How to Make Your Reputation More Resilient and Productive

Phrases such as “reputation management” and “crisis communications” have become buzz words. .

But the threat is real.  A company’s reputation is invaluable.  And vulnerable.  In the blink of an eye, a company’s hard-earned reputation can be unfairly and deeply damaged, causing business interruption at best and irreparable damage at worst.

So what do you do about it?  There are ad hoc steps you can take such as signing up for an Internet monitoring service.  Or you can put together a communications plan of action for when negative issues arise, such as product failure, labor strife, industry turndowns.

Or, you can take your already excellent reputation and make it more resilient and productive. This is done by building a solid relationship with all of your corporate audiences, from customers to vendors, from employees to the community.

It is about doing a top-notch job of communicating your company’s strengths, values and contributions.  It is about cultivating loyal allies who understand you, trust you and will stand by you in times of need.

It is that simple.

But wait, you say:  “My customers know how good our products and services are; our vendors appreciate us; we communicate with our bankers, investors and the community.”

No doubt you do. In fact, larger companies have individuals specifically responsible for these key audiences, such as sales managers, purchasing managers investor relations managers and others.

But by doing a more thorough, thoughtful job of analyzing and addressing these audiences, you can create a stronger company that is in a better position for profitable growth.

There is a lot of discussion about a “brand” and “brand attributes.”  A strong brand leverages a company’s ability to generate increased sales and higher profitability.  The same is true with a company’s reputation.  Reputation is an important element of every corporate brand.  It puts you on a higher plane.  It generates greater respect and loyalty.

And a company that is well-understood and appreciated is much better prepared to withstand trouble.  My colleagues and I have handled a broad range of “crisis” situations, ranging from reporting disappointing earnings to situations where children were hurt.  If we have learned one thing, it is that companies with strong stakeholder relations fare much better

So what specific steps could a company take?

Stronger reputations are built through a combination of strategic communications and marketplace insight.  How is that for a couple more buzz-word phrases?

In simpler terms -- the first step is to list your stakeholders and their relationship to your company.   

Then determine their impressions and attitudes toward the company.  Do they really understand what your company stands for? Do they understand your values?

Next step is to develop a plan to communicate with these people.  Depending who they are, the communications could be face-to-face or a newsletter.  Other parts of the plan might include community outreach and/or civic involvement.

In terms of preparing for trouble, one helpful exercise is to think of anything that could go wrong, and who would be directly impacted and tangentially involved.

The goal is to create a bond of understanding and mutual support. This investment in building loyalty among customers, employees, investors, vendors, bankers, your industry, government and the community provides a high-potential base on which to leverage and expand your business.

It’s great to have a winning brand. It’s even better to be highly regarded.