Reputation management: why, how and when reputation is needed in business. How to create a business reputation What is the reputation of a company

Vladimir Kosykh, managing partner of the PR agency InMar Relations

When and why you need a reputation

There is a widespread belief among the owners and top managers of domestic companies that in Russia, due to the “specific” conditions of doing business, it is at least useless to pursue a reputation. And given the fact that the money spent on reputation could be used more efficiently to finance other areas of business, it is even harmful.

Along with the objective reasons for such an attitude to reputation - the instability of the business and political environment (and, as a consequence, the complexity of long-term planning); high level of corruption (on many issues it is easier to "negotiate"), etc.

There is also a subjective reason - it seems that everyone knows about the reputation, it seems that everyone understands what it is, but at the same time few people can, briefly and clearly formulate what a reputation is and what REAL benefits it can bring to business.

But at the same time, many enterprises had to face some of the problems listed below:

* In the event of a crisis situation: an accident at the enterprise (especially with human casualties and / or environmental pollution); failure in production (with subsequent problems with product quality); dissemination of negative information in the media, etc. - sales volumes are sharply falling, doing business is complicated by an increase in the number of various checks, relations with suppliers and dealers are deteriorating (up to termination).

* High staff turnover and the need to regularly upgrade the level wages to retain employees.

* Consumers immediately believe any negative information about the company and its products, but they treat positive information with distrust.

* Dealers distrust suppliers, believing that the supplier is not interested in a long-term relationship. As a result, they do not want to develop any exclusive forms of cooperation.

And hardly anyone would argue that a company that "knows" to reduce the costs of solving the above and a number of similar problems will gain an advantage in the competitive struggle, its business will be more stable and profitable. Even in the conditions of unstable Russian reality.

From the title it is clear that all these problems will be further proposed to be solved by working with reputation. But before proposing how to manage reputation, it will offer a definition that is easy to work with and describe an approach to assessing the benefits of reputation for a business.

Without a clear understanding (at all levels of management) what reputation is, what is its benefit to the company, and the methodology for assessing reputation, one can only imitate a stormy activity, but not manage reputation.

But before you can evaluate (and manage) reputation, you need to sort out the confusion about how effective corporate communications are.

Business communication groups

Many works on evaluating the effectiveness of PR-activity immediately try to answer the questions "what to evaluate" and "how to evaluate". In my opinion, it will not be possible to answer these questions in general form until the questions “what is the use of PR activities for the company's business activities” and “how to separate the effect of PR from other types of business communications” are worked out.

To make it easier to separate the effects of PR from other communications, it is proposed not to separate one from the other, but on the contrary, for convenience, "mix" them, dividing business communications into groups not by the types of communications, but by the effects that communications have:

* Sales support... The communications of this group “work” by influencing such communication indicators as popularity, awareness of the product / brand / company, and the desire to make a purchase during the promotion.

* Strategic communications... The communications of this group "work", influencing the information background of the company's business: perception of the product / brand / company (positioning, image, promise brand), stereotypes / beliefs, fashion.

* Building trust... Communication indicators such as reputation, building relationships are responsible for trust in the business.

To achieve tasks related to different groups, the same communication channels can be used (regardless of the traditional channel classification). With such a division, sales support is in the competence of the marketing division, the building of trust is the competence of the PR division, and strategic communications is the joint responsibility of these two divisions.

Strategic communications solve sales problems only indirectly, they are usually aimed at maintaining the long-term success of the business. For example, to maintain consumer loyalty, to create a fashion for a healthy lifestyle (for a network of fitness rooms) or the sexuality of female smoking (for a cigarette manufacturer). Research on brand perception, positioning, stereotypes has been sufficiently developed in branding and strategic marketing, and in order to evaluate the effectiveness, these indicators must be "tied" to the dynamics of market share over a long period.

And with the "Confidence Building" group, difficulties begin. It is clear that a good reputation and established relationships somehow contribute to a successful business. But, unlike the other two groups of business communications, it is not entirely clear how to measure reputation and "good" relationships and what exactly these indicators affect in business.

There is excellent work by Linda Childers Hohn and James Gruning on relationship assessment. Therefore, the following describes only an approach to assessing the reputation component of trust communications.

What is reputation

There are hardly fewer definitions of the term “reputation” than “marketing”, “public relations”, etc. In this work, it is proposed to adopt a definition that is convenient for subsequent work without extensive justification:

Reputation is a forecast by the target audience of the behavior of a company / person based on available information, experience, impressions and perceptions of the target audience.

Or in other words, it is an assessment of the FUTURE "health" and behavior based on information about the PAST, that is, a forecast, the "predictability" of the company's behavior in a positive or negative sense, whether it is worth dealing with it in the future. If the consumer needs a product only "for now" and the relationship will not be continued in the future, then the product will be selected only on the basis of price, perception of other characteristics of the product and attitude to the brand, there is no question of reputation.

To simplify completely, the synonym for reputation is predictability, as opposed to image - impression (perception).

In this interpretation, reputation is precisely the behavioral assessment of the subject. For example, I buy from my hands a gadget that is not officially sold in Russia. I am aware that if it fails, I will neither be able to return it, nor will I receive any branded service. In this situation, the reputation of the company does not bother me. I only select based on the characteristics of the product. Moreover, the characteristics are not necessarily physical, they may well be status, fashion, etc. And, thanks to the brand, these characteristics can be not only real (which I know for sure), but also expected (which I assume for a product of this brand) ...

But if, after making a purchase, the consumer has to continue interacting with the manufacturer (service, exchange, return, etc.), then the consumer will take into account the manufacturer's reputation in his choice. How will the manufacturer behave in different situations? Will it be on the market at all or will it close after some time, and the consumer will be left without spare parts and service? What will be the dynamics of the service? And the more important this "behavioral" component of the quality of the product, the more important the business reputation of the enterprise is for the buyer.

