adminadvantage. A company’s reputation does impact how its clients view it and prefer doing business with it. Corporate reputation is important for securing the loyalty of customers, for recruiting and retaining highly skilled employees, for winning community goodwill, and for increasing access to capital and credit.
Reputation catapults companies to stardom and propels them to becoming business partners of choice. The need to build a solid reputation should inform the agenda of every responsible business entity. Company reputation should never be sacrificed for expediency.
The simple basic things to do in establishing and maintaining a good reputation involves always giving your customers satisfactory service, being trustworthy and reliable, and always remembering that building a reputation takes time, hard work, dedication and patience. Companies must understand that good governance and ethical business practices are the hallmark of that endeavour. They are the indispensables, and clearly no business can survive in today’s highly competitive global market place without them.
The world over, investors and creditors are getting attracted to companies that exhibit good corporate governance and ethical business cultures because they are integral to the performance and long term sustainability of any business, small or large. Take for example the results of a Global Investor Opinion Survey carried out in 2006 in the UK. The survey interviewed over 200 institutional investors and revealed that investors are willing to pay a premium for companies that demonstrate high ethics and governance standards across the globe. Through good corporate governance and ethical business cultures businesses will comprehensively address reputational risks and generate real shareholder value.
Reputation consists of four characteristics, namely; credibility, reliability, responsibility and trustworthiness. Credibility means being generally trusted and accepted by all stakeholders. It means refusing to engage in unethical business practices, and being known for ethical decision making.
Reliability means being consistent and predictable and being able to meet the reasonable expectations of stakeholders. Responsibility is ability to fulfil a number of designated roles, and includes upholding the values of accountability, transparency, and disclosure of all material information in one’s dealings with the business of the firm. A firm needs the trust of its customers and clients in order to increase its sales.
Reputation is equally built through sound financial performance, good public relations, sound leadership and management, corporate social responsibility, and guaranteed product quality. Here are a few tips on building a good reputation companies can adopt;
- Employees must be professional at all times. Companies must build their customer care and customer service policies and make sure employees stick to them. Employees must never be afraid to seek professional advice wherever and whenever required to do so because getting advice and assistance early can help put an end to any problems that may occur a little further down the line.
- Reinforce your reputation by sticking to and keeping your promises, be it to customers, suppliers, or any other stakeholder.
- Decide what you want your company reputation to be built on. Is it good value, affordable prices, ethical practices, etc, and create a mission statement that works around this.
- When building a reputation it is always best to plan ahead. Whatever reputation you want to build up, it is always best to start planning and putting it into action from day one.
Bradwell Mhonderwa is an Ethics Coach and Trainer with the Business Ethics Centre. Send feedback to [email protected], [email protected], or call 0772 913 875
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