The stately conference room is spotless while mugs of freshly-brewed rich Colombian coffee are served to immaculately-dressed C-level executives. This is a general setting for an important meeting to review how well – or how badly – a typical Salt Lake City company is doing.
Most businesses nowadays employ an SEO company to boost their corporate reputation at one point or another. Studies have shown that Utah is classified as one of the least neurotic and most agreeable states, along with California, Oregon, and Washington. Generally, this means these states have a relaxed and creative profile with a wealthier, more educated, and more innovative populace.
However, this does not mean businesses located in such friendly environments sit back and relax. It is still imperative that they take the extra step in building strong corporate reputations. Corporate reputation is the collective assessment of how the public views a specific brand name as well as the company as a whole. This also includes how the stakeholders perceive the company that they are invested in.
To fully understand the reasons why companies are spending good dollars building or boosting their corporate reputations, it is helpful to know the points they take into consideration.
1. The building blocks of a company’s reputation is its Customer Experience.
This is valuable information gathered from the little details the customer recalls from purchasing a product to reaching its end of life and everything in between.
2. Another key element is Organizational Culture.
This is the “how we do things around here” aspect of an organization. This is the summation of beliefs, history, assumptions, and values of how the people within the organization behave. An organization’s culture is most often made apparent in dress codes and work station placements.
3. Financial scandals can make or break a company.
Owners and executives take meticulous care to make sure they project good Financial Reputation not just to the public but also to their employees and stakeholders. Rumors of debts and potential foreclosure are risks that damage public and stakeholder confidence.
4. The tremendous popularity and widespread use of the internet over the last two decades gave birth to Online Reputation.
Some companies even dedicating entire departments to maintain their social media reputations.
Engaging customers for feedback and upselling has never been easier as with the advent of online social media platforms that make it easier for businesses to monitor brand reputation.
Urgent meetings are called when untoward incidents cause a significant blow to a brand’s reputation. Businesses are always wary of the damage legislators, regulators, and the public can do to wreck their reputation.
5. Discussion in influencing public and media opinion has earned a valuable spot in the conference room agenda.
Companies use media networks and online outlets to broadcast their products and services instantly. This is where product ambassadors come in. Either a top executive with a very reliable financial background or a much-followed social media celebrity is used to “personify” a brand.
Although the use of famous people is often the trend in endorsing a company or brand, it must be taken into account that one of the best ways to project a healthy corporate reputation is the unique way company employees talk about their jobs in their social media accounts.
The bottom line, executives spend a lot of time in the conference room discussing how to make the public and their employees happy. This keeps the bucks rolling in.