It is necessary to understand that reputation is an assessment of future behavior, but it is done not only on the basis of the past behavior of the person being assessed, as is commonly believed. When forecasting, almost any information about the subject and the experience of interactions with him is used: his past behavior (based on personal experience and assessments of others, in particular, the assessments of the media), what and how he says, what he looks like, what is the quality and prices of his products, etc.

Reputation effect groups

Well, if we take the proposed definition of reputation as a basis, then the impact of reputation on business can be divided into two groups of effects:

* Attributive effects - the influence of reputation on competitiveness as one of the characteristics of a product. The products / services of a reputable company are more competitive (“sell” better).

* Cognitive effects - the influence of reputation on the processing of new information about the company. Target audience with greater confidence perceives new information about the company if this information corresponds to the established reputation.

Thanks to the cognitive effects of a company with a good reputation, less effort is needed to convince the target audience of the reliability of positive information (corresponding to a reputation), and losses in the event of negative information (contradicting reputation) will be less. The target audience simply will not believe in the reliability of the negative information or will treat the situation with understanding, “inventing” a reason why negative news can be left without consequences. In contrast to a negative reputation, when the target audience can not only believe, but also invent everything that they consider possible and “fit” into a negative situation.

For example, if the target audience is already (without additional negative news) confident that mobile operator X is stealing money from its subscribers, then any new negative information on this topic will be perceived as reliable. And it can increase subscriber churn. And if subscribers are confident in the honesty of the cellular operator, then the target audience will perceive negative information about the theft of money as unreliable, or interpret it as a single error and / or as the intrigues of competitors.

Or if the reputation of the authorities is such that the target audience is confident in the authorities' readiness to falsify elections, then any information (the most inaccurate) about falsification will be perceived and disseminated by the target audience as reliable, and all facts confirming the honesty of elections will be swept aside as a lie.

Assessment of the attributive component

To assess the attributive component of the reputation, it is only necessary to assess what contribution the brand's / company's reputation makes to the choice of goods, all other things being equal, for example, with absolutely equal parameters of the product, which brand will be chosen by the consumer. The more this component, the better the reputation.

It is necessary to evaluate the attributive component of reputation as a percentage (comparing competitiveness), and then translate it into money, discounting financial flows. But at the same time, it must be remembered that reputation is not only sales, but also a “valuable fur” of non-marketing business advantages: lower costs of attracting and retaining personnel, cheaper credit resources, etc. factors that must also be taken into account when assessing the benefits of reputation ... All these "additional" factors also need to be converted into money, assessing at least at the expert level.

To assess such effects, technologies from "related" areas can be taken as a basis: assessment of competitiveness, development of a model of consumer choice, branding, etc. In my opinion, technologies of conjoint (joint) analysis, Saati hierarchy analysis method, Kano method are suitable for this. etc.

Cognitive Assessment

The cognitive component is more difficult. First, companies often do not even realize this benefit of reputation for business. Because of this, the importance of reputation to a business is often "underestimated." Secondly, it follows from the definition that each time to assess the reputation it is necessary to disseminate positive or negative information and evaluate the reaction of the target audience. The better the reputation, the less losses (including financial ones) from negative information and crises and the higher the positive effect from good news (or, at least, the lower the cost of convincing them to be reliable).

With the procedure for assessing the effect of positive information, the only problem is that the assessment requires serious, significant events that do not happen very often. And to assess the effect, it is necessary to "adjust" such news to the time of the assessment. I would like to reduce the amount of negative information and crises to a minimum, and I certainly do not want to arrange a crisis on my own in order to assess how the company's reputation is ready for it.

In order not to "tie" the reputation score to events (which occur irregularly), it is proposed to track the change in reputation based on calculations of the probable financial situation companies in case of implementation of various positive and negative events. And the data for calculations are polls and expert assessments.

For negative events, it is necessary to determine the most probable threats (crisis situations), possible losses and on what these losses depend, on the actions of which groups of people (stakeholders). After that, it is necessary to make a forecast of the behavior of these stakeholders in different types of crisis. How many percent of stakeholders will believe in this or that negative information and how will they behave in this case? Will they continue to cooperate with the company (will the terms of cooperation be changed) or not? Tracking the dynamics of the likely behavior in the implementation of threats, it is possible to draw a conclusion about the quality of work to strengthen the reputation. The lower the percentage of those who will be inclined to change their behavior to negative, the better the reputation.

For positive events, the list of probable (and expected in the near future) events, the impact on the company, and groups of influence (stakeholders) are similarly determined. And on the basis of expert assessments and surveys of stakeholders, a forecast is made of their impact on changes in the company's financial position in the event of the implementation of the expected events. General formula to assess the impact of positive and negative events is as follows: INFLUENCE OF EVENT = PROBABILITY OF EVENT * PERCENT OF CHANGE * CONTRIBUTION OF THE AUDIENCE.

PROBABILITY OF THE EVENT- the probability of this event occurring .

PERCENTAGE change- by what percentage the conditions will change if this event occurs. If it is sales, then how many percent of the consumers involved in the crisis will refuse the firm's products. Or vice versa, how many new consumers will be attracted by positive information. If a bank loan, then by what percentage will its conditions for the company deteriorate / improve, etc.

Audience CONTRIBUTION- the contribution made by the audience to the financial flow of the company before the event ... In addition to the actual sales volumes, it is necessary to take into account the cost of access to various resources (financial, labor, administrative, etc.).

