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MOST corporates worldwide are giving more importance today to reputation management as opposed to public relations or image building. Is there really a difference between the two, you might ask. Yes, there is. The big difference is that corporates which have some semblance of a reputation are more interested in preserving it, which is vital to its own future. It’s definitely better than starting afresh and embarking on a fresh image-building exercise or a makeover. A corporate takes several years to build a strong image for itself either in the public eye or in the market with its customers or vendors. It is mostly based on the strengths of its financial assets, manpower, technology, quality, reliability and service.

To help achieve this objective, the top management of the company usually works in close cooperation with its communication department, making public healthy information about itself or retrieving a bad situation by explaining through background briefing to the friendly media the actual position and the industry environment in which it works. This helps sustain the corporate’s image.

What should one do when a corporate’s reputation nosedives or suffers?

· Don’t panic, be calm and strategise

· Don’t pass the buck or blame others

· Don’t find a scapegoat

· Don’t indulge in witch-hunting

· Sit and think calmly and analyse the reasons for the bad reputation incurred

· Thereafter handle the remedial measures proactively

· An ad hoc or homogenous approach is not feasible if there are different companies under one umbrella or in the fold - each will have its own strengths and weaknesses

· Take professional help and the help of experienced people in the organisation

· Be transparent in all your dealings at all times - you will win the day.

Effective management of risk will not only go a long way in protecting the corporate’s reputation but will also enhance it. Every challenge coming the way of the corporate is to be treated as an opportunity to enhance reputation. Ability to manage reputation and its associated risks will effectively become a core competence for a corporate in a fiercely but often murky competitive world.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 16th, 2008 at 2:37 pm and is filed under SEO, SMM | . You can follow responses to this entry through the Comments RSS Feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your site.