By Hartley Mikus, Account Executive

Tips for building a strong corporate reputation and maintaining it

In high school we thought our reputation meant the world. Everyone tried his or her hardest to protect an image. We were painstakingly set on who we wanted to be and would do anything to defend it. We monitored the conversations going on around us like hawks, always careful to analyze every shred of gossip to see what people were saying about us. And though that time in everyone’s life is difficult, I think we, as professionals, could actually stand to learn a lot from teenagers and their deep commitments to their reps.

I’m not saying we completely revert back to our teenage days of name-calling and pettiness, but I do think that if we take a hybrid sample of our teenage spirit and professional knowledge, it can really start to work in our favor and benefit our clients. In fact, measuring a corporate reputation is increasingly the focus of several professional studies.

The Reputation Institute recently released reputation pulse scores for 153 American companies. Scores were determined by examining how “esteemed, admired, trusted and liked” they were, based on a general public survey. And though I certainly agree that companies that are esteemed, admired, trusted and liked will achieve higher scores, how does a corporation become all these things to its target audiences?

Sure there are probably several things companies can do to build a strong corporate reputation, but to me, it boils down to four key areas. The better companies do in these areas, the better their rep. The worse they do, well just ask AIG, the company with the biggest pulse score decline in the Institute’s 2009 study.

1. Be Responsive. We are all more likely to develop a particular affinity toward organizations and corporations that possess a listening ear. As public relations practitioners, we counsel our clients to be open to comments, both positive and negative, from their target audiences. Both types of feedback can then help the organization grow and change, gaining support from customers.

2. Be Consistent. Consistently good, that is! Many companies have glimmers of greatness from time to time. But if your goal is to boost your corporation’s rep, spotty spectacular moments won’t do the trick. Instead, focus needs to be placed on delivering a consistently good experience with any and all people with whom your company interacts. This includes suppliers, partners and the community in which your organization is based, as well as the greater business community.

3. Be Honest. Need I say more? No matter which company you represent, it is important to hold a strong commitment to the truth, above all other things. Secrets are always uncovered, even if it takes years, so if you do make a mistake (you’re human, right?) owning up to it could be the best move you make as a company. It allows you to continue to be trusted, which allows you to garner support from the general public, as well as your partners.

4. Produce measurable success. Chances are relatively good that if you do the first three things mentioned above, this fourth area will fall into place naturally. Results are such an important part of success. Generating a strong ROI and measurable results help protect your company from the haters who are always out to poke holes in your rep. They also reaffirm your position as a trustworthy organization in the hearts of your biggest champions.

As much as it may seem like a big challenge to make it to the top of the heap with companies like Johnson & Johnson and Google, keep in mind that we’ve all been working hard to manage our personal reputation since junior high or high school, so we are definitely in practice. We just need to be mindful as to how we translate this knowledge into the professional setting.

So as you work to transform your company, what do you find to be the most important ingredient for a strong corporate reputation?

photo credit: LiveFromAmsterdam