor brand image due to a lack of tools:

• The absence of a chatbot on your website to answer customer questions;
• Not having a website or online platform through which to reach your business;
• Manually sending satisfaction surveys, preventing employees from focusing on more important tasks;
• Employees too busy searching for information on a failing IT system to provide adequate customer service.

To prevent a poor brand image, automating your processes is key. For example, a solution like InputKit can help you automate the sending of customer satisfaction questionnaires at the right time, with a fully customizable message. This way, you'll save several hours of management time that you can invest into improving your customer experience!

The risks of having a poor brand image

Most businesses want to benefit from a strong brand image. Conversely, a poor brand image can completely destroy your reputation. Whether through negative word of mouth or online reviews, it is crucial to pay attention to how your customers perceive your business. With social media, customer dissatisfaction can quickly escalate into a scandal that could deter any prospect or employee from giving your company a chance!

To help you understand the impact of a poor brand image on your business, here are five associated risks.

1. Negative impact on revenue

First and foremost, your reputation has a significant impact on your annual revenue. A study by PR Newswire shows that the quality of your brand image can influence up to 33% of your annual profits.

An unmemorable visual identity, a negative e-reputation, or poor employee management are factors that can influence the purchasing decisions of potential customers. In fact, a poor brand image can deter them from doing business with you before even giving you a chance. That's why it's important to pay attention to your brand image and customer service!

2. Competitors gain market share

Do you have a poor reputation? If so, your prospects are likely turning to your competitors.

If you have no distinguishing factor in terms of brand image to help potential customers identify you, certain competitors will have the upper hand. Furthermore, if you are known for a poor customer experience or have numerous negative online reviews, your prospects won't hesitate to do business with a competing brand with a better reputation.

Moreover, when it comes to brand image, we also think about positioning in search engines. Therefore, if you don't take care of your brand image, there's a good chance your competitors will appear before you in internet users' search results. This is one of the reasons why it's important to invest time in brand image!

3. Difficulty attracting new customers

The customer experience of your prospects begins well before they set foot in your locations. From the very start of their search, they will rely on your reputation to form a positive or negative image of your company. This perception of your brand image then influences their decision-making process when it comes to choosing a business that meets their needs and values.

According to Marketing News Canada, 94% of consumers decide not to do business with a company after reading negative online reviews about it. This statistic proves that you lose the majority of your potential customers when you have a poor brand image!

A negative reputation doesn't just hurt the acquisition of new customers during their online searches — it also makes them much more critical of the in-store experience. A consumer who expects poor service already has a negative perception of your brand. As such, it will take much more time and energy from your staff to convince them of the quality of your services. That's why it's important to monitor your online reputation, including by taking the time to respond to your Google reviews!

4. Impact on employee morale

If a poor brand image has a negative impact on new customer acquisition, it also has a harmful influence on employee morale.

Your staff is the heart of your business. It's thanks to them that you are able to offer your products and services to your customers. However, a poor brand image can completely undermine their motivation to work under your banner.

When employees give their best to a brand with a questionable reputation, their quality of service may go unrecognized by consumers. At work, they will feel discouraged by the lack of customer appreciation. At home, they may potentially feel ashamed of working for a company that doesn't value their efforts. Over time, this can disengage your top talent from their jobs and even push them to resign.

5. Difficulty recruiting when you have a poor brand image

Over time, a poor brand image can also hinder the recruitment of new talent within your company.

After leaving, some former employees may contribute to the negative reputation of your organization. They may share their negative experience related to workplace stress, poor task distribution, or even company culture.

As a result, job seekers will look at your brand image before agreeing to an interview. If they read negative reviews written by members of your team, this will very likely deter them from wanting to work for you!

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In summary, your brand image is shaped by your visual identity, your digital platforms, your points of sale, your online reputation, and the quality of your services. The external perception of your brand can also be influenced by your marketing communication campaigns and your company culture.

If you have a poor brand image, take the time to establish your goals. Learn about best practices for improving your brand image.

Are you short on time and staff to improve your brand image? Equip yourself with new technologies and a solution like InputKit to automate certain processes. By following these methods, you'll see positive results in terms of new customer acquisition, employee retention, and even your annual revenue. Schedule your free demo to see how InputKit can contribute positively to your brand image, both in terms of customer experience and online reviews!