Today I ran across an article by Scott Allen  from 2011 titled “10 tips for building a great reputation from scratch”.

These days, most articles talk only about the online reputation of your business. They talk about how to get reviews that show up in Google and how to avoid negative reviews. The article deals with both online and off-line activities and techniques that are great advice for any business. Unlike most articles about reputation management, Mr. Allen actually looks at the world that is not 100% connected or online.   In reality, a businesses is made up of people who have to be mindful of their personal reputation as it can positively or negatively reflect on the business. As a whole, the business has to deliver quality service and products and to meet the expectations of the customer.

This is a short, quick read article that’s worth the few minutes it takes to read.  Following is the first paragraph and a link to the entire article.

For most successful small businesses, networking and referrals are both the least expensive and most effective forms of marketing. Reputation is the currency of networking and referrals. Whether it’s reviews and recommendations on websites such as Yelp and LinkedIn or the more vague “Yeah, I’ve heard they’re great” of face-to-face conversation, a positive reputation is one of your most valuable business assets. MORE…