Putting reputation at the heart of business operations.

In this chapter we’re going to look at ways to integrate reputation-driven thinking into your company’s core DNA. It’s not complicated, but depending on the size of your business, it might be easier said than done. That said, I’ve made it clear I am writing these fresh chapters aimed at startup founders and CEOs – so you probably aren’t looking at a workforce of thousands.

We’ve already said in Chapter 1 that business reputation is driven primarily by your company’s behavior. So, the next question in your reputation journey is to ask yourself ‘what do I want to be known for?’. I really push for a genuine answer that is specific to what you do.

Here’s a perfect example: I was reading this Tweet from VC Alexis O'Hanian last week. Without reading beyond this single post, I can conclude that his firm SevenSevenSix wants to be known for being the most helpful VC firm to founders, full stop. That’s what they want to be known for and as a result, everything they do reinforces the desired reputation. When I went onto the company’s website to see if I was accurate, I saw that the main message is: ‘Founded by builders, built by founders in order to be the very best at supporting founders changing the world.’. The fact that I distilled their key message based on the actions shared in a single Tweet, without ever meeting anyone from the fund, or having looked at the website in the last few months, demonstrates that this company is absolutely walking the talk. Not only are they saying what they want to be known for – they are living it every single day.

Ask yourself this:?

• Does your company have a purpose (beyond making money)? Why does the company do what it does?
• Think about how your business operates – can you list ten examples of actions (big or small) that reinforced your desired reputation in the past working week? These actions could be by you or (preferably) others in the business.
• Where are the biggest opportunities to systematically reinforce your desired reputation? And are you making the most of them? A few examples include onboarding new hires, customer interactions (from ads to renewals and everything in between), interacting with investors, talking to journalists, dealing with customer complaints, dealing with suppliers, and those unfortunate times when you need to let people go.

In all these areas there are opportunities to do something in support of a reputation goal.

Understanding your belief set and knowing why your company exists will help you and your team make values-based decisions (no matter how big or small), which is a fundamental step in building strong foundations for a long-lasting, positive reputation.?

Building reputation into your business’s DNA starts with the Founder or CEO. It is essential for you to understand and truly believe that reputation management is critical to the business. This theory is not new, but our online-centric world – with its sheer scale and spread – brings reputation management to the front of the competitive battle.?

The first step is to ensure every single action, decision or campaign is aimed at enhancing the company’s overall reputation. When considering your reputation strategy, make sure that it truly addresses and outlines a way of behaving – not merely a list of communications tactics supporting product or service lines.

In a startup, where there is often not even a dedicated comms person, the accountability holder for this just might be you, the founder. And that’s fine for now. It doesn’t scale but, in many ways, the most efficient way to drive a reputation is for the person that drives the business to always be thinking reputation first.

Beyond behavior: federated communications

Attempts to control the outward communications of every single person in your company’s ecosystem are futile. Your team members have the potential to be your greatest ambassadors. Sure, there will always be some detractors, but if your MO is generally to act in line with your values it will be easy for others to advocate on your behalf, should things go wrong.

Media relations happens in real time. There was a time when you could rely on a standard holding statement in response to a tricky journalist question. That’s not acceptable today. Same goes for customers and other stakeholders asking tough questions – increasingly on public platforms like TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn or X (Twitter). This requires a human response, fast. A customer who asks a difficult question about the performance of your product is going to report back not only on what your customer service people said, but also on how your company responded. There is an added expectation.

This is why the communications function in business has generally become less regulated and less centralized. This means trusting your team. And if you’ve built a strong, values and purpose-driven culture – AND everyone on the team knows what you want to be known for as a business – that trust comes easily.

Social media forces us to trust our employees with our most precious asset. People who are media savvy are also chronic sharers; they are natural storytellers. When customers or team members are happy and voice it, they contribute to the positive reputation of your business. When they are unhappy and share it, the reverse is true.

In neither case do you have direct control over what people say about you. You can only make sure that everything your company does and says influences your customers and your own employees before they make their voices public. So we go back to basics:

• Do your employees ?know what your core values are?
• Do you hire in line with these values?
• Where is your company behaviour out of line with those values (thereby identifying reputation risk)?
• What could you all do better, every day, to build a stronger reputation?

If you want to catch up on the groundwork that got us to this topic, here are the three previous chapters. And stay tuned for next week when we will breakdown the elements of a reputation strategy.?

Chapter 1: Here’s why your brand’s reputation should be top of your to-do list

Chapter 2: Ignore your reputation at your own risk (reputation risk)

Chapter 3: how a founder’s narrative can shape a brand for better or worse (storytelling)

Frequently asked questions:

How does a company measure the success of integrating reputation-driven thinking into its operations? Are there any specific metrics or KPIs that can be used?

Measuring the success of reputation-driven thinking can be nuanced because reputation is a qualitative attribute. However, companies often track customer satisfaction scores, employee engagement levels, brand perception through market research, and media sentiment analysis. You might also monitor online reviews and social media sentiment to gauge public perception. Success in this area can be indicated by improved customer loyalty, employee retention rates, and positive media coverage. Metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) can serve as a barometer for customer advocacy, while employer review sites give insights into employee satisfaction and engagement.

The post mentions that the communications function in business has (or should) become less regulated and less centralized. What are some of the potential risks associated with this approach, and how can they be mitigated?

When a company adopts a federated approach to communication, it embraces openness and trusts in its employees' ability to convey the company's message. However, this can lead to inconsistencies in messaging and potential PR crises if employees are not well-aligned with the company's values and communication strategy. To mitigate these risks, companies need comprehensive (even if it’s informal) training and clear guidelines. There should be a balance between empowering employees to be brand ambassadors and providing them with the tools and knowledge to communicate effectively.

You allude to onboarding new hires as an opportunity to reinforce a company's reputation. Could you provide a detailed example or case study of an onboarding process that effectively communicates and instills the company's core values?

Onboarding new hires is a critical opportunity to embed a company’s reputation and values. A practical example would be a structured onboarding program that includes meetings with key leaders who embody and can speak to the company's values. New hires could be involved in community service activities that reflect the company’s social commitments or engage in workshops that simulate decision-making based on the company’s values. This process not only informs but also involves new employees in the culture and ethos of the company from day one, helping to build a strong reputation both internally and externally.