We Help You Manage Your Reputation
What is reputation?
Reputation is an aggregate of many personal and collective judgments about an organization’s credibility, reliability, responsibility and competence.
Reputation is essentially an accumulation of credibility and goodwill. If properly maintained and replenished, it can be a powerful buffer against the adversity every organization encounters over time. If neglected, it can expose a company to unexpected and unpleasant media and public scrutiny in the wake of events, like:
- A negative financial report
- Lawsuits by disgruntled former employees
- A product or public project flaw
- A public misrepresentation by staff or a board member
Although the benefits of having a good reputation are many, they come down to a single element: a strong reputation creates a strategic advantage for an organization in a competitive marketplace. Though an intangible asset, it generates very tangible results, including:
- The ability to command a premium price for one’s products and services
- A broader, stronger base of community and business supporters
- A "license to operate," that is, the continued public consent that allows an organization to conduct its business
- An operating environment less obstructed by government regulation and oversight
- A work force that is inherently more motivated and productive
- The ability to attract the best and the brightest managerial and labor talent
A reputation can even provide a more enduring competitive advantage than products or technologies. The benefits derived from these factors alone are enough to guarantee a strategic organizational advantage in the long run.
How do you manage reputation?
Having established that there is an economic value to be derived from a good reputation, what are the key factors in maintaining and enhancing reputation?
- Offer the public quality products and services
- Maintain financial soundness and long-term investment value for investors and financial supporters
- Create and support positive programs that enhance your organization’s role in the community or your industry
- Develop a comprehensive, results-oriented strategy that communicates your organization’s mission, goals, and success
In successful organizations, the first three elements are a given. They are the foundation of every successful organization’s business plan.
It is the fourth element – your communications – then that becomes the principal means by which companies and industries manage and build their reputations and accumulate credibility and goodwill.
Fitzpatrick & Lewis can help you build and communicate a reputation that demonstrates your success.