Reputation Management - An Overview

published 2007

A good corporate reputation has to be earned. The foundation is an organisation that is a leader in its field, understands the importance of the perception held by its stakeholders and aspires to excellence. 

But to build and maintain its position, an organisation needs a reputation management program supported by strong communications and PR.  That’s where corporate public relations has a strong role to play.

Here we provide an overview of what reputation means…to you, as well as your myriad audiences and stakeholders.

1.      What is meant by reputation?

Corporate reputation is how your organization is regarded and perceived by audiences or stakeholders that are important to you.  Reputation is a combination of perception and reality. It’s also fragile and forever changing.  Warren Buffett has been quoted as saying “it takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it”.  Reputation is often confused with ‘image’. Jim Dingwall, a Canadian pr practitioner, says “Image is an instant snapshot in time. Reputation is a photo album built up over time”.

2.      How can a good reputation bring benefits?

There are many studies that show that a good reputation can bring business benefits. One survey in the US showed that companies with reputations as ‘winners’ are up to four times more likely to receive sales recommendations than their competitors. And there is evidence that share price appreciation is often significantly greater for companies that are perceived as having a good reputation.

 3.      Determine the key audiences/stakeholders that matter

As with all communication it’s important to determine which audiences matter most. Not all organisations have the same audience or stakeholder considerations i.e. some will have investors, while other won’t. A key step is to identify all audiences and stakeholders and to rank their importance to your organisation i.e. how important it is that they regard you well.

4.      Determine your reputation relative to  your industry

It’s important that your reputation be measured relative to the industry you are in.  The reputation of a bank cannot be compared with that of a mining company. The audiences and stakeholders are different as are the criteria by which your reputation might be measured. And if you happen to be in an industry that is not well regarded you need to accept that you will find it difficult to rise above the reputation of the industry as a whole.

5.      Determine how you can differentiate yourself

Reputation is both comparative and competitive - it is your reputation compared to another like organisation (usually with similar attributes).  Therefore it’s important that you determine what can credibly differentiate you from your competitors and build that into your reputation management program.

6.      Factor in the media

Some organisations are so much in the media spotlight that the media becomes an absolutely critical determiner of reputation.  For others the media hardly impacts on their daily existence. Yet the media cannot be ignored as, in times of crisis, they can become a key influencer (Warren Buffet’s ‘five minute’ reference). Getting the balance right is a challenge. And remember that media doesn’t necessarily mean national or public media; often the key media to cultivate are those that cover your trade or industry.

7.      Develop a program

Building a reputation needs to be planned - like anything else it won’t happen if it’s just a general hope or desire.  It needs a disciplined approach; after all building and maintaining a reputation is a long-term and ongoing process. And, most importantly, communication is the key as there is no point in behaving in an exemplary manner if you are not communicating what you are doing and the benefits it is bringing.

 8.      Online Reputation Management

PR practitioners also need think about their reputation in the online world. As consumers turn authors and easily communicate via blogs and online forums, you need to be monitoring this social media to find out what others are saying about your product or service and responding where appropriate. (See Comment article for further information regarding online reputation)

9.      Set a measurement program

Reputation can be measured.  It’s not something that only the largest organisations can tackle. The tools can range from the relatively simple to the quite complex. Some large organisations are content to be measured and compared against their peers through ‘most admired company surveys’ run by magazines.  Others conduct their own measurement programs through regularly feeling the pulse of stakeholder opinion.

10.  Understand the internal stakeholders

It’s a sad fact that PR often builds the reputation for a company and, in times of crisis, the legal department destroys it.  Just look at the James Hardy debacle as an example. It is important that PR professionals engage with the legal department to ensure their understanding of the consequences of their actions. Which leads us to the last point….

11.  Engage senior management

Public relations is often regarded by senior management as ‘fuzzy’.  Corporate reputation is one area where the pr people can really demonstrate to management that it is not only contributing to the business, but that its contribution can be measured.

Note: The author of this article is a senior Sydney-based independent corporate PR consultant who helps PR Managers better manage their PR Department and to review or select a PR agency. As well he also provides specialist corporate PR and communications advice where issues or change are impacting on an organisation. He also blogs regularly on PR and communications topics similar to those in this article.