The importance of corporate brand reputation

Corporate brand reputation, which is the core mission of any business, is regularly ranked by corporate leaders as their most important asset. More than that, it is projected to be a fundamental area of growth in the foreseeable future. The appetite for corporate brand reputation management, as well as advice, seems to be limitless. It stems from two impulses:

1. Proactive: looking to project a positive image of a brand or enterprise.
2. Reactive: fearing a sudden crisis or media disaster that will rock the company boat severely.

Corporate brands are being forced to be progressively more honest with their audience as well as their employees as the Internet has revealed a new level of transparency. In addition, there are endless amounts of information available regarding every company.

Successful corporate brand reputation doesn’t have to cost the earth

One of the greatest things about the current stress on corporate brand reputation is that it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. It’s merely about your values as a company and showing them internally as well as externally in everything that you do. It may necessitate more time or, alternatively, money spent to ensure quality, however, in the end, it will multiply your digital marketing and sales efforts as your customers and employees develop into advocates for your business.

An organisation’s corporate reputation is often confused with its product brand. While closely linked they are not equivalent. They both represent a type of trust. Some companies have well-known product brands as well as differentiated corporate reputations. In other cases, the company brand is much closer to the corporate brand.

What a corporate brand is

A company’s corporate reputation is the amalgamation of all the views and beliefs that are held about the company. These are based on its history and its future prospects. The views and beliefs are held in juxtaposition to close competitors.

Corporate brand reputation is a relative assessment which, by definition, is fuzzy and variable. While there may be a weight of opinion to an overall position, there will also be people with very different (more extreme) views.

In the past, businesses relied on word-of-mouth by their stakeholders in order to create, build as well as maintain their reputations. In today’s age of social networking, websites in addition to other methods of instant communication, businesses must be conscientious of their corporate brand reputations on a continuous basis and be quick to respond to any crisis that may have an effect on their reputation.

The value of corporate brand reputation

While an intangible concept, having a good corporate brand reputation can help a business in a multitude of ways. These include:

• Consumer preference
• Support for an organisation in times of crisis or controversy
• The future value of an organisation in the marketplace.

If an organisation has a good corporate brand reputation in the marketplace, consumers may have a preference for what that company offers even if there are similar companies offering the same products or services for various prices. The reputation of a company can enable the organisation to differentiate its product in highly competitive markets so allowing it to have premium pricing and can become the essential factor in whether a customer decides to patronise one business over another.

3 Tips for increasing your corporate brand reputation

1. Be proactive

Don’t wait for customer complaints and then react to them. Continually analyse each and every aspect of your business. This includes its values, services and products so that you can proactively develop as well as adapt in order to exceed expectations and build a long-lasting relationship with your customers.

2. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Instituting a CSR programme and providing continuing support to charities not only enhances your reputation but also develops team morale.

3. Social media

Show the individuals and culture behind your brand. Show authenticity and develop trust. Connect with the community. Give people a motivation for trusting you by sharing solutions or answers which are useful to your audience.

Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing

If you want more information about managing your corporate brand then you need to do our Brand Management Course. For more information, please follow this link.