It is surprising how many companies and organizations go about their business believing that a “crisis” will not strike them. But unfortunately, in today’s world, no company or organization is immune from finding themselves in the midst of a crisis that could endanger not only their reputation, but their very business itself.

That’s why every company and organization should have a crisis communications plan in place. Certainly handling the crisis itself is a major part of any crisis plan. If your building catches fire, how do you get everyone out safely? That’s basis crisis planning. Here I am talking about potential damage to your company’s reputation because of a crisis. Like getting everyone out safely, your crisis communications plan should be geared to preserving the reputation you worked so hard to build.

The crisis communications textbook case is Johnson & Johnson and the Tylenol debacle. When it was discovered that the bottles had been tampered with and people died after taking the medication, nobody could trust the integrity of Tylenol. Johnson & Johnson had a real crisis on their hands. Tylenol was their most profitable product at the time, worth hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue

This is a real crisis, and Johnson & Johnson answered the call. They gathered their top managers, legal counsel, PR and advertising counsel and went into action with a crisis communications plan that proved brilliant and restored the brand to a leadership position. It certainly wasn’t cheap. The campaign to restore confidence in Tylenol cost the company about $100 million and included the possibility of changing the name altogether.

So what crises can a company expect? Try anything you can think of. From people placing body parts in food like Wendy’s experienced, to employees suing companies for discrimination, to labor strikes, to nonprofit agencies losing a client with Down Syndrome while on a camping trip – if it can happen, be prepared because it just might.

All crises have common elements. First, you never know what the crisis will be and when it will strike. Second, you never know what the fallout will be. And, often times you don’t know whether to address it head-on and risk calling more attention to it, or let it go and hope it goes away.

All a company can do is be prepared. Think of every possible crisis related to your business, and create scenarios to deal with it. Select individuals as members of your crisis communications response team. Make sure to include your legal counsel and PR consultants. Make sure everyone can instantly get in contact with each other, 24/7. And last, make sure that your crisis communications response team includes people experienced in dealing with a crisis.

Like they say, it’s not a matter of if; it’s a matter of when.

Harvey Farr is president of Farr Marketing Group, a marketing, public relations, special events and crisis management firm. Feel free to visit hiswebsite.

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Tags: reputation, pr, manage, business, public relations

Successful reputation management requires online business owners to be aware and involved in what’s being said about their business online. But are you aware of what’s being said about your online business? I would argue that most newbie’s don’t know what’s being said but you can bet the most successful internet marketers do.

To fully protect your online business reputation, it’s important to have a review procedure in place, such as performing a regular search for your online business name on various search engines, social media sites, and user review web sites. Make sure to search by business name, category, business owners and members of the company.

But is this enough?

With the increasing number of gathering sites coming into play everyday, both negative and positive comments and reviews instantly flood the web, social media sites, and mobile phone communities, and ends up in the hands of the consumer.

While this can start some excitement when finding a new online shopping site, it can also serve as a way to relese frustrations or disappointment that you’ve had with an online shopping experience gone bad and although this new level of accessibility is great for consumers, often business owners feel the at a loss when it comes to a negative review or comment, being that they have no way to defend their business reputation.

Imagine this…

Not living up to your consumers expectations; customer service, price, etc. an unhappy consumer writes a bad review of your business on your favorite online shopping review site. The unhappy consumer has just formed a connection with like-minded/prospective customers and it’s a proven fact that people are strongly influenced by business ratings, scores and consumer comments.

What we read on these sites can definitely influence our decision to do business with this online shopping site or choose another that doesn’t have any negative reviews.

But it doesn’t stop there…this consumer’s review is then picked up by the other related web sites, search engines, social media sites and web services offering aggregated consumer reviews and the information floods the internet.

Freedom of speech is one of the greatest rights we have and everyone is entitled to their own opinion but what about the voice of the online business owner? How can he or she tell the other side of the story or clarify inaccurate or unfair statements?

Better yet how can online business owners harness this to their benefit?

Here are a few suggestions.

Use the same web sites to speak out to your customers. Listen to what is being said and carefully consider whether a response is appropriate. A lot of user reviews or social media blogs have a following or are part of a community and that community can feel threatened if an outside voice appears defensive.

When trying to correct an inaccurate statement, think about responding by first thanking the reviewer for the feedback, and then make them an offer or give a response that shows you are taking action and will do what it takes to regain the consumers trust. Remember, people that take the time to post their review of a business want to be seen and heard. To build a stronger relationship with the consumer, you need to validate their voice. When you do this you build a stronger relationship and hopefully as a result, they will be try you again and write positive review the next time.

