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In today's swiftly evolving business arena, reputation is a pivotal force behind success and sustainability. But often, companies confuse "brand management" with the more complex challenge of "reputation management."
To clarify the concepts, a brand is shaped by the perceptions of current or prospective customers—a relatively narrow audience. In contrast, a reputation is forged by the collective views of a broader group, including employees, past and present customers, suppliers, competitors, and industry bodies. While brands are within a company's control, reputations are influenced by internal actions as well as external events.
Consider a company renowned for producing premium drinking water. Its brand may reflect this quality, but its reputation could suffer if its plastic bottles pollute the oceans—a scenario that could be outside its direct control.
A good reputation is vital for product-based companies as well as service-oriented, knowledge-based sectors like consulting, legal, accounting, and medical practices because reputation is an intangible asset that can increase corporate value.
Research demonstrates that companies with stellar reputations enjoy numerous benefits, including enhanced business opportunities, reduced marketing expenses, a loyal customer base, increased sales, distinct competitive advantages, premium pricing, more effective promotion, and the ability to attract and retain top talent, making the case for reputation management to fall under the purview of finance over marketing.
Enter Leger's reputation research, a novel addition to the tools available in the reputation management space. The adage "what gets measured gets done" holds, but pinpointing what contributing factors to measure is often tricky, and what makes Leger's service so useful. Their model assesses corporate reputation across six pillars—financial strength, social responsibility, honesty, transparency, quality, attachment, and innovation.
Leger then layers on analysis that delves into the roots of differing perceptions, tracks performance over time, and offers competitor benchmarks.
Leger's 2023 sector analysis was its 26th annual Reputation study, comparing 299 companies in Canada. The study showed that reputation in today's era of heightened expectations of companies stemmed from how companies weathered the pandemic and the compounding rising cost-of-living crisis. (Read the report here to learn how Canada's top companies, from grocery and financial services to entertainment, ranked.)
"While it may be a time of consumer volatility, it is clear that a company's reputation can pull it through to the other side," said Lisa Covens, Senior Vice-President and Shanze Khan, Senior Research Director of Leger, in their report overview. "We found that nearly six in ten Canadians (57%) indicate that they would be willing to pay a little more for a product/service if the brand/company has a good reputation. Even during recessionary times, leveraging your reputation is more imperative than ever before."
Whether individualized or sector-based, incorporating research into communication strategies — for crisis management, enhancing ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) credentials, or traditional branding efforts — can be transformative. Today, a commitment to managing reputation means marrying research insights, the foresight to anticipate the complexities of public perception, and the ability to communicate accordingly and responsibly.
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