Reputation is built one interaction at a time

By Sinead Lavery, Communications Director

Customer service is one of the most visible forms of PR. Every conversation, email, follow-up and interaction tells people something about who an organisation is, what it values and whether it can be trusted.

We often think of reputation in terms of big moments: a campaign launch, a press release, a social media announcement or a piece of media coverage. But reputations are shaped just as much, if not more, by the everyday experiences people have with a business or a brand.

I was reminded of this recently when I began the process of downsizing from a seven-seater car to a standard five-seater. With three of my children now driving, the time had come to make the change. Like many people, I started the search online before deciding to visit a few dealerships in person.

What followed was a useful reminder that first impressions count, but so do the steps that come afterwards.

At one dealership, the welcome was underwhelming. The salesperson did bring a car from another part of the site for me to view, but there was no offer of a test drive and little sense of genuine interest in what I was looking for. He promised to send details of two cars I liked and, to be fair, the email arrived the next day. But it contained only two hyperlinks. No greeting, no sign-off, no invitation to come back in, no next step. Where was the customer service in that interaction?

It was a small thing, but it reinforced the impression I had already formed. The cars might have been right, but the experience did not make me want to buy from them. By that point, my mind was made up.

Visits to other dealerships were better, but still inconsistent. One salesperson was helpful and I left informed, excited with printed details of cars I was interested in. Another relied heavily on his phone to answer basic questions, while I found the information faster myself. At another dealership, I browsed the forecourt without anyone approaching me. Perhaps they were busy, but they had no way of knowing my budget, what I was interested in or whether I was ready to buy. It was another reminder that basic customer service can’t be assumed.

Eventually, I visited a dealership where the experience felt different from the start. The salesperson greeted me on the forecourt, introduced himself, asked my name and gave me space to browse. He listened carefully, answered questions confidently and clearly knew the range of cars well. The whole process felt straightforward rather than transactional.

I ended up buying a car I hadn’t originally considered from this dealership. The product mattered, of course, but the experience played a major part in the decision. The little details – the greeting, the conversation, the follow-up, the confidence and the sense of being valued – all worked together to build trust.

That is reputation in action.

For organisations, the lesson is simple: every touchpoint communicates. How people are welcomed, how quickly they are followed up with, how clearly information is shared, how problems are handled and how genuinely people feel listened to all contribute to the story they will tell about the business afterwards. Customer service is not separate from communications. It is one of the clearest ways an organisation shows people who it is.

At Morrow Communications, we help organisations look beyond the message they want to share and consider the experience people actually have with their brand. Because reputation is built one interaction at a time, so every one needs to count.