When it’s not possible to alleviate a bad review or if you’re not able to join a blog or discussion, you can still treat the situation as a free focus group with feedback. Consider the feedback and use it to help find ways to improve the business. You’ll be amazed at the insight that is out there and how you can fold that into your online business strategy and internet marketing efforts.

The biggest problem in business is an unknown one; consider feedback you receive as a way for your business to become better and to ultimately become the online business that people to talk about-in a positive way.

Do you want to make money from home? If the answer is yes, go to this site and learn how. You will also receive a free $16 gift at the site.

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Tags: reputation, online, business, marketing, public relations

If it was in the hands of your reputation management company it would take a week to get your negative online complaints and reports pushed back in search results. However, there are several other factors that come into play. The biggest being the search engines themselves.

Search Engines are smart, very smart. For instance Google will penalize you for publishing content too fast on it’s search engine and will “Sandbox” your efforts. If you create 100 new items including web pages, Blog post, articles, or links and blast them on the search engines at one time then they think you are spamming their search engine. Trying to manipulate results. Which I guess you are, told you they were smart.

So we as professional Reputation Management companies have to stay on top of this aspect and assure what we do does not have a negative impact. Another factor in the time it takes to get results is the speed in which search engines review sites for new content or changes.

Google indexes or spiders new items on the Internet every 3 or 4 days. This means if I put a new web page up today I have to submit it to Google to get indexed (listed) on their search engine, but they only look at new changes and updates every 3 or 4 days. So I have to wait for them to accept my web page then they only review every few days. Another major reason why Reputation Management takes time and patience.

The solution to both these issues is knowing how to get listed on search engines fast and feed content at a natural pace. A natural pace would be adding new content every day or two at a pace that looks normal to search engines. How you get new content listed on search engines fast is debatable. I will not give away our trade secrets but there are methods that can have content online within 24 hours. Knowing this tactic means faster results.

These are two very important items to discuss with the Reputation Management company you are interviewing. Take your time. There are many options available and selecting the right company will save you time and money. Below are some more questions we recommend asking a Reputation Management company during the selection process.

1. What exactly am I getting for the fee you have quoted me?
2. Does the content you are generating stay online forever or is it temporary?
3. Do you offer a guarantee?
4. What is your Reputation Management philosophy?
5. What are the main tools and resources you use?

Jason Taylor
Senior Case Manager
Please feel free to visit this site

Experience: 12 years in Search Engine Optimization & Reputation Management

Expertise:
- Corporate Reputation Management
- Financial Institution Reputation Management
- Personal Reputation Management
- Medical Practice Reputation Management
- RipoffReport.com Post Removal
- Remove my Name from Google Cases
- Search Engine Optimization
- Blog and Website Development & Design

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Tags: manage, reputation, online, offline, marketing

Having a reputation for being a good person can do a lot for you. People are comfortable placing their trust in you because you are known to be a trustworthy person. Similar in business, reputation is just as important too. Reputation plays a very important role in business. When you get into business you have to understand that it is important for your customers and the people you do business with to trust you. Having their trust can make business a lot easier for you. It takes time to build a solid image in the business community but you will find that it is well worth it because in the business community, your reputation usually precedes you.

It is not easy to build a healthy image but it is important when you are doing business. Competition is fierce in business and business people are wary of the people they do business with especially if they are doing business with somebody for the first time. In business you will need to form alliances with other people for the purpose of stability and growth. When forming alliances and partnerships your reputation plays an important part. It can be difficult to find businessmen willing to form business alliances with you if you have a bad reputation. Businessmen are very protective of their business. They wouldn’t want to take unnecessary risks unless it’s absolutely unavoidable. That’s why they do research on the person and the business that they are planning to form an alliance or a partnership with.

Everyone tends to be cautious when it comes to business. A small mistake such as forming an alliance with the wrong people can cost you a lot. That is why you have to build a solid reputation for being a businessman and a good name for your business as well. It takes time to build a good reputation in business but having the right public perception can be instrumental to the success of your business. Having the right aura for products and services can help you capture a bigger market and help you develop a following. This is very important; the reputation of your business is responsible for its success and failure. Having a reliable name as a businessman can help you gain the trust and confidence of your peers in the business community. Forming alliances and partnership for more progressive business is a lot easier if you are known to be a reputable person to deal with.

Your reputation can do a lot for you in your personal life and it can do a lot for you as a businessman. Don’t take your image for granted. It will take you time to build a good and solid name and you have to protect your it at all times. You will have to prove yourself to a lot of people when building your persona but it is well worth it. People in the business community take their reputation seriously and so should you. It’s your passport to successful business.

Neoko Cortwell is a freelance writer and web designer. If you want to start your own creative journey to becoming a freelance designer yourself, visit Sitegrinder for more information.

