About reputation

Enormous role in modern business plays the company reputation and its leaders. The studies show that companies with high level of positive reputation reach greater financial success than their less "positive" counterparts. How can the reputation be affected?

The word "reputation" lately can be referred to the category of used words - too often we talk and write about it, sometimes, not realizing what is behind it. The number of expressions such as "pay with the reputation”, „stained reputation”, „reputation management”, „to build up a reputation " is growing in business publications, from day to day, and at the same time each reader understands these words and phrases in its own way.

What is reputation?
Just as scientists and professionals from all over the world can not reach a consensus in defining concepts such as marketing (more than 1000 definitions), PR, brand and other concepts, with which operates a modern business, any definition of the reputation sounds vague and incomplete. It seems that, because the definition is taken from a situation, often looks like a conditional one, as for one object, there are always few views. Simply and unpretentiously, we will give the definition which, in our opinion, is the closest to the subject of the article, because in general it will be a question of the reputation - as part of the business.
So, the reputation - it is a tool and indicator of a spontaneous or purposeful transformation of the intangible assets into value-relevant competitive advantages (or disadvantages), estimated by the target audiences and the general public in the process of communication.
Thus, the reputation - it is both a tool (which can be used skillfully or poorly, which can be improved or broken) and the indicator (ie, criteria, indicators, reflecting the outcome of any action or inaction). Reputation is inherent to any social object - the difference is that in some cases, it manifests itself spontaneously, and in others - is the subject of management. The reputation deals with intangible assets (ideas, attitudes, feelings), but in this case are converted into value-relevant advantages (or disadvantages) that are part of the reputation only when they occur in the communication process. In other words, the properties inherent to the object (whether a product, idea, person, company) become part of its reputation when these properties are known around.

What starts the company reputation with? Of course, with the company. And in this case the company can be compared to humans. How should live and behave a person in order to be said about him - "This man has a stainless reputation"? The answer to this question is not so simple. As for this is not enough to be quite honest, open, to have good manners, to move in the circle of a decent society, to hold certain position, but also it is necessary that those around him to believe in what he seems to be .
Thus, the reputation - it is the way , how in the eyes of others is estimated the moral and physical health (of the company or individual) + appearance + near and far environment + behavior in any given situation.

A person communicates with others through the language and the manners which he knows himself and which is understood by his environment. The company "talks" with the outward things by the language of marketing and PR - can be assumed that these languages must be clear not only to the target audience, but also to the general public.
Sorowfully to recognize that a company reputation is formed not only depending on the quality and quantity of manufactured goods, not only on the officially declared policy and strategy, but on how the company responds to these or other events that occur inside and around it.

Reputation and crisis
About crisises - big or small ones- is written more than enough. Nevertheless, nowadays, are only few companies in Moldova, whose leaders not only took trainings about antirecessionary management, not only created a position and recorded the decision to establish a crisis center (Committee, response teams ...), but also took real steps to ensure the preventing of what can be prevented and to be prepared to give an adequate response to what can not be prevented.
It is said that an intelligent man will find a way out of a situation in which a wise man will not never get in. As in every phrase - these words hide a deep truth, and an "artistic" fiction. How wise wouldn’t be a company, there are situations when it is in a crisis situation for a reasons beyond its control. And the behavior of companies in such situations is part of the formation of their reputation. Getting out from a crisis - is one of the indicators that reflects and shapes the reputation of the company.

Decisions made by the company during the crisis make clear to partners, customers, clients and competitors how the company is concerned about the current problem, whether the company is concerned about the public opinion on this situation, if a company is ready to respond to aggression with aggression or apologize, whether the company will openly declare about their intentions or will keep it quiet, what tools the company is going to use to "smooth" or "exacerbate" the situation.
The ability to get out "with honor" from the crisis, the ability to turn a „minus” into a "plus" imply the outstanding abilities of the PR specialists, and management of the company, as well as the presence of a clear plan of action. All this is possible only in those companies where the leaders understand the importance of "public relations" and the value of reputation, which is known to be the most difficult to acquire and the easiest to lose.
Thus, speaking about how to save (or create) the reputation, should be distinguished the phases: crisis phase, when the common goal for all is to survive, and normal, usual phase, when are set long-term goals and are elaborated plans for achieving them. To save the reputation at all stages of development of the company - this is the main task of management and PR-professionals.

