What is Corporate Reputation?
Corporate reputation is a sum of all the views and beliefs held by the company concerning your past and prospects. The key people to assess these views are employees, consumers, shareholders, competitors, trade bodies and other businesses and influential people in your sector. Organisations often avail the services of reputation management companies to build and retain the goodwill in the business world.
Great reputation of an organisation is often desirable but rather difficult to attain. Though it’s an intangible concept, proper repute management can benefit the organisation in multitude ways. It is valuable because the impact of a bad repute can plunge into fluctuating share prices and overall deprived market value.
How can you build corporate reputation?
The importance of maintaining corporate reputation is more vital now, amidst the technological advancements that have changed society. We provide a summarised version for organisations looking to build a reputation.
- Establish trust:
Organisations should keep the promises they make to their consumers regarding providing services. They must make sure that the grievances of employees are heard, dues are paid, and shareholders are content with the management. This will build credibility for the organisation.
- Setting up a team:
Most organisations these days are setting up a ‘Corporate affairs advisory’ board to deal with the goodwill of the company. This team will deal with all business proceedings professionally and solely focus on creating a suitable reputation. The group consists of policy experts, advocacy specialists and proficient members of the corporate world who will work towards repositioning the company in a favourable light.
- Resolve errors:
A well-established organisation will invest in a crisis management team to deal with obstacles that unexpectedly arise. The crisis is a real test for the organisation to know how much they can withstand. The repute management company should also be quick enough to solve issues related to consumers. An irate consumer can turn into your ally only if you make efforts to resolve their problems. Integrity is one of the keys to building a corporate reputation, and one must follow this rule religiously.
- Community service:
A little generosity goes a long way. Engaging in community services will help you build your company’s repute. These activities can include donating money, time or food for an event or raising fundraisers.
- Transparency:
Companies need to maintain a level of transparency within the organisation to retain its employees and stockholders. The company should be quick to respond, in a way letting them know that they are paying attention. No transactions should be hidden from the stockholders; it will only build distrust. Make sure to communicate effectively and accept if any crisis arises.
Benefits of corporate reputation:
- An excellent corporate reputation increases corporate worth and provides sustained competitive advantage.
- You will have a consumer preference when other companies’ products and services are available at a similar cost and quality.
- You will be able to seek shareholders’ support during the time of crisis
Increased organisation’s value in the financial marketplace.