Enhance brand reputation for long-term success

Building a great brand is hard. Keeping it strong? Even harder

Despite the high stakes, many organizations find it difficult to maintain a strong, consistent brand reputation. Here’s why:

1. Authenticity at scale is hard to maintain

As brands grow and expand globally, automated processes and templated messaging can dilute brand identity, making interactions feel impersonal—or even offensive across cultural contexts. (BBC). 

2. Brand perception gaps are invisible until it’s too late

Many companies rely on internal assumptions or historical data to make branding decisions, leading to misalignment between brand intent and actual perception. By the time problems surface in social sentiment or sales numbers, the damage is already done. 

3. Inconsistency across channels weakens trust

A brand’s story must be cohesive across websites, social media, advertising, and customer interactions. Disjointed messaging confuses customers and dilutes brand equity. 

4. Cultural sensitivity issues lead to unintended backlash

Without a deep understanding of regional and cultural nuances, brands risk alienating global audiences with tone-deaf messaging or visuals. 

5. Traditional brand studies are too slow

Traditional brand studies take months, while social listening tools only capture what’s happened—like looking in the rearview mirror. are like looking in the rearview mirror. Without real-time insights, brands are left reacting instead of shaping perception. And by the time a reputation issue surfaces, the damage is often already done.

6. Lack of crisis preparedness

Without a solid crisis management plan, even minor PR issues can spiral out of control, leading to long-term reputation damage.

These challenges aren’t just theoretical—they have real consequences. But the good news? They’re also preventable. In the next section, we’ll explore how to spot brand reputation risks before they become costly mistakes.

Is your brand reputation at risk? Here’s how to tell

Brands often struggle to recognize reputation issues until they become costly. Here are key indicators that signal a brand reputation problem:

• Declining Net Promoter Score (NPS) or Customer Satisfaction (CSAT): A downward trend suggests customers are less likely to recommend or engage with your brand.
• Lower Brand Awareness Score: If fewer consumers recognize your brand, it signals weaker market presence and declining relevance.
• Increasing negative sentiment in social listening tools: A rise in complaints, negative mentions, or critical discussions indicates growing reputation concerns.
• Lower engagement on brand campaigns: If interactions are dropping despite increased marketing efforts, your messaging may not be resonating.
• High customer churn rates: When customers leave at a higher rate citing brand perception as a factor, it’s a sign of declining loyalty.
• Declining Customer Effort Score (CES): If customers find it harder to interact with your brand, they may disengage entirely.
• Lack of clarity in customer feedback: If consumers struggle to articulate what your brand stands for, it signals weak positioning or inconsistent messaging.
• Poor Corporate Reputation Index performance: A disconnect between brand image and public perception can damage credibility.
• Inconsistent brand recognition across customer segments: If different audiences perceive your brand differently, it suggests misalignment in messaging.
• Slow or ineffective responses to public relations crises: Delayed or poor handling of crises can amplify brand damage rather than contain it.

If any of these signs sound familiar, it’s time to take a closer look at your brand reputation strategy. Let’s start by assessing where your biggest gaps may be.

The one thing most brands overlook—but can’t afford to

Traditional brand monitoring tools reveal what’s already happened, but they don’t explain why. Without a clear understanding of what’s driving audience perception, teams struggle to identify messaging misalignments, anticipate potential issues, and make informed adjustments. However, by capturing real-time feedback through customer insights, brands can refine messaging before problems arise.

Reputation isn’t just about avoiding negative press—it’s about proactively shaping how your brand is perceived across every touchpoint. 

A holistic approach to brand reputation includes:

• Messaging and authenticity: Ensuring brand storytelling resonates with customer expectations.
• Awareness and recognition: Testing brand recall and market positioning against competitors.
• Crisis readiness: Monitoring potential reputation risks and developing proactive response strategies.
• Customer experience and consistency: Evaluating how interactions build loyalty or create friction.
• Corporate responsibility and ethics: Ensuring a brand’s values align with customer expectations on sustainability and inclusivity.

Leading brands use customer insights to:

• Listen beyond social analytics: Social platforms amplify extreme voices, distorting real customer sentiment. Testing messaging with real audiences prevents biased assumptions.
• Test before launching: Brands that validate messaging and visuals with customers before going live prevent reputation missteps.
• Refine brand positioning continuously: Companies that integrate ongoing customer feedback into their branding efforts ensure long-term resonance and credibility.
• Monitor and adapt in real time: AI-powered sentiment analysis helps brands detect reputation risks early, so they can course-correct before issues escalate.

By leveraging customer insights, brands move from reactive damage control to proactive reputation management. The next step? Applying this approach to build a stronger, more resilient brand.

Brand reputation playbook: a blueprint for success

In today’s landscape, reputation isn’t just managed—it’s engineered. The most resilient brands don’t leave perception to chance; they follow a strategic playbook to stay ahead. Here’s how to build a proactive, reputation-first brand strategy.

Ensure your messaging resonates before it reaches the public

• Run message resonance testing to gauge clarity, emotional impact, and alignment with expectations—so every campaign lands the way you intend.
• Conduct first-impression tests to assess how customers perceive brand messages at a glance.
• Use A/B testing, social listening, and qualitative research to compare messaging variations and uncover what truly connects with your audience.
• Monitor competitor messaging to ensure your brand is differentiated in a crowded market.

