Reputation Marketing Trends in Kazakhstan: an inside view from Remark Agency

New technologies and the growing influence of social networks contribute to the development of the reputation marketing market in Kazakhstan, says Olga Altfater, head of Remark agency. We talked about the approaches of her team and Kazakhstan's peculiarities in reputation management.

It is generally believed that there is no reputation institution in Kazakhstan. Do you agree with this statement?

Indeed, this opinion is very common. I would say that the reputation institute is in its infancy, but the development of the reputation marketing market speaks for itself. Initially, as an agency, we specialized in standard digital promotion services, but we understood that with the growth of digitalization and the development of artificial intelligence technologies, our customers need to manage information about themselves on the network. At first, we provided some of our clients with ORM services (Online Reputation Management) for free, while simultaneously studying this area and its laws for ourselves. Over time, these customers realized the value and felt the need for further cooperation, but on a commercial basis, thanks to which we were able to increase the company's staff and significantly expand our technological capabilities. Now we tend to specialize exclusively in reputation management services.

You work with clients who are interested in building a reputation not only in Kazakhstan, but also abroad. Do your approaches differ in these cases and how?

We always focus on local features, cultural aspects and market specifics. Foreign marketing companies often come to Kazakhstan, trying to work according to their own proven patterns, but in Kazakhstan it is difficult to be effective if you do not know the context, the peculiarities of mentality, shades and intonations which are invisible to foreigners in the ways of transmitting information, communication impact. You will not read about it in textbooks, you will not hear it at lectures of the best universities. And it is not just because “the East is a delicate matter,” although this is also important. We were pioneers in the Kazakhstani reputation marketing market, so we had to fill cones and look for patterns, working and non-working options, strategies before becoming confident professionals. Now we feel that we are ready to share our experience.

There are also peculiarities abroad, their market has been studied more. By the way, it is important to take into account the great importance of international standards and global trends. In both cases, we conduct an in-depth analysis of the target audience and adapt strategies to the specific goals and objectives of the client.

What are the main mistakes that companies and individuals most often make in managing their reputation, and how can they be avoided?

Despite the obvious influence of social networks on public opinion, their role in shaping a reputation or brand is often underestimated by businesses. Hence, ignoring customer feedback and responding incorrectly to crisis situations. They start looking for specialists when fires are already "blazing" and when it is very difficult and expensive to stop the waves of hate. The right approach to building a reputation involves systematic work: creating a strategy, identifying risks and a clear plan that will definitely work if it suddenly "flares up" both where it was expected and where it caught fire unexpectedly. But for this, it is important to trust a specialist, listen to him and give him more freedom.

We pay special attention to the importance of proactive reputation management in the era of the growth of artificial intelligence and tools such as ChatGPT. Regular updating of company information helps to increase its visibility and allows artificial intelligence to provide users with more accurate data. The more information about you is available, the more likely it is that your company will be correctly represented in the responses to requests. It also helps to control reputation by preventing the spread of outdated or incorrect data.

Is it possible to build a brand reputation by depersonalizing it?

- This is my most favorite request from the business community (laughs). I can not say that creating a strong brand without personalization is impossible. We had quite a few cases with such a request, and we coped with it. But it is important to understand that people tend to trust specific people more than faceless corporations. Therefore, we always recommend not only building a corporate brand, but also emphasizing the personal qualities and values of managers and key employees. This is how a deep emotional connection with the audience is formed, and entire communities are formed around some brands. In such cases, we are talking about a great reputational success.

Can you tell us about the most important cases from Remark's practice that have become indicative for the industry in Kazakhstan?

- We have a lot of cases that we cannot share due to confidentiality conditions. We often discussed it in the team, regretting it, because these are very cool professional examples and experiences useful for our industry that need to be shared. We came up with the idea to create a special training program in which we could reflect all our professionalism. It turned out to be a brilliant program of sessions where we successfully talk about methods that really worked in practice. We have devoted a separate block to the field of ORM, there is also a block on communications in the public sector, internal communications, a block for business and national companies. Our program is constantly increasing, and we are ready to develop trainings on various topics on request.

How do you assess the competitive environment in the reputation management market in Kazakhstan and how does Remark agency stand out against this background?

- As I said before, the market is developing very quickly, and we are happy about this, because the growth of competition forces us to keep abreast and move on. Remark stands out because of its professionalism, because every member of our team has great expertise. This, of course, determines our high results. After the completion of the project, our clients, as a rule, return to us. We are proud of this and really appreciate such high trust. In addition, it is important for us to keep up with the international standard in our development, and when we look in this direction, we understand that we can not stop developing Remark.