Reputation: inside and out.
Everything works on the reputation of the company. It consists of small things that can not be ignored. And in this sense, is very important for the company to realize the necesity of concurrence of the global image with its inner essence. Every self-respecting company now feels obligated to articulate their mission, values and other provisions that make it a real company. And rightly so. But it is necessary at the same time, to consider how these declared values correspond to the content of the company. This is also - one of the steps to create or destroy the reputation.

The concept of „corporate social responsibility "emerged in the west in the 70's of last century. Reputation, which can be shaped, lost, maintained, supported, broken, created, is forming, also basing on how the company is aware of this responsibility. The companies charity directed to the external world must be necessarily supported by actions aimed to improve the intracorporate climate in the company. Reputation - are thin threads that connect the company with partners, clients, customers, the general public. This – is the background, which hovers around the company.
Formation of the company reputation begins with intonation, which receptionist spoke on the phone, taking calls. How often you hear - yes, the products of this company are good, but God forbid! to call there during the lunch ...". Unfortunately, the reputation not only consists of small things, but these things have the influence on it . It would seem that how a company can be influenced by a morning unshaven or disgruntled face of Peter Sidorov. It turned out that it can, because no matter who is Peter Sidorov- loader or director - at a certain time may become the company’s face, and hence a potential customer, with other things being equal, choose a company whose face in this situation is a more likeable person.

The importance of reputation grows with competition. In the old days, when there was no alternative – the organizations-monopolists could afford not to think about their reputations. Regardless of whether customers like them or not, whether they let down or not the customers - they were confident that customers will come again. Today the situation has changed. How often you hear - I have already dealt with this company, I will never go there anymore.
If a company creates an imagine of a well-to-do company, a leader-company , but did not care to pay on time the salaries to its employees, than it is precisely this mismatch between the internal content and appearance of the company, which may lead to undermining of the reputation and negate the efforts of its formation. The discontent or dissatisfaction of the staff member said in a private conversation can become a negative reason, which can be used by competitors, and media. It is very important that everything that happens in the company and with the company to be comprehensible for the employees. This especially refers to the moments of crisis when, at times, employees get to know about the actions of the company from newspapers or from the ill-wishers. This, for its turn ,generates a lot of new rumors and gossip, multiplied by a general dissatisfaction from the lack of reliable information. If employees feel the confidence of the leadership, if being under the hatches or in joy feel that they participate to the common cause, then the company has a better chance to overcome any situation with dignity and to be successful in the long run.

The reputation of the company-employer affects the further employment of its staff. How many times have we heard - "is a worthy candidate - he worked for H". The company (a distinguished and not very distinguished) has an impact on staff. The good reputation of the company - is a good mark. Bad Reputation - accordingly, is a stain, if not for life, then for a long time. The phrase "I just ruined my resume by being in touch with this company, unfortunately, in many cases has the right to be said. Many stories from this area, probably could tell the agency of recruitment: there are positions in companies that are very difficult to "close" - one after the other worthy candidates answer - "Thanks, I don’t need it" as soon as find out about what company declared the vacancy.
By paying some attention to creating a positive image of the "external" world, many managers and PR managers often do not realize the importance of the so-called internal communications. Let's not forget that members of the company - it is an integral (if not to say essential) part of the public, and there is nothing worse than to undermine the reputation from the inside. Society stops to respect the company, which employees are not loyal to it.