Strengthen brand consistency across every customer touchpoint

• Conduct a brand consistency audit to test messaging across all platforms—before inconsistencies create confusion
• Observe real customer interactions across websites, social media, and customer service touchpoints to identify misalignment
• Run customer journey testing to ensure a seamless, unified experience across every brand interaction

Crisis-proof your brand reputation

• Run crisis simulation exercises to test your team’s ability to respond under pressure
• Monitor public sentiment and industry trends to detect potential risks before they escalate
• Develop a crisis response framework outlining clear steps for handling backlash and misinformation

Elevate brand advocacy and customer engagement

• Encourage user-generated content (UGC) to enhance authenticity and organic reach
• Build a customer advocacy program that rewards loyal customers for amplifying your brand message
• Activate employee brand ambassadors to strengthen internal brand alignment and credibility
• Track Brand Advocacy Score (BAS), Customer Referral Rates, and Social media mentions to measure impact

Continuously measure and refine brand perception

• Establish a brand reputation dashboard tracking NPS, CSAT, Awareness Score, and Corporate Reputation Index over time
• Benchmark against competitors to track shifts in perception and maintain a competitive edge
• Conduct periodic reputation assessments to ensure long-term consistency in how your brand is perceived

Leverage AI and human insights for smarter brand reputation management

AI is transforming brand reputation management—helping brands detect risks, optimize messaging, and measure sentiment in real time. But while AI enhances speed and scale, human insights ensure authenticity and relevance.

AI is a valuable tool for refining brand communications—accelerating feedback loops, detecting sentiment shifts, and optimizing messaging strategies. But while AI can surface patterns, only human insights reveal intent, emotion, and cultural relevance, ensuring brand messaging lands the right way.

How AI helps strengthen brand communications

• Accelerates content brainstorming: Generates messaging ideas that can be refined and prioritized through human testing to find the most impactful options.
• Enhances test creation: Helps draft test plans and optimize participant screeners, ensuring brand teams collect the right audience insights.
• Speeds up data analysis: Summarizes transcripts, flags recurring themes, and detects emotional responses, helping teams extract insights faster.
• Still requires human validation: AI-generated content often sounds unnatural to customers. Testing with real audiences ensures messaging feels authentic and engaging.

How AI affects brand perception

• Shapes customer interactions in real time: AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants are judged as if they were human, meaning a cold or robotic response can weaken brand perception
• Demands a fine-tuned brand voice: Automated interactions serve as digital brand representatives, making it critical to adjust tone and language to match brand identity
• Reveals competitive insights: Testing AI-driven competitor experiences can highlight best practices while exposing potential risks in automated brand interactions

By following this playbook, your brand won’t just react to reputation shifts—it will lead the conversation. With UserTesting, brand teams can replace assumptions with real audience insights—ensuring every message, campaign, and customer experience builds trust, engagement, and long-term brand resilience.

Customer success stories: Improving brand reputation with customer insights

Leading brands don’t just plan for reputation management—they take action. Here’s how top companies like Microsoft, American Airlines, and Burberry used customer insights to strengthen their brand perception.

Microsoft scales customer empathy to strengthen brand trust

Microsoft wanted to shift from a product-first to a customer-first approach but struggled to embed customer empathy across teams. They needed a faster way to test messaging, branding, and digital experiences to ensure alignment with customer expectations.

Solution

Using UserTesting, Microsoft gathered real-time customer insights to:

• Validate brand messaging across global audiences
• Improve digital experiences by testing UX elements for clarity and engagement
• Speed up decision-making with direct customer feedback

Results

• 5X faster decision-making, allowing teams to adapt messaging in real-time
• Increased brand trust through customer-driven messaging
• Stronger alignment between product development and customer needs

Watch below to discover how Microsoft continuously builds brand trust through customer-centric decisions.

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American Airlines reinvents the digital experience to restore trust

Customers were frustrated with American Airlines’ booking experience, leading to declining trust. Key issues included confusing navigation, friction in flight booking, and lack of clarity on multi-city trips and passport entry.

Solution

UserTesting helped American Airlines:

• Benchmark against competitors to identify usability gaps in the booking process
• Refine navigation for multi-city searches and passport entry
• Improve engagement and clarity in key travel details

Results

• 15% improvement in QXscore, signaling stronger brand perception and usability
• 37% increase in task completion rates, reducing customer frustration
• Improved reputation as a customer-first airline

Watch below to learn how American Airlines boosts customer loyalty through continuous testing and measurement of its digital experiences.

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Burberry transforms customer engagement through personalization

Burberry wanted to strengthen customer loyalty but noticed low engagement with their app’s content, signaling a misalignment between customer expectations and digital experiences.

Solution

UserTesting provided real customer insights that helped Burberry:

• Insights helped to refine content personalization to match customer preferences
• Optimized in-app navigation to make key features more discoverable
• Enhanced push notifications to drive meaningful customer interactions

Results

• 200% increase in customer interaction with personalized content
• Stronger brand perception as a digital innovation leader
• Higher app retention and engagement, reinforcing long-term loyalty

Watch below to hear how Burberry boosts customer loyalty through personalization.

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Build brand reputation with insights, not assumptions

The strongest brands don’t guess; they listen, test, and refine before perception becomes reality.

The thriving brands don’t wait for a crisis to tell them how they’re perceived. They continuously validate their messaging, refine their positioning, and ensure they meet customer expectations before small gaps become major risks. In an era where reputation shifts instantly, insights aren’t optional—they’re a competitive advantage.

The good news? You don’t have to guess. Leading brands use fast customer insights to shape brand perception, strengthen trust, and reinforce loyalty before launching major campaigns. By leveraging direct audience feedback, you can close the gap between how you want to be perceived and how you actually are, ensuring every message, campaign, and customer interaction builds lasting brand equity.

Your brand will be shaped with or without your input. The question is, will you take control of the conversation?