By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2010-08-23 17:00:37 | Word Count: 664
Personal reputations are the first thing that comes to mind when the word “reputation” is brought up in any sentence. In truth though, dealing with corporate reputation management can be just as hard and complicated as containing issues with personal reputations.
Corporations are built to run businesses of many different types—but the one thing that they all have in common is their need for a good reputation. Keeping that reputation unblemished is an absolute necessity if they are going to do well, and do better than their competitors.
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Looking at corporations that are known to be more news-provoking than others because of what they do, their reputations will be difficult to manage. Scientific research companies, or big oil companies that consistently have problems with oil spills generate plenty of attention. (BP Oil Spill would be a great example)
Implementing a plan in order to manage that corporate reputation is up to a number of different people including the president of the company down to the public relations staff, and possibly a few others depending on the corporation’s size.
Corporations such as these require dedicated efforts to ensure their reputations are well maintained. For example, when a large oil company has a tanker or an oil well that suddenly blows up—it is their immediate reaction to the problem that will truly affect their corporate reputation.
Public relations staff must kick into high gear once they’ve been given information, and reassuring the public everything that can be done, will. Then upper management must step into action at the same time, and set things into motion to ensure that things do get done. Corporate reputation must become their priority.
Who will be the go-to person to communicate between the site of the problem and the corporate headquarters? Who will be ultimately in charge of making sure that the mess/problem is solved so that everyone is happy? Corporate reputation management is a delicate matter to deal with, and must be dealt with accordingly.
Will reporting need to be done to any federal agencies? If that’s the case, who’s going to keep them updated on a regular basis? Should those contacts be people that are not public relations people, or upper management, but more specialized people within the corporation?
The answer is that there will certainly be federal agencies of some sort involved—and that always tarnishes a reputation. Determining who will keep those agencies informed is something that the company must decide ahead of time.
What the public perceives as enough effort to clean up a huge mess of oil in the ocean near their homes is one thing. However, when the corporation appears to be slow in placing people in the area to clean the mess, or dedicating money to helping the environmental impact—there will be a major hit on that reputation.
Understanding how to deal with corporate reputation management takes planning. Knowing what the job duties of each of staff member is also important to the success of doing so. Your business’ success will depend on how well you succeed on managing your reputation—so do it well!
Regardless of the size of your company, you might need online reputation management. Contact us, we can help. You can call us at 1-800-736-9618.