And to estimate the overall size possible changes, you need to sum up the changes from all events.

In fact, the real formula is more complicated, since for each threat in total it is necessary to take into account that the percentage of change and contribution for each audience will be different, i.e., for the i-th event, the sum of works for the j-th audience appears. But there are more humanists in PR. This is probably why even the sum sign (Σ) caused difficulties in the first version of the formula. As a result, the formula is made as simple as possible. It is enough to understand the general idea, and those who see that the formula lacks components are great fellows, but in this case they are quite capable of coming up with the missing components themselves.

And you also need to understand that this is the formula for the first event. After the event, not only the financial flow changes, but also the reputation capital. And the reaction to each next event will determine the reputation capital of the stroke (taking into account the changes made by the previous event).

The proposed approach, in addition to the actual ability to assess the reputation in money, is also useful in that it allows you to make the development of measures to strengthen the reputation more methodical and with understandable benefits for the business. Below are not even examples, but rather a very general plan for such work.

Development sequence

The sequence of developing a reputation strategy according to the proposed scheme is as follows:

1. Determine the groups of possible events that affect the activities of the company. For example:

* Production.

* Public organizations.

* Top management and owners.

* Inhabitants of the territories on which the industrial sites of the enterprise are located.

* Staff.

* Partners, suppliers, etc.

* Etc. (the groups above are given only as an example, for each business the event groups are individual).

2. In each group of events, develop a list of the most likely (and most significant for business) events. For example, for some groups, the events may be as follows:

* Problems in production: accidents, malfunctions of equipment, release to the market of a low-quality batch of goods, etc.

* Positive changes in production: new equipment / technology, commissioning of new capacities (in principle, these events can be considered positive, but if the reputation is bad, then these events can be interpreted as negative, there were examples in practice).

* Top management: changes in the composition of top managers and the composition of owners (both positive and negative can be interpreted, right up to the crisis), attempts at hostile takeovers (they can both be supported by stakeholders and vice versa).

* Personnel: salary cuts, layoffs, strikes, a possible change of place of work (we can assume that this event for most employees occurs almost permanently, and it is necessary for employees to make a decision to stay at the enterprise), etc.

* Market: change (increase or decrease) in market share, entry of a new competitor, launch of a new product by a competitor or an enterprise, change pricing policy, changing the familiar market of the product, etc.

3. For each event, determine the possible consequences for the business.

* An industrial accident (with casualties among personnel and / or with the release of harmful substances into the atmosphere) can affect business in the following ways:

Protest actions and strikes among personnel (at the emergency enterprise and possibly at other enterprises of the same owner).

Protest actions of the families of the injured employees.

The outflow of employees from the enterprise.

Authority sanctions (fines, toughening production requirements, termination of contracts, etc.), etc.

* Unscheduled inspections by regulatory authorities.

* Decreased sales (if the company operates in the consumer market).

* The fall in the value of the company (if it is quoted on the stock market).

* The commissioning of new industrial facilities (new production) can lead to:

Change in sales volumes (both increase and decrease).

Connecting the administrative resource of the regional administration to resolve issues at the local level (but also possible sanctions from the authorities of the neighboring region).

Changing conditions for working with suppliers and corporate customers.

4. For each consequence, the groups involved are determined, on which the size of the changes depends. financial flow for business. For example.

Reputation

Reputation

noun, f., uptr. cf. often

Morphology: (no) what? reputation what? reputation, (see) what? reputation, how? reputation, about what? about reputation

1. Reputation is called the created general opinion about the merits and demerits of someone, something.

Good, bad, bad reputation. | Build yourself a solid reputation. | Have a reputation for being a good storyteller. | To have, to deserve, to gain a stable reputation. | The bank has a solid reputation.

2. Reputation is called a favorable opinion about someone, about something in society.

Build yourself a reputation. | Cherish your reputation. | Defamation of someone's reputation. | Someone has lived up to their reputation. | Save the reputation of the firm. | Put on the line, lose, ruin your reputation.

3. If anyone spoiled, tarnished my reputation, then this means that this person has committed some unseemly act that changed the opinion of other people for the worse.

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language Dmitriev... D. V. Dmitriev. 2003.

Books

• Reputation of a doll, Natalya Mikhailovna Solntseva. The theme of the book is literary dolls, their traditional perception and modern interpretations. Dolls are artifacts and sources of inspiration, reluctant imitators and self-sufficient androids, key ...
• Reputation of a doll, Solntseva N. The theme of the book is literary dolls, their traditional perception and modern interpretations. Dolls are artifacts and sources of inspiration, reluctant imitators and self-sufficient androids, key ...

A company's reputation is directly proportional to its success. How do you learn to manage it? Read about this, as well as how to evaluate a company's reputation in monetary terms and a step-by-step reputation protection algorithm - read below.

In this article, you will read:

• Why is a company's business reputation important?
• How to work to improve a company's reputation
• What steps to take to protect the company's reputation
• Is it possible to assess business reputation in monetary terms?
• What are the nuances of the company's business reputation?
• How to systematically build up a company's reputation
• How Reputable Companies Benefit
• How to maintain a high reputation in the market, despite the machinations of competitors
• How the business reputation of a company differs from its image

There is no need to confuse the concepts of "business reputation" and "image" of the company, although we will not deny the close connection of these concepts. The image is the image of the company, a rather superficial idea of ​​the object that is taking shape in the minds of society. The company's image may not reflect the deep social and economic characteristics of the organization, the features of its market behavior, the consequences of its activities. The image can be changed significantly, even without any fundamental changes within the company.

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Reputation, on the other hand, is a dynamic characteristic in the behavior of an organization, which is formed in people over a fairly long period of time. It is based on a set of information about what methods and how the behavior of the company is built.

