Reputation is the universal opinion or belief of the public regarding someone or something. In corporate terms, reputation often refers to the general opinion or belief regarding an organisation. It can be broadly viewed as the overall perception of a company’s past actions and expectations regarding its future actions, in comparison with its major competitors. (The series for this week will focus on corporate reputation, risks, management, and merits of a strong and positive corporate reputation).
The corporate reputation of a company can be evaluated using reviews, the content on your site, news reporting, search engine results, and the exposed actions of the company.
The reputation of a company is one of the most essential intangible assets of a company that is meant to be handled with utmost care and given the highest attention. This is because the public is very receptive to adverse news and very curious whenever the topic is negative. This makes it very imperative for an
organisation to monitor and manage its reputation to reflect the business precisely.
A positive corporate reputation is an asset that is very impossible for a competitor to duplicate or snip and can have a huge impact on a company’s bottom line.
According to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), public relations nurtures corporate reputation, with the aim of earning insight, support, and influencing public opinion and behaviour. Public relations offers a way for the company to interact and monitor its reputation effectively with all the key stakeholders of the business. A public relations consultant in every firm seeks to increase the credibility of the firm within its industry and increase its overall reputation.
Factors that impact an organisation’s reputation can include:
- Financial performance – this is a measure of a company’s overall financial health over a given period. When a company cannot afford to pay off its taxes to the government, bank loans, mortgages, and money owed to suppliers, its reputation must take a big blow.
- Customer Experience – customer service is greatly linked to an organisation’s reputation. If customers have positive encounters with your company, they will be more likely to promote your business to others and leave positive reviews.
- Philanthropic Efforts – this refers to the corporate social responsibility of the firm towards its public. Organisations in a bid to maintain a positive reputation must dedicate a portion of their earnings to being ethical and globally friendly through supporting charities or causes in the community in which they operate.
- Corporate Culture – can impact heavily on the perception of reputation and perception of an organisation. This is the reason why a company that is conscious of its reputation, must strive to maintain and express positive core values, beliefs, ethics, and behaviours for internal and external business relationships.
- Business owners that appreciate the importance of corporate reputation do not joke with public relations. They understand that a positive business reputation molded by an expert public relations consultant is strongly tied to high customer retention and loyalty to the business.