10 steps for future-proofing Reputation
#advicethatsticks
As a Chief Reputation Risk Officer, you will often hear me say that a company has two sides of its reputation:
- its good reputation (how loved it is) and
- its bad reputation (how hated it is).
Dr. Peter Sandman, the world leader in outrage management will tell you that seeing these two as opposite extremes on a single spectrum is a conceptual error. For it is possible for a company to be both much-loved and much-hated at the same time. Moreover, the public steps companies can take to develop their positive reputation (e.g. philanthropy) are entirely different than the steps they can take to ameliorate their negative reputation (e.g. apologizing). Often the two are in direct competition ie. the things you do to calm your critics may irritate your supporters, while what you do to rally your supporters, may enrage your critics.
In the spirit of building a positive company reputation, Dr. Herbert Heitmann, Founder of the European Association of Communications Directors, and former Brand and Communications Director for Royal Dutch Shell, Bayer and SAP, has today published his 10-step plan to predictably steer the good reputation of a company.
In each case where this approach was applied, Heitmann reports that the measured net-value of the desired good reputation doubled in less than three years without a single additional resource.
His 10 step plan is as follows:
1. Brand and reputation need to be considered in early business decisions.
2. The gap between brand promise and stakeholder experience should be minimal.
3. Be fully aware of the dark side of your brand.
4. Develop your story, your references and your visuals.
5. Find others to talk your talk while you walk your walk
6. Pick the toughest to influence and the easiest to monitor
7. Engage with all, but measure with only tier 1 media
8. Measure net impact in major markets, vis-a-vis competition and more than once a year.
9. Let the business define what success means beforehand.
10. Celebrate from success, learn from failures.
The sector diversity, disparate strategies, and uniqueness of cultures across 3 highly regulated industries: energy, pharma and biotech and technology suggest that these 10 principals can be applied universally to driving a positive corporate reputation.
For more information and background on how he executed on these, check out the complete article in the latest issue of the EACD Communications Director or reach out to Herbert Heitmann directly.
A worthy read.
Note this post has been created with the permission of Dr. Herbert Heitmann and the EACD.
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If you are interested in more effective reputation risk management, improving corporate governance, using the Reputation Institute's RepTrak model to benchmark your company's reputation, or developing your digital, communications, responsible investment or sustainability strategies, do connect with us at RL Expert Group.
For more on this topic, check out my other recent LinkedIn Influencer posts on the Reputation Risk Management agenda:
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- Most risk managers don't understand reputation risk
- Can you explain in one minute?
- Financials hidden in plain sight - Ask "Why?"
- 5 steps to take if your supply chain is morally corrupt
- Getting boards into reputation risk management
- Carmakers python - a matter of outrage and trust
- Social License to Operate Risks Matter in Mining
- Facts Everyone Should Know about Child Labor
- Reputation Risk in Banking
- Addressing McDonald's $39B Reputation Risk Challenge
- Challenges for CxO's with APAC's top 10 Risks
- Reinventing Risk for an Asian Century
- New weapon of choice for complex global supply chains?
- 5 steps for effective due diligence in Asia
About Leesa Soulodre:
Managing Partner and Director of RL Expert Group, an international reputation risk management think tank and consulting practice and Asia Associate of the Reputation Institute. An Innovation Advisor to the European Commission and to the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign Advanced Digital Science Centre, Singapore. Board Advisor to Belgian PR Software firm, Prezly, Korean Fashion Analytics firm FashionMatch, and the US Sports Analytics firm, Autoscout.
As a serial en/intrepreneur, Leesa has worked for 20 years on the cutting edge of strategy, communications, technology, cyber security and risk consulting. She has advised more than 400+ multinationals and their start-ups in 19 sectors across Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas. She has led companies with turnovers from $4M to $14B USD into new markets and has shared the exhilaration of one IPO, numerous exits and the hard knocks of lessons learned.
Connect: Leesa Soulodre, Managing Partner RL Expert Group
Project Management Professional
8 年Nice article Leesa. I am really interested about this kind of risks, i have a study involving sustainability risk management in which i included reputation. This is a real sustainable way to manage our projects. Many companies don′t know how to consider reputation on your strategy. I think a good way to start doing it comes from risk management analysis, having an understanding about the impacts over brand reputation. Thaks for sharing your thoughts.
Public Relations
8 年Thank you, Leesa !