Reputation management pays off

A strong corporate reputation generates confidence, in the present as well as in the future. It generates a feeling that the corporation is in the hands of safe and responsible leaders. And that is what matters.

It is critical that the assessment of a corporation's reputation allows for a 360 degree view - customers, current employees, potential employees, general public, shareholders and other investors, and of course the media.

Of course, the drivers, motivators and perceptions of each of these key stakeholder groups might vary. Therefore to arrive at a uniform corporate communications strategy which takes into account feedback from all stakeholder groups is often a challenging task.

One fundamental is to measure your Reputation Index amongst each of these groups - and identify the groups which fall below average to decide where the priorities lie.

Consider an example where a company's reputation amongst the general public, investors and journalists is above average. Obviously the Public Relations Dept. are doing a good job and promoting goodwill in the outside world. However, if the index among potential customers is below average then there could be serious obstacles to future growth, which in turn would impact the shareholders negatively. The task for this company therefore would be to improve perceptions of its corporate performance among potential customers.

But how can we action this? Every corporate reputation exercise needs to have a way of identifying the drivers of reputation which have a real impact with each stakeholder group. What aspects are these stakeholders talking about? How is the company performing on aspects of most importance to them ? And as a result of this analysis, identify strengths and weaknesses - and plan future action with each group to correct these weaknesses.

Including regular Corporate Reputation Measurements into the company calendar is thus gaining popularity in many large-scale companies. And sure enough this is absolutely fundamental if you are operating in a highly competitive environment. But it is also gaining importance in monopolistic conditions, since low reputation scores pave the way for attracting new entrants into the marketplace.

In short, the better the Corporate Reputation the better the Corporate Financial Value. Shouldn't you start measuring yours today?