If a favorable image of a company is intended to attract consumers and partners, then the reputation that has been formed over the years makes them remain faithful and loyal to the company. Reputation is a kind of guarantee that this company will not let its customers and partners down. The formation of the company's reputation is based on reliable knowledge and assessments, assuming a rational analytical approach.

Components of the company's business reputation

When forming a company's reputation, the following components are distinguished that create and develop positive qualities:

1. Image - is a generalized image of the company in the eyes of the target audience, a variant of its self-presentation, which focuses on best qualities with the strengthening of authority among potential customers. The following factors are of great importance for the formation of the image:

- registration of places of consumption of goods;

- availability of products and services of well-known brands;

- creation of the mission of the organization.

A responsible and difficult task is to choose a company name. Indeed, thanks to successful naming, it becomes possible from the very beginning to determine an advantageous place against the background of other market participants. Before choosing the final version, you have to answer the main questions:

How will people perceive a company with that name?

What associations will arise associated with this company name?

2. Positioning of the organization in the market - the self-determination of the company, behavior, real steps in the market. Additional factors include advertising, participation in professional conferences, associations, and congresses. By representing the company through ongoing events, it is possible to attract customers from different market segments.

- the ability to cope with the consequences of crises;

- the level of management, financial stability of the company;

- communication culture;

- working conditions for employees, etc.

4) The fame of the organization on the market is a combination of the financial capabilities of the enterprise, the duration of its leadership in the quality of products, the geography of the presence of goods.

5) The prestige of the organization as a place of work.

6) Financial stability of the organization.

How to build a company's business reputation

Building a company's reputation from scratch is unrealistic. The company needs really significant advantages and achievements in its industry, which will be laid in the reputation foundation. There is a lot of time to build a reputation, serious financial investments... Reputation building is an ongoing, complex process in which it is impossible to fully insure yourself against potential losses, threats and risks. Continuous work is required to build the company's reputation, with an integrated, technological and professional approach.

The company always has a certain reputation. The main requirement is to avoid the spontaneous formation of reputation. It is necessary to make sure that society has a relationship to the company that best suits what it wants.

The formation of a company's reputation can be figuratively divided into a number of stages.

1. We study and identify the target groups of the company.

Each company has 4 main target groups. The main task it becomes the maintenance of such relationships with each of them that will correspond to the interests of the organization and the expectations of the target groups. Among them it should be noted:

Regulatory. Groups that empower companies to conduct business by establishing appropriate rules and laws for them. We are talking about the government, regulators, board of directors and shareholders. These bodies assess the activities of the company, they can also restrict its activities. A company's poor reputation among regulatory groups can hinder full business development. If there is support from regulatory groups, the company gets additional opportunities to implement its projects.

Functional. These groups have a significant impact on the day-to-day operations of the company, as they themselves carry out certain activities that make up the overall functioning of the organization. Employees, distributors, suppliers and service companies... It is extremely important to work with them as part of the formation of a corporate reputation. After all, these are the minds and working hands of the enterprise. If they do not adhere to the values ​​of the company, the corporate spirit can be seriously compromised.

Diffuse... These are special groups. Their activity in relation to the company is manifested in moments related to the protection of human rights. Diffuse groups include journalists, local communities and special interest groups. When the reputation of an organization is at its best, diffuse target groups have little interest in it. But the company needs to build effective relationships with these groups in order to provide a reputation buffer in unforeseen crisis circumstances with the formation of a loyal channel in order to transmit the necessary information to society and the world around it. Thanks to the transformation of these groups into allies, the company has a certain "reserve" of security, which also applies to crisis situations when the organization's fault does not exceed the level of this "reserve".

Consumer. Groups of buyers, segmented according to their needs.

2.With the help of surveys, questionnaires, focus groups, we find out the loyalty of representatives target audiences to the company.

The formation of the ideal informational image of the organization is as follows: first, it is necessary to clearly formulate how the company plans to look among its target audiences, then to conduct an objective assessment of the existing image at the current moment. Effective management of a company's reputation boils down to minimizing the gap between these key parameters.

3. Determine marketing tools, with the help of which the task will be performed. We are talking about advertising, PR, interpersonal communication and presentations.

The process of creating a corporate reputation and maintaining its high level can be briefly formulated as follows: a company's reputation is actions + communications. Appropriate in this regard would be the statement of Henry Ford - "a reputation cannot be built on the intention to do something." Only on the basis of continuously current work and its results and achievements can the formed image of the company among the target audience be determined.

PR specialists who create a positive reputation for the organization are sure that its formation is based on "three pillars":

Impeccable quality of the company's products, high level of service, proper behavior of employees.

Correctly defined mission of the company, based on the allocation of a socially significant idea, taken as the basis of activity.

Assessment of the company's activities in the media, attitudes towards the organization on the part of public and state structures.

Consequently, the most important task in corporate PR deserves attention, which is that a set of positive information worked for the company's reputation "to the fullest." It is necessary to operate with the success of the brand, corporate and managerial culture, the degree of ideological motivating employees, the overall size of the market, the volume of financial turnover, the potential of competitors, etc.

How is the company's business reputation management

Reputation management is an integral process in a business environment. It is distinguished by strategic thoughtfulness, planning, and complexity. Managers of responsible companies 15 years ago preferred to be guided by the formation of the company's reputation. The management of a company's business reputation is based on a set of measures. But there are 2 main directions in the activities of PR agents aimed at increasing their reputation:

- interaction with an external audience, including business partners and consumers;

- work with the internal audience - company employees.

Often, increasing the prestige within the company presupposes the establishment of the specifics of the generally accepted opinion, attitude towards the company.