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Tags: media, media relations, reputation, image, company

Previously, one of our sister companies also faced a similar problem with their brand name. Due to some legal issues, this sister company of ours was viewed in the eyes of the public as “Cheater & Scammers”. Worse, Hong Kong and Singapore’s governmental bodies were involved and there were many police reports filed against this company.

I will not go further here as this is separate case.

We received a reputation management assignment from our bosses. A hardcore, solid case indeed. The 7 of us sat down at a roundtable for discussion. “What would probably be the best option?” we thought to ourselves. Since we had one prior bitter experience happening to ourselves, we didn’t like the situation at all.

The Case Story
They came clean – The top management had serious issues with the police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and a number of political bodies. They were slapped with charges, got the attention of both domestic and international press, screwed their brand name real bad and their advertising agency were desperate to make things right.

This company knew that their generic branding practices will not work in such cases, nor do any amount of monetary injection to shut the press up. The problematic company was asset rich, but they didn’t see how any of the generic, traditional-style marketing could help. According to one source, they searched for a professional ‘Repo-man’, referred to as the Master of Turnarounds – Where he holds high level, influential and strong contacts/relationships with certain parties, helping problematic companies like this to turnaround public perceptions about them. A service like that would cost them around US$60,000/mo for a professional to come in.

Brand reputation is on a very thin line, their business is at stake. When their story got blasted out to the public, this company’s corporate sales dropped tremendously. In point form, here’s what happened:

The Problematic Company (herein referred to as “XXX”) got caught ballooning a project cost to a total of 418%, costing billions of Ringgit. The public questioned “Where did the difference (or extra profit) go to?”.
XXX failed to explain the price increase despite being handed over a recommended price by the Ministry.
XXX also gave the public wrong impressions (and statements) on its marketing works, leaving questions flying all over about the huge amount of ‘allocated’ sum to branding, publicity and marketing.
XXX was accused to have received millions of dollars to cover up a scam, by telling another story to cover the already failed one.

Summary & Timeline
April 2008 – XXX’s advertising agency sought help from sub contractors to handle their reputation online. Our company was selected, director was briefed on the situation and the message was passed on to us. We worked out our first plan and work initiated.

May 2008 – Having received proper processing, XXX still has some issues to clear. They tried releasing positive press releases to both domestic and international news aggregators for best intentions. It was clear that it’s a waste of money trying to rebrand the brand locally. Their budget was VERY SMALL.

June 2008 – Name still wasn’t cleared. I received massive amounts of unnecessary pressure from the advertising agency looking to ‘make things happen or we’ll fire you’. Our team rediscussed our strategies and proceeded. Bad press continue to pour in huge amounts. We figured another way out.

July 2008 – Stunningly, with the help of some external tools, our strategy worked. It was a minor success, but good enough to fend off some bad press only for some months. We continued heading towards marketing their brand overseas, ignoring domestic incidents.

August 2008 – Although XXX was relieved off its online negative press sentence (dominantly Google & Yahoo search), I reported to my boss, iterating any continued work will not be viable for our company’s business. Our work stopped immediately. #Mistake: The contract did not correctly (in legal terms) state ‘Reputation Management’ as an added service with proposed costs.

September 2008 – Full payment still not made by XXX’s advertising agency. It’s already due. We consolidated, collected data, wrote a case study, sum up reports and documented a list of workable solutions for XXX based on our experience.

Activities Performed
When we first received this reputation management assignment, we were banging our heads on the wall, trying to think of a viable solution by leveraging our resources and the power of the Web. There were a number of common solutions (to our understanding back then) such as relieving the top 30 results for keywords (brand names, conversion keywords, product names, etc). But these processes cannot live long.

Raking search results for converting & brand keywords (Top 30) through notable, third party mediums.
Liaising with local press, webmasters and discussion mediums to release positive-oriented resources.
Creating positive profiling in the international arena through influential organizations and media houses.
Organizing small discussions in large volumes through international mediums to slunt positive public perspectives.
Increase internal activity transparency, and mass publish for short term purposes during the uptrend of bad press.
Introduce differential point-of-view towards bad press.

We achieved #1 and it was an effective one. #2 wasn’t really working; #3 made its way through certain organizations in Hong Kong, Philippines, Dubai and a few more areas which I cannot remember; #4 worked very well, #5 had a minor success but we were deprived of more information than transparency; #6 worked effectively on niche markets only.

That was the first set we did, and it took us about three months to complete. The remaining activities were mostly supporting works.

Why were our campaigns not sustainable?
Running reputation management programs isn’t an easy task – You don’t learn it everything in a day, profile a company immediately and handle bad press in a flash. There are numerous activities such as requesting bad press removal (which is one of the most difficult things to do), changing public perspectives towards a situation, notifying potential markets through trustable medius (which might take forever) and so forth.