The cost of reputation
Having at first sight, nothing to do with the cost, in the market time, reputation becomes a kind of commodity, rather, a supplement to it. How much costs a reputation? Even if you set a task to assess separately the value of the reputation of each brand, every manager, all systems and subsystems company - the task is not solved by simply adding together all ingredients. At the same time, studies show that companies with high reputation reach a greater success than their counterparts with a lower reputation .

So, the reputation - it is capital. Capital of relations and views. What is possible to measure the level of capital with? What is the reputation in the creating of company cost? For business representatives the business reputation - is reality, which is the subject of not only social but also economic analysis. Studies show that for the majority of large companies the reputation is a real asset which creates the cost, and the communications - real investments that have an impact on sales volumes, profit and cost of raising capital.
We need to stress once again that the reputation is formed only in the process of communication - as the assessment of various audiences of the obtained information on the company. Thus, communications are at the same time the managing and shaping tool for reputation. This realize most of the leaders. But the main contradiction between the awareness of it and the real action lies in the fact that, while understanding the importance of communication, the head is ready to invest in the reputation of the business only if it is able to evaluate the financial impact of these investments. In other words, the director wants to know exactly how much of the cost of the company is founded by reputation, and while he does not know it , he evaluates very carefully the possibility of long-term investment in program of reputation building. The assessment of the impact of the reputation on company’s business and its shareholder value, requires detailed economic, social and even psychological studies, but there are some facts that are obvious: often exactly the reputation turns a potential client into a real client.

Reputation and Media
Evidence of that reputation has value, is another interesting fact. In broad terms, positiveness of the company, to put it mildly, it is of no interest to the media. The representatives of the media would rather write about a scandal, than about the fact that the company held a charity event. And there is a paradox: in order to become the philanthropy a part of the reputation, you need to pay for it. Ie the company must pay for space in a newspaper or magazine in order to be known about it. But if no one found out, alas, it almost did not add anything to their reputation. Thus, the company that takes action to improve its reputation - is engaged in charity, provides the social funds, contributes to the life of the city, region, country, etc. - often can spark the interest of the media only by making some mistake .

Nevertheless, it is the media and no one else can and should establish, in general, the dialogue between business and the public. Openness, transparency of the company and its business increase public confidence, thus reinforce the reputation of the company in particular and the entire business as a whole, thus contribute to financial sustainability of the company. But for this, the company should feel the need to establish a dialogue with the public (and not only with the target audience) in a language that is understandable for both parties through the media.

The quality of the reputation depends on many things, including on what social programs are carried out by the company, where invests the money, wich museum or children's home helps to, whether the TV advertisement offends a part of people (in terms of age, social status, sex, religion, etc.), who is sponsoring the company , how are treated its customers, consumers, users, how much are confirmed its promises and guarantees , what media it chooses for promoting its message and what media choose it. And, because the managing of the public consciousness can be done only by means of information, all that is important not only because of the presence of all these programs, but also because of what is written, spoken and thought about it.

Reputation management To possess the means and ways to enhance the reputation of the company, as well as professional and personal reputation is not easy. And here once again is appropriate to compare the personal reputation with the business reputation of the company.
Management of the reputation (and of the company and person) is: 

In other words, reputation - is not only what products the company produces, but also how it delivers them to the consumer, and which ways it uses to draw the attention on itself.
At today's market the care of the reputation of the company is moving from the category of advantages to the category of market necessary requirements.
Reputation of the company - it is much more than its products. This, and the action of the leadership and staff, and relationships with partners, media, customers, etc. Therefore, in certain periods of development of the company exactly the reputation is helping many companies to "save their face" and not lose business.

