The public perception of a company, institution or governmental body is fundamental to its ability to achieve its objectives. That’s why reputation management is one of the most important functions of a Communications team. The hope is that with consistent, creative and clever content, Communications teams can wield some control over the organisation’s reputation.

The relationship between a company’s brand and its reputation is not entirely straightforward, however; despite any brand’s best effort to convince their audience of its message, the public ultimately decides a company’s reputation based on whether it lives up to its brand proposition. While brand can be defined as how your organisation wants to be seen by the public, whereas reputation is how people see you.

Inbound Marketing and Public Relations have a vital role to play in earning, maintaining and protecting an organisation’s reputation. There are a variety of strategies teams can employ to build trust, and in the world of the whistle-blower, this must begin with ethics, authenticity and a two-way dialogue with the people you’re targeting spoken in a human voice.

There is good reason for companies to show such concern for reputation management. The Global RepTrak Pulse 2016 was the largest study of corporate reputation in the globe, involving 7,000 companies, 55,000 consumers, 40 countries and 25 industries. The study claims that reputation is an emotional bond between consumers and organisations that impacts:

• Whether consumers will buy your product
• If the general public would recommend your company
• Policymakers and regulators in giving you a license to operate
• The financial community’s willingness to invest in your organisation
• How the media reports your point of view
• Whether employees deliver on your strategy

RepTrak claims that company’s that deliver on this will earn the emotion, admiration, trust, and esteem. The impact of this is then seen in seven domains – purchases, verbal support, crisis proofing, recommendations, investment, and employment.

RepTrak found that 84% of those surveyed would purchase from a company with an excellent reputation compared with 9% who would purchase from a company with a poor reputation. While 83% would recommend the products of a company with an excellent reputation, 8% who would recommend products from a company with a poor reputation.

For companies competing for talent, 73% would work for a company with an excellent reputation compared with 11% who would work for an organisation rated as poor, and 67% would invest in a company with an excellent reputation compared with 7% who would invest in a company with a poor reputation.

According to RepTrak, regular reputational audits are required to prioritise stakeholders and map the road to success.

Global reputation management leaders

In 2016, RepTrak named the following as the top ten companies with the best reputations in the world

1. Rolex
2. The Walt Disney Company
3. Google
4. BMW Group
5. Daimler
6. Lego
7. Microsoft
8. Canon
9. Sony
10. Apple

The link between a strong reputation and profitability is clear. There is a financial imperative to investing in strong Marketing and Public Relations that goes beyond “spin”. People are overwhelmed on a daily basis by traditional and digital advertising, product placements and word-perfect corporate brochures, but it’s no longer enough.

What’s the solution?

Companies must live up to their names and build real relationships between themselves and the people they want to attract. Reputation management must never rely on spin; it must represent an authentic connection.

Leave a comment below with your thoughts on reputation management.

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ABOUT KATIE HARRINGTON

 Katie Harrington is a Communications and Content Creator based in Dublin, Ireland. Her e-book, Strategic Communications: The Science Behind the Art launched in November 2016. Katie has worked with global brands including Accenture, EY, Emirates Airline, and Allianz, as well as in the Irish parliament and Qatar’s semi-government oil and gas company Nakilat.