The most significant criteria for employees are indicators of comfortable working conditions, team cohesion and corporate etiquette, the personality of the leader, and the stability of financial payments from organizations.

Reputation management also involves closing employee motivation gaps. When dissatisfaction appears, the manager either replaces the employee or educates him necessary qualities... If there is a problem of disunity in the team, PR-managers of the company create a reference group with the formation of corporate etiquette, recommending suitable team buildings. Consequently, the work is carried out on the basis of the analysis of the already formed relationship.

Effective management of a company's reputation is impossible without influencing the opinions and assessments of the consumer group. It is achieved through competent self-presentation of the organization.

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The leaders of the company position themselves as a company capable of providing optimal products and services with an optimal price-performance ratio. This positioning acts as an “ideal” image of the organization based on manipulating the consciousness of an external targeted audit, and not on the actual creation of a product or service concept.

With this method important point reputation building lies in sources designed to inform the external target audience about the specifics of the company. These sources are usually represented by the mass media, the Internet, television, newspapers, and radio. Reputation management with their use presupposes an active entry into the company's activities with the creation of the effect of a "transparent policy" of the enterprise. Hence, increasing the overall credit of public confidence.

How to assess business reputation

Russian rules accounting assume the value of reputation is what you get when you subtract the book value of all assets and liabilities from the purchase price of the company.

International financial reporting standards call goodwill the difference between the price paid by buyers and the “fair value” - often it differs significantly from the value of the assets.

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But at the same time, both methods make it possible to quite clearly and fully assess the company's reputation capital. However, there is also a certain drawback - the determination of the value of the reputation is possible only after the sale of the company. Factors that are not directly related to the cost can also get into the price of reputation.

To determine the present value of an organization's reputation assets, a method has been created peer review which is more of a marketing approach than a financial one. Indeed, in this case, the value of reputation is calculated by experts using various methods and criteria. American corporations assess the value of goodwill using the excess profits method. This method is based on the following essence:

1. First, the calculation of the income received by the organization through the use of the brand is made.

2. The resulting amount is multiplied by a special coefficient, which is calculated based on certain criteria. Among them is stability financial indicators companies, industry leadership and more.

3. These calculations will determine the brand value, which is an important component of the company's overall reputation.

A company's reputation can be assessed using proxies. In particular, the Fortune-500 ranking (which includes the 500 most respected American companies) is based on data from a survey of analysts and company executives.

Who and why can harm a company's reputation

Internal and external factors can damage a company's reputation. Internal business reputation damage usually refers to business problems in the organization. Various factors can provoke these problems, among the main of which it should be noted:

- negative dynamics of income, unprofitability of activities with poor performance and weak labor efficiency;

- staff drain, attracting low-skilled specialists;

- lack of proper equipment, negative working conditions;

- cheaper goods, products, low level of quality of services.

All these factors lead to an immediate impact on the level of reputation, status, prestige and image of the company. In this case, the damage to the company's reputation is eliminated through internal work in the company. An in-depth analysis of the manager's compliance, efficiency ratio, working conditions of activities, customer base is carried out.

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The staff of profitable companies usually contains PR departments and analysts who have to study the needs of external and internal targeted audit. When carrying out the reorganization in the company itself and through active influence for external evaluations on the part of consumers, it is possible to exclude harm to the business reputation of a legal entity.

But it is not only objective internal problems of the company that can lead to problems for the company's reputation. For external factors, the most applicable means leading to damage to business reputation are anti-advertising, dissemination of defamatory facts and black PR.

How to neutralize negative rumors

Juliana Slashcheva, President of Mikhailov & Partners. Strategic Communications Management ", Moscow

Against slanderous rumors you can fight with their own weapons. In particular, it is possible to respond to the "duck" with another rumor, which turns out to be even more implausible and unreal, due to this it is possible to level the first of them.

For example, a rumor is spreading according to which, due to financial difficulties, the owner plans to sell the company and go abroad. You can answer this information with a rumor, according to which he plans not to immigrate, but to fly into space. Then we launch an even more implausible rumor - for example, it does not go into space, but sinks 300 kilometers underground. In our experience, these are very effective tools. People simply consider them absurd and no longer believe the first rumor.

What damage is caused to the company by the damage to its business reputation

Failure to take effective and urgent measures to restore and protect the company's reputation can face tangible losses. In particular, the number of customers and consumers is decreasing, partners are beginning to refuse to cooperate. The damage to the company's reputation can be reflected in the loss of valuable personnel, unprofitable projects and a drop in revenues. Therefore, regular protection of the company's reputation is necessary.

How the protection of the company's business reputation is built

The protection of the company's reputation is a very young legal instrument that only continues to develop. Therefore, it is still impossible to speak unambiguously about any ways to improve the reputation. After all, even if you win the trial, it will not be easy to restore your reputation. Although companies that continue to work in good faith will gradually restore their reputation.

While there are steps you can take to punish offenders if you are confident in his deliberate actions to damage your reputation:

- documentary evidence of libel. To document the facts in question, you need to use the services of a notary office. These measures must be taken before competitors remove the posted libel;

- posting a rebuttal. The Internet and the media are suitable for this. Not every negative review will affect business reputation companies. These can only be unreliable reviews that are aimed at forming a negative attitude;

- preparation of documents on material damage;

- preparation of a report on the assessment of the market value of business reputation.

Responsibility for the dissemination of information defaming business reputation

When disseminating information that discredits the reputation of a competitor, it is possible to bring the defendant to administrative or even criminal liability. If advertising has resulted in negative consequences, the administrative responsibility of the company can be expressed in a fine of up to 500 thousand rubles.