The reputation of the leader.
The reputation of the company consists of many components, one of which is the reputation of its leaders. As to how the company presents its leadership and how leadership represents the company, often is judged the success of business, the quality of products and services. To ensure that a potential client of the company became a real customer, the manager and staff must show not only their professional skills but also the ability to behave: to convince, persuade, insist. The image of a real leader at the head of the company makes a potential customer to recognize the company as a reliable and competent one, to confirm the reliability of the company and make sure him self that a decent company is run by decent people.
Reputation is a historical category, as it arose with the emergence of human society. At different times, this notion has been identified with the notion of honor and dignity. Ie until there is a human collective, its individual members will be the subject of specific evaluation of the surrounding people. And the "bigger is the person", the more attention is riveted to it. Most public assessment does not depend on the will and wishes of the person that is being evaluated. When the matter concerns the head of the company, the controllability of his reputation is even more complex issue, because it depends to a greater extent not on the evaluation of society but on the "reconciliation" of this evaluation with himself.

Business reputation - it is a stable positive assessment of their business merits by public opinion. When the matters concerns the head of the company, it can be said that it is impossible to damage the business reputation without causing material (and moral) damages to the company. The protection of business reputation of the head has a commercial sense, because information about both company (from the head sayings) and the head may increase the capital and cause damage when it comes to the attention of those individuals on whose actions depends the successful operations of the company about which is distributed the information. In addition, the compensation for moral damage in the protection of business reputation now directly depends on the material losses and unpaid benefits, which means that the reputation of the head definitely "worth the money."

The reputation and business
Creating a reputation - it is a long process. The effect did not occur on the next day after the taken decision on the creation of managed reputation of the company or business. The thin threads that bind together the public opinion, intertwine with each other, and more there are, than stronger the reputation of the company is . The rupture of one of the threads does not result in a loss of reputation, but leads to a weakening of the position of the company. In other words the creation of business reputation - it is a long and laborious work. If the company would be more meaningful, more purposeful in accomplishing their actions, public opinion will change. If some people will know that they are receiving assistance from exactly the business of this company, sooner or later, the result will be.
If an employee who works for the enterprise, will understand that it is perceived not only as labor but as a member of the team, and the employer treats him not only as a functional unit, takes care not only about him, but also about his reputation (in a broad sense ), positive changes in society will necessarily begin .

And because this matters concerns, basically, the public consciousness, it is necessary to remind about the importance of PR, that is, of that activity, of that part of the business, which by word and deed, protect the interests of the reputation, being, among other things, the technology of obtaining confidence. And as a result - the technology of building a positive reputation and method of work with its derivatives (elevation of the image, describing the competitive advantages, of the inner atmosphere of the team, the public opinion on certain issues, etc.).
Motives for the establishment and reputation management are not in the plane of the desire to improve the well-known trade marks, but in the plane of the needs of background creation of building confidence. The main object of impact becomes the philosophy of the company , the ideas, team, technology, the production – in a word, the attributes of trust of the target audience and the overall reputation of the business. And that trust must be regularly maintained.
Reputation - this is really the object of PR management. Unfortunately, in today's business -community, in the meantime there are few customers, who now are ready to invest in projects that support reputation and that realize the mandatory presence in their company (and around) of the principal zones of the reputation formation, such as the conduct of the company, utility of company , the environment and its communication. And note, there is no single word about products and services, because in this case, they are secondary.

The reputation and brand.
Reputation is very closely linked to the branding. The client remembers only that is close to his way of thinking, and today various target audiences no longer want to deal with a universal brand. Brands which have properties close to and understandable to the consumers have a much greater consumer and social success. As time goes on, more meticulously people will choose a company to which they are willing to entrust their money, their health, their leisure, their security, their production, etc. And in this case, in the first plan again appears the reputation of the company- this time, the reputation of the brand, part of which is the reputation of the company - owner of the brand and reputation of its leadership, and more precisely, due to their association in the minds of consumers and the public.

Image and reputation of any company, more and more depends on the relations of public business, and just the general public. The trust, on which is built the business – can be easily lost, but difficult to recreate. At the same time to change or improve the image is much easier than "make" or to restore a decent reputation. The main challenge of the company in building the reputation –is not just to be "honest, open, rich and serious”, but reliably „handle” the thin threads, which form the information field around the company and within it.