Many consumers buy products due to a recommendation from a friend, or from general word of mouth. Think of products like the Apple iPod. You brought it because you heard about it from someone else. So if your company has a lot of people talking about it, and you have a good online reputation, then you are likely to do much better. With this in mind, there are several companies (like repspinner) that offer brand building and reputation management services. You should definitely shop around before hiring any of these companies though. Otherwise, you can build your own brand, or hire a PR firm.