Managing and Maintaining Corporate Reputation and Brand Identity

In the modern management, it has emerged that there is a close relationship between business performance and corporate reputation. This is despite the fact that reputation of a business is a difficult concept to measure or to assess. It has been showed that healthy reputation acts as a risk suppressor.  With time, corporate reputation has become an important aspect of the way a company performs in the market and each and every company is striving to build a positive reputation since this translates to its sales in the market. Corporate reputation has been shown as a source of competitive advantage for a firm. (Omar and Williams, 2006)

Corporate reputation comes from a competitive process where firms portray their characteristics in the market which helps the customers to judge them depending on comparisons that is made between these characteristics.  It is a result of cumulative judgment of a firm by the consumers.  Corporate reputation is based on four elements. First it is the object specific components which asses how well known a firm is i.e. good or bad, net effective or emotional reactions bases on the overall estimation of a firm and all what makes it, past actions which are based on economic and non economic attributes from the past behavior of the firm and from the information cues which results from the experiences and all the information that his received from the firm. Reputation can be defined as consistency over time in performance of a certain attribute of the firm. It can also be said as net perceptions in the way an organization are able to meet the needs and expectations of all its stakeholders and its customers.  This reputation is cemented on relationship between the firm and all its customers which is important in the success of a business. (Omar and Williams, 2006)

Corporate reputation is important for a number of reasons. It has been found out that companies with more positive reputation projects their core mission and the identity of the firm in a systematically and consistent defined way which companies with low reputation can do. Most of these companies also impart very crucial information to their customers not only about the range of products that they sell but also on various issues that affect the company. For example it has been shown that most companies carrying out Corporate social responsibility takes time to inform the public of the range of activities that they are undertaking. But there is general agreement that good reputation is important in cementing the relationship between the company and the clients which affect the performance of the business.  It more than an asset to the firm which helps a company to build consumer confidence. (Omar and Williams, 2006)

Exceptional reputation works to create a difference between the firm and the rest.  It sets the firm from the rest. It works more than increasing the sales of its products. It increases the relationship of the firm with the rest of the firms and with the financial institutions. Like in the society, firms with good reputation are likely to gain recognition within the business cycle and hence act as leaders for the rest. (Omar and Williams, 2006)

Corporate reputation can be enhances through a number of ways.  Managers should in particular pay attention to the need to build and sustain the reputation of their firms. This can be achieved through a number of means. One of the means would be to shape a uniquely identity for the firm. This means that the firm has to appear unique in a way and different from the rest. Once the firm appears unique in the eyes of the public, it will be regarded as superior in a way. This can also be achieved through making sure that there are coherent and consistent set of images that are projected to the public. This means that the uniqueness of the product for an organization once projected to the public will help to set the organization as different from the rest.

References

Omar, M. & Williams, R. L. (2006). Managing  and maintaining corporate reputation and brand identity: Heir Group Logo. Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 13(4/5): 268