• Company image and reputation: 4 principles to avoid scandal

In the case of the dissemination of information that discredits the reputation of the company, according to Article 29 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Libel), it can file a lawsuit to bring the opponent to criminal liability. A claim may be filed for the protection of dignity, honor or children's reputation in civil proceedings.

Many domestic manufacturers have to interact with untrained partners or the press. They believe that complete knowledge of the market and the business will be sufficient. But often journalists come up with unpleasant, tricky questions. Therefore, before contacting partners or the press, you need to formulate your public position - why the company's reputation suffered, what preceded it, and most importantly - the methods and steps that will be directed to solving the problem.

2) Do not be afraid to defend your reputation

Situations are possible when the company was unscrupulously used in a certain transaction, or is in a crisis situation - with staff reductions, being on the verge of bankruptcy. If you are sure of the company's innocence in this situation or its ability to get out of the crisis, there is no need to be afraid to convince of this.

3) apologize publicly

General Motors and other car manufacturers who have found defects in their cars are apologizing to buyers by recalling the cars. This requires significant spending. This represents the social responsibility of the company to the consumer.

4) don't fool the public

The transparency and openness of a company is one of the main criteria for trusting it. You should determine for yourself what information you are ready to bring to the public, although you should not forget about commercial secrets.

How to deal with the dissemination of information discrediting a company

Evgeny Yushchuk, Member of the International Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP), Yekaterinburg; PhD in Economics

How to deal with negative information in the press... First of all, you have to find out who is the owner and editor-in-chief of the publication, which decided to be at enmity with you. In the case of affiliated media created to provide information cover for certain commercial structures, you need to look for other printed editions to strike back. If the information is provided by an independent publication, the option with an information counter-attack is possible.

Since you have the right to answer and refute by law, with the possibility of publishing a comment in the next issue of this publication. With proper use of this rule, you will be able to significantly win back your positions. Sometimes it is possible to identify the real author of such a custom-made material - in order to choose the optimal direction and strategy for his counterattack.

How to confront negative information on the Internet... Today, any person has the opportunity to convey their position to the public no worse than the media - using the means of the Internet. In particular, lovers of certain brands on thematic forums can seriously influence manufacturers. Today, such reviews and opinions have a significant impact. But sometimes the opinion of such a "client" turns out to be biased - after all, your competitor acts in his role.

The optimal strategy for your actions can be determined if you can understand the reason for the appearance of negative information. It is likely that the reviews were objective - they arose due to imperfections in the work of your managers. In this case, you need to work on correcting the identified deficiency.

• Online reputation management: how to work with reviews

If defamatory information is deliberately disseminated, you need to understand the reasons, the motivation of the initiators. It is likely that it is enough just to show the true reasons for the buyer's aggression in order to discredit him and stop such attacks. And sometimes the optimal strategy is not to react at all.

If competitors are the initiators of the dissemination of negative information, try to influence them. For example, let them know that you know who orchestrated this negative campaign and you can start publicly declaring it. Sometimes it is effective to use similar steps against competitors so that they do not feel their impunity.

It is possible to resist defamatory information based on the following algorithm:

- Attend online forums. Your specialist can directly indicate his connection with the company or be an ordinary forum member.

- Arrange an artificial scandal. It is desirable for this to have several nicknames on the forum - some will be the defenders of the company, while others will be pseudo-opponents. Organize a staged scandal at the expense of the nicknames of pseudo-opponents, during which you will fully demonstrate the advantages of your company, discrediting the "attacks" with competent arguments.

- Find out who is hiding behind nicknames on Internet forums. For this, search engines are usually sufficient, even with a minimum of information about the user.

- Create a corporate blog. It is possible to organize in the blogosphere a network of "fighting" pseudo-independent blogs of various specializations. You will be able to indicate posts in the blog at any convenient time, but opponents will have limited opportunities to express their opinion.

Information about the author and company

Juliana Slashcheva, President of Mikhailov & Partners. Strategic Communications Management ", Moscow. She began her career at the American company Quasar Communications. In 1994 she joined Mikhailov & Partners as a manager, and later became a partner of the company. From 2002 to 2004, she worked for ESN Group, BBDO Group. In 2005 she returned to Mikhailov & Partners, becoming its president. In 2007 she was included in the rating of the most influential business women in Russia (according to the magazine "Career"), for two years in a row (in 2007 and 2008) was also one of the three leaders in the category "Professional services" of the rating "1000 most professional managers Russia "(according to the version of the Association of Russian Managers and the publishing house" Kommersant ").

Evgeny Yushchuk, Member of the International Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP), Yekaterinburg; candidate of economic sciences. Graduated from the Sverdlovsk State Medical Institute and the Ural State Technical University. Associate Professor of the Higher School of Economics (business school at the Institute of Economics of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences), Associate Professor of the Ural State Technical University. Author of the books "Competitive Intelligence: Marketing Risks and Opportunities" (Moscow: Vershina, 2006), "Internet Intelligence: A Guide to Action" (Moscow; St. Petersburg: Vershina, 2007), "Blog: Create and Promote" (Moscow .: Vershina, 2008), "Countering black PR on the Internet" (co-authored with Alexander Kuzin; M .: Vershina, 2008), "Disinformation and active measures in business" (co-authored with Alexander Kuzin and Igor Nezhdanov; Kazan: Yanalif, 2009). He has been engaged in competitive intelligence since 1994.

"Head of a budgetary organization", 2010, N 2

We are already accustomed to the fact that mainly large companies operating in highly competitive markets are thinking about creating a positive reputation in our country. However, reputation is also important for budgetary organizations, especially those that provide services to the population. How can you build and maintain a business reputation? And most importantly - how not to lose at one moment what has been developing over the years?

