Reputation Strategy and Analytics in a Hyper-Connected World. Foster Chris
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Chris Foster
Reputation Strategy and Analytics in a Hyper-Connected World
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Copyright © 2016 by Chris Foster. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Title: Reputation strategy and analytics in a hyper-connected world / Chris
Foster.
Description: Hoboken: Wiley, 2016.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016014398 | ISBN 978-1-119-05249-4 (cloth) | ISBN
978-1-119-21270-6 (ePDF) | ISBN 978-1-119-21271-3 (ePUB)
Subjects: LCSH: Corporate image. | Communication in management. | BISAC:
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Business Communication / General.
Classification: LCC HD59.2 .F67 2016 | DDC 659.2–dc23 LC record available at
https://lccn.loc.gov/2016014398
Acknowledgments
The contents of this book are based primarily on my hands-on experiences in the corporate communications field over the past two decades. The book also represents a process of discovery, in which I sought the opinions and wisdom of numerous experts. In that respect, the book is a trove of collected knowledge and insight, enriched by persistent research and interviews with many expert sources, including Erin Byrne, Lauren Coleman, Yasmin Crowther, Patrick “Pat” Ford, Martis “Marty” Davis, Bronwyn Kunhardt, Eric McNulty, and Ame Wadler, who generously shared their stories and insight with me. I thank them sincerely for their time, their energy, their intelligence, and their kindness.
This book would not have been possible without the effort, attention, and steady guidance of Jeanine Moss, the founder and president of Turning Point Solutions. Jeanine is truly one of the best strategic communications advisors in the field, and I greatly value her friendship.
I owe a special debt of gratitude to Mike Barlow, who served as editorial director for this book. His advice and expertise were invaluable. Thank you, Mike!
I also extend my sincere thanks to Sheck Cho and Vincent Nordhaus, my editors at John Wiley & Sons, who had faith in the value of the project and were patient when I missed my deadlines.
Most of all, I want to thank my wife, Jan, and our son, Nicholas, for their love, support, and willingness to take this journey with me – thank you!
Introduction
We live in a world of increasing transparency and high velocity communications. Information not only travels faster, it travels farther and is available everywhere. The rapid convergence of cloud, social, and mobile technologies has created a new generation of empowered and information hungry customers.
In today’s interconnected consumer economy, the notion that a company’s reputation can be “managed” as a simple commodity or one-dimensional artifact is dangerously outdated. Every morsel of information – no matter how trivial or seemingly innocuous – has the potential to go viral in a heartbeat. Reputations that took decades to build can be destroyed in mere moments.
Brand Does Not Equal Reputation
Great companies discern the critical difference between brand and reputation. Let’s take a moment to examine this difference, because it is vitally important. As customers, our impression of a brand is usually formed by our direct experiences with a company’s products or services.
A company’s reputation, however, is formed by a collective belief system about quality or character. These beliefs are typically formed from hearing or reading the opinions of other people – friends, experts, and even total strangers – which today are relayed across an ever-widening array of media platforms and channels.
A good reputation:
● Creates trust in an organization’s products or services
● Provides access to policy and decision makers
● Attracts and retains the best employees
● Drives credibility with outside partners
● Serves as a critical success factor for investors
Indeed, the difference between brand and reputation is huge, and not yet fully appreciated. The management of a brand is a multidimensional function ranging from communications to product marketing. It involves complex and interrelated programs with often fuzzy mechanisms for measuring results or gleaning data that would improve future efforts. The reputation of a brand, on the other hand, is affected by additional factors that are independent of marketing-oriented brand management activities. Market conditions, CEO performance, and employee churn are all examples of variables that affect corporate reputation.
With that in mind, it’s fair to say that the reputation of a brand reflects a broad and fluid set of perceptions, beliefs, and expectations held by all of an organization’s stakeholders. It is the sum of their opinions, based largely on what they see, read, hear, and experience.
Reputation Strategy: The Proof of a Successful Brand Management Program
Until fairly recently, the downside risk of confusing brand and reputation, or not understanding how the mechanics of brand management and Reputation Strategy differ, was relatively minor. However, the Internet, broadband networks, and