During the hiring process, it’s important to treat potential candidates as you would your customers. The market is competitive and you really can’t afford to not make the best impression every time, right? What this means is: respond punctually, be respectful, and help candidates grow through feedback even if you don’t decide to move forward with them. Need more convincing? Here are 5 reasons we think treating your candidates like customers is integrally important to the success of your business.

You are always selling something.

To your customers, you’re selling a product. To a candidate, your company is the product. Recruiters and Marketers have very similar jobs — to demonstrate that a product is interesting and unique by communicating effectively what the product is and inspiring interest in it. Whether or not the candidate is hired, recruiters are still the first point of contact a candidate will make with your company. Make it count by giving recruiters the tools they need to do the best job they can do. Value their position in the company and their impact to the bottom line.

Your reputation matters big time.

Brand reputation is crazy important. When you treat a candidate poorly during the hiring process, you lose the chance of making them a fan of your company and potentially, a customer. What is more, word-of-mouth is to the power of 1,000 these days thanks to social media. Poor hiring strategies coupled with a disgruntled candidate who decides to send out an unhappy tweet about your company, can mean devastating negative press for your brand. Be clear on your hiring strategy, act respectfully and professionally. It’s far easier to do this than to do damage control.