Henry Ford also warned executives: "If you do not care about your company's reputation, your competitors will do it." These words can well be attributed to the activities of not only commercial structures, but also budgetary institutions, because many of them today operate in a competitive environment in the fields of education, medicine, and culture. And this competition is growing every year, and with it the role of business reputation.

According to American experts, the share of reputation in the total market value of the company ranges from 15 to 25% (in some cases, up to 75%). In Russia, according to the assessment of reputational management consultant Alexei Zlovedov, this share is on average 50%.

Over the 11 years from 1993 to 2004, companies around the world that have focused on building their reputation have increased revenue by 682%, profit by 756%, and headcount by 282, according to Harvard Business School. %. At the same time, companies that did not pay special attention to reputation issues showed results of 166%, 1% and 36%, respectively. World practice shows that organizations that seriously work to build their reputation become leaders in their field.

Building a reputation

To begin with, let's define what the organization's reputation is and how it differs from its image.

Compared to reputation, image is the image that an organization seeks to create in its environment. And if the reputation is formed over the years, involves the deep emotions of people, then the image is a kind of external impression of the organization, the way it appears here and now.

Note. Business reputation - a set of opinions about the organization of representatives of stakeholders who are associated with it (employees, consumers, government officials, media, etc.).

Obviously, building a reputation is a longer process than creating an image, and it affects all levels of the organization and all its employees - from director to courier.

First of all, the manager should entrust the formation of the reputation program to professionals. Depending on the level of development of the organization, it can be one PR specialist or several specialists united in some structure, for example, in the public relations department. Of course, you can attract specialists from an independent agency and even negotiate a subscription service. But practice shows that this form of work does not guarantee confidentiality, and some documents may end up not only in the hands of competitors, but also on Internet sites.

1. A clear statement of the goal: what kind of reputation and for which groups we want to form.

Agree that you cannot become the best at everything. Therefore, it is important to highlight the priority direction for the organization and be able to express the desired reputation in a few words. For example: a reliable organization (consumers believe that they strive to fulfill all obligations to them), a prestigious university (it has the largest competitions in comparison with other universities, graduates quickly get a job in their specialty).

2. Identify organizational bottlenecks that hinder the achievement of the desired reputation.

Suppose state-financed organization wants to create a reputation among its clients as an organization where all issues are promptly resolved. In this case, the analysis should be aimed primarily at identifying customer interaction procedures that need to be accelerated. In budgetary structures, this primarily concerns the timing of consideration of various documents. If customers can be confident that the organization agrees on all requests without delay, its reputation will be significantly strengthened.

3. Decide how to overcome bottlenecks and eliminate them.

We are faced with a simple management task. If your goal is to speed up the approval procedure for documents, it is worth analyzing at what stage and in connection with what they "get stuck", how you can motivate (or punish) the employee (or department) where the delay occurs. Here it is important to draw up an action plan to eliminate bottlenecks and implement it.

4. Create a use case.

Once the ground has been set, and the major challenges to building the desired reputation have been removed, it’s time to start thinking about an exciting event and highlighting it well among stakeholder groups.

If we go back to our example with the reputation of a company that makes quick decisions, then in this case it is possible to create such a precedent. Previously, the approval procedures took you a whole month, but you have reduced this period to 10 days with the help of the created "one-stop shop" system. And even when the client needed to quickly solve some difficult issue, your employees did their best, but met the deadline, surprising him beyond measure. And then it is already necessary to make sure that as many people as possible learn about this event with the help of the media.

We maintain a reputation

Building a good reputation is only half the battle. It is much more difficult to keep it. An ill-considered action by a management or even an ordinary employee can spoil what the specialists have been working on for years at one point. A fly in the ointment can be the rash statements of the first (or public) persons of the company. It is especially bad if the behavior or words of a public person are at variance with the stated postulates. Unfulfilled promises to customers also cause irreparable damage to reputation, especially if they are accompanied by rude attacks from the staff. Attempts to change the rules in the course of the game often turn against the organization. For example, visitors expect certain behavior from your employees and do not realize that priorities have slightly shifted, and in the end they simply cease to understand what is happening.

Incorrect actions in relation to those people who have access to mass audiences and are able to spoil the reputation of the company (journalists, politicians, etc.) can become especially dangerous. Therefore, it is worth considering seriously before refusing any reputable media outlets to comment.

There can be no trifles in reputation management. But the values ​​that play a significant role in maintaining it deserve special attention.

History of the company. You are very fortunate if your organization has an interesting history dating back centuries. These are the stories that the oldest theaters, museums, the highest educational establishments... They have something to tell the public about themselves, and this story can be exploited for a long time (in a positive sense), coming up with new, modern forms. For example, how can you present a museum to today's youth, if you can't lure them there with a roll? Create a virtual museum with interactive features and an online tour.

But even if at first glance there was nothing unusual in history, it is necessary to find at least a few interesting facts and on their basis write the story anew, filling it with bright events and achievements. And then make this story public, draw attention to it with the help of interesting publications in the media. A reputation that is based on nothing is not convincing. A rich history shows that the organization has earned its reputation: it worked hard, quickly rebuilt after changing conditions, experienced ups and downs, showed resistance to negative influences, that is, its success is natural.

The reputation of the first persons. There is nothing to be done, but the reputation of the top officials is projected onto the reputation of the entire organization. This rule is true even for a huge company of many thousands (remember the examples of Anatoly Chubais or Evgeny Chichvarkin), not to mention a small office, the director of which is its "face". Therefore, while caring about the reputation of his company, the leader must first of all care about his own reputation. An organization will not develop a reputation for being reliable if its manager is constantly late for meetings with clients, “forgets” about agreements, and makes scandalous statements in the press. So the leader should start the process of forming a reputation not with the staff, but with himself.

