Corporate Reputation Management is a vital part of running a successful business, especially in today’s connected world.  Now that people can share their thoughts with their friends and colleagues almost instantaneously via social networking sites and blogs, the practice of corporate reputation management has become an important part of the day-to-day running of a business.
What is Corporate Reputation Management?
Corporate Reputation Management is exactly what it sounds like – taking care of your reputation. You need to make sure that when someone thinks about your company, their thoughts are positive. You also need to make sure that when someone researches your company, the information they find is positive. A few years ago, that meant handling complaints well, getting some glowing reviews in magazines, and maybe a few feel-good stories in the local paper. Today, that’s just part of the picture.
Corporate Reputation Management today is a much bigger job. A scathing article in a magazine might dent your reputation for a month or two, but in three or four month’s time when the magazine is no longer on the shelves, who is going to see that article? Of the people who did see it, who will remember it? A scathing article on a website, however, is going to be seen by a steady stream of new viewers. Some web pages actually get more traffic as they age and gather incoming links.
Corporate Reputation Management is More than Just PR
Corporate Reputation Management today is not just about working with the press, and a few unhappy customers. You need to watch what everyone is saying on the web. Anyone can write a review and have it published on a consumer review site. Wise companies watch those sites and comment on the reviews – offering resolution to disgruntled customers, and thanking those that say positive things.
It’s well worth watching social networking sites too. Some companies offer informal tech support via Twitter, and will also watch out for people posting complaints in their Twitter stream. Done well, this is a great form of corporate reputation management. Done badly, it can do more harm than good, as you send the impression that you don’t really “get it” when it comes to engaging with your customers.   In that case, silence is better than a half-hearted message.
When you think about it, corporate reputation management can be a lot of work – for a big company it can be a full time job. The benefits are well worth it, though.  When you are looking for new investors or new clients, it’s always good to have a reputation that speaks for itself. If you find that you aren’t able to close deals that you feel you deserve, or you have a problem attracting new customers even though you know that your product or service is really good, then it could be that you need to look at what others are saying about you. A little effort towards managing your reputation could do wonders for your business.
This post was written by James Harper on behalf of Insignia Corporate Reputation Management & Crisis Communications. James writes on a number of subjects including business
Recent Articles