Strategic Marketing, Public Relations, Communications

B2B & B2C EXPERIENCE

advertising
agency management
award submissions
analysis
branding
business development

business intelligence

brainstorming

case studies

channel & partner management

communications

competitive reviews

credit cards

creative & content management crm

customer delight

concierge & luxury services

conferences & events

direct marketing

editing

e-commerce

employee motivation

guerilla marketing

issue positioning

loyalty programs

internal communications

education & training

financial services

healthcare & assistance

insurance

internet

lead generation

marketing

media relations

media training

multi-media production

public relations

publicity & promotion

presentations

research

retail

sales support

social media

software

speaker/advociate

strategic alliances

web 2.0

website strategies
whitepapers
workshops
writing

Proactive Branding and Reputation Management

Keys to Driving Business & Loyalty

Branding is a business strategy involving a rational, emotional and cultural declaration of a company. A robust brand creates positive associations in both minds and hearts.

Why worry about corporate reputation? According to the Harris Reputation Quotient (RQ) Survey, there's “a strong relationship between a company’s overall reputation and the likelihood of purchasing and recommending its products and services. And, the stronger a company’s reputation, the greater likelihood of the general public investing or recommending investment in the company.”

In fact, Harris reports that the correlation between supportive behaviors and Corporate RQ exceed 69%.

Communicating Your Brand

Many elements go into building a brand, such as the ability to deliver on promises, ethical policies and procedures, and reputable business partners, to name a few. A company's reputation is not owned by one department, but by everyone in the company.

That being said, here are a few crucial areas to ensure your brand resonates, moves, touches and inspires your audiences:

Internal Communications: Senior management must walk the talk. Cascade communications from the top down. Encourage upward and lateral feedback. Reward good behavior. Acknowledge mistakes. Communicate with employees frequently, honestly and consistently in tone and message. Employees are ambassadors for your brand. Can they readily state what the company does? What would they say about working there?
External Communications: Identify and manage brand-supportive messaging at all touchpoints (website, scripts, collateral, presentations, etc.). External audiences include customers, partners, investors and analysts, industry and geographic communities, even competitors.
Public Relations: Get credit for what you do, from innovative products to excellent service to community support. Sometimes initiatives may be worthy of a news release, but not always. If not, there are other ways to earn publicity: personal pitching, guest columns, social media, awards, whitepapers, speaking engagements and more.

Does your company have a proactive reputation and integrated communications plan to build awareness and drive business? If not, an audit may be the first step. An audit can be comprehensive or targeted, depending on your needs.

As Michael Eisner of Disney said: "A brand is a living entity, enriched or undermined cumulatively over time, the product of a thousand small gestures." In other words, everything you do either supports or harms your brand.

Interested in learning more about an audit or a proactive marketing & communications plan? Drop me a line!

Emily

More about the survey...

According to Harris Interactive, corporate reputations are comprised of these key elements:

Products & Services: High Quality, Innovative, Good Value for the Money, Stands Behind Products & Services

Emotional Appeal: Feel Good About, Admire, Respect, Trust

Vision & Leadership: Market Opportunities, Excellent Leadership, Clear Vision for Future

Financial Performance: Outperforms Competitors, Record of Profitability, Low-Risk Investment, Good Growth Prospects

Workplace Environment: Rewards Employees Fairly, Good Place to Work, Good Employees

Corporate Responsibility: Supports Good Causes, Environmentally Responsible, Supportive of Community

Download a PDF of the Harris Interactive Survey results.