Meeting expectations. What is most important to customers, it makes sense to focus on. If the main thing for a strategic client is reliability, then all efforts should be directed to this. If service is more important, then every effort should be made to ensure that customers say: "They have the best service." If quality: "They care so much about the quality of services that they are ready to return money to anyone who does not like it." That is, it is important to accurately determine the leading need of a strategic client and focus all efforts on its implementation.

Compliance of deeds with the stated policy. With the conscious formation and maintenance of a reputation, one cannot do without creating an information policy - a special document where a description of the reputation that should be formed among various target audiences is clearly recorded. In addition, the document indicates the mechanisms working to form such a reputation. For example, the organization claims to be reliable and publishes an annual review in support of it, which shows that there were no refusals to review documents during the year. Such an organization is trusted more, because its words do not disagree with deeds.

Concentration of efforts. It is much more profitable to focus efforts on one thing, and then it will inevitably "shoot", everything else is simply maintained at a positive level.

So, when managing the reputation of an organization, it is important to remember this rule: what is different is remembered... In our case, it differs from all other companies and organizations. Market players with a pronounced reputation are always "the best". They say about them: they have the latest developments, they have the best specialists, they have the best laboratory ... This is what we should strive for!

Eric Qualman

1. Do not post things for which you would be ashamed in front of your parents

If you are looking to build a good reputation for yourself or your company, avoid defiant content.

Remember the rule: if something would embarrass your mother, do not do it offline and then publish it on the Internet.

2. Target your target audience

Decide for which audience you are posting on social networks. Decide what goals you are pursuing. The answer to the question "To whom and what do I want to demonstrate?" will help simplify your online existence.

We often want to be “everything to everyone”. Distinguishing your people and focusing on them is much easier and more productive.

3. Don't post gossip

Do not circulate unverified statements or rumors about colleagues and acquaintances on the Web. It is very difficult to get rid of the reputation of a gossip. Moreover, if the rumor is disproved, you will find yourself in an even more stupid position.

If offline you were talking about it in a whisper, do not post it.

Eric Qualman, " Secure Network»

4. Be honest

Lies on the Internet are quickly exposed. Do not try to embellish events, ascribe to yourself extra years of work experience, or appropriate the fruits of someone else's labor.

Honesty also includes sincerity and courage to demonstrate your true beliefs, rather than hiding behind a fake mask. Do not seek to build a false beautiful image. Sooner or later, the truth will be revealed. Better highlight your real dignity and values. Or, gradually acquire beneficial benefits. But don't imitate anything.

Honesty is what you do behind closed doors or when you think no one is looking at you. Honesty is the true essence of you, your beliefs and values.

Eric Qualman, Secure Network

5. Don't complain

Save subscribers from complaints about the weather, health, the political system, or an impolite salesperson. Any whining broadcasts negative energy, draws you into meaningless arguments, and just infects others with a bad mood.

6. Praise and thank someone every day.

Do not skimp on positive comments and posts. If you like the service, please praise the company. A colleague helped with business - write a thank you post, emphasizing how important it is to you.

There is so much negativity on the Internet, be one of those rare people on the Web who post a lot of positive information. Give small compliments, like, cheer your friends on social media - all of this will create a positive and positive reputation for you.

Research shows that posting positive information about others makes you happier.

Eric Qualman, Secure Network

7. Don't criticize publicly

If a post of praise or gratitude can and should be published, then it is better to leave criticism until a personal meeting. Any comments in text format may sound harsher than you think. The non-verbal cues we send in person can soften criticism.

No one likes to be criticized, even the most constructive one, especially in public. Forget about nagging comments, correcting spelling mistakes and other small and useless remarks.

8. Correct mistakes, do not try to hide them

If you have made a mistake on the web, do not deny it and do not excuse yourself by shifting responsibility to others.

The way you deal with negative situations on the Internet seriously affects your reputation.

Eric Qualman, Secure Network

Have you stumbled and done something unacceptable? Then follow four steps:

1. Write an apology post, taking responsibility for the unpleasant act.
2. Tell us what you are willing to do to make amends.
3. Keep what you promise.
4. Learn from what happened and draw conclusions.

The Internet knows more than a dozen cases when an attempt to hide a small error led to big scandals with revelations. Admit it and make amends early on.

9. Put personal communication first.

People are more sympathetic to those they meet in real life. Do not limit your communication with subscribers or customers to the Internet only. If possible, hold group meetings or just go for coffee with the person you like.

If it is difficult to cover the distance, use video and audio calls so that people can hear your voice, intonation, see your face, and accept.

10. Don't create separate profiles for work and friends

Many users have multiple social media profiles, one for work and one for friends. As a result, they sort of split their personality into an official and often feigned image for clients and partners and into a real one for friends and family.

You shouldn't have two profiles for at least two reasons:

1. You risk losing yourself by hiding behind a fictitious “right” image. This network split takes up a lot of energy.
2. The personal account is easy to find. Once subscribers understand how your formal look differs from the real one, an unfavorable contrast will be created. Therefore, try to combine and correctly interweave your informal hobbies and work image. Do not store anything on the Internet that does not fit into this portrait.

If you want to know about the rest of the rules for creating and maintaining a good reputation on the Internet, read the book by Eric Qualman "Secure Network. Rules for preserving reputation in the era of social media and total publicity. " The author illustrates the rules of conduct in social networks real stories from the life of individuals and large companies. From the book you will find out what mistakes you made on the web. famous brands and senior government officials, as well as draw conclusions and start improving your online reputation today.