Not only that, reputation management programs for companies like XXX is like fighting a losing war, or playing a losing team in a football match with a 5-0 score at the 80th minute. If you don’t work as a team, collaborate, define specific goal values, increase business value and target the correct audience, all your work may just go down the drain in a flash. Some of the reasons why our campaigns couldn’t sustain was because:

All internal communications between our company and XXX have to go through many layers.
There is no collaborative work between XXX’s advertising agency and us. We were on our own – With no resources and enough information to continue pursuing.
Their reputation management budget was minuscule: The whole program didn’t make any business sense.
There were no informational support (internal and external).
We were forced to perform an unnecessary, money-wasting campaign (and I WILL TELL YOU WHAT IT IS – Google Adwords).
We had no control over the website architecture, content and structure – Which should be the base of all our work.
XXX continued delivering messages that are negatively translated by local and international press.
International repo works started 1 month after the planning – Days before I proposed the ‘no-viability notion’.
Our team did not have contacts influential enough to fend off bad press.
Campaign period was short, and was panically performed during the ‘hot news’ period.

A very notable problem these unsustainable works in the whole campaign tilts further towards inadequate communication between XXX and our company.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this edition of my story.
*Sorry peeps, I can’t disclose their identity due to privacy and legal concerns.

Elioe.com is the only organization in Malaysia that integrates human behavioral sciences, psychological criterion and disciplines into web marketing practices in an extensive manner. They’ve advised a large number of notable Malaysian corporations in many areas including organic & paid marketing, strategic conversion, conceptual technologies and forecasting.

If you’re looking for profiling, strategic analysis or audience intelligence, head over to this site for summarized pointers or you can visit this blog.

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Tags: reputation, management, pr, international, public relations

I’ve been reminded today that some things, like men, can’t change; nor should they. I’m convinced that, as a British nation decades from now, we’ll still be bemoaning our relatively high rates of teenage pregnancy, our innate propensity to binge-drink (despite, I’m told, 1.8 million pints of beer less being served per day in the UK since the credit crunch took hold) and our ongoing addiction to working the longest hours in Europe. Aspects of our cultural reputation overseas are, let’s face it, not brilliant.

However, just as putting Boris Johnson in a suit does not make him anything more, in my opinion, than the bumbling oaf he appears (I’m recalling the Beijing Olympics here), so dressing things up to make them appear anything other than what they truly are is my top PR hate – and utterly contrary to my own company ethos. I believe it’s called ‘spin’.

On the other hand, building positive perception of what exists is a different matter (and challenging for me, I have to say, where Boris Johnson is concerned).

But where does that leave making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear? Best look at the attributes of what you have – a pig. Not everyone knows that they are one of the cleanest, most intelligent animals that exist. Perhaps they should be told.

So, as I sipped on my glass of Sauvignon Blanc today, observing the pristine shop facades and drift of the well-heeled townsfolk of genteel Royal Windsor, I couldn’t help but smirk at the ‘little man’ as he turned green on the main pedestrian crossing, all askew with his nose pointing to the ground and up-turned arms making like one of the many Heathrow-bound aeroplanes flying overhead.

Did I blame typical, shoddy British workmanship and our confounding ability always to reduce the aesthetics of our surroundings? Of course! The German part of my psyche certainly did. Compensated just as quickly by the sardonic British pleasure I took in seeing such jaunty irreverence so publicly displayed against such an establishment backdrop!

That shift in my own perception will keep me entertained for a good while yet as I reflect that some things, however irritating, are best left unchanged whilst we figure out how to more positively alter the way we view them.

Joanna Lund Director, Reputation Matters, visit site

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Tags: pr, idea, perception, reputation, public relations

Why PR?
Public Relations is all about building your brand.

A brand can now be defined as the sum of all the conversations going on around you. Print, radio, television and the internet are all constantly buzzing with messages and new ideas – what would you like to contribute to these conversations?

Becoming a part of the media and press is a way of defining and managing your message – controlling that content in a most effective, trusted, valued and lasting way.

One of the most effective tools in marketing – the media – is often overlooked. The reason Public Relations Strategies are replacing advertising more and more is because consumers are savvier than ever. We are all VERY skeptical of what we read in advertisements often ignoring them all together.

The truth is we are all experts at what we do – but we need to convey that to those around us. PR is the subtle, strategic way to respectfully influence an audience. When you read or hear about a company in an authentic story or interview as opposed to an advertisement or commercial, you’re much more inclined to pay attention. Now with the birth of “Social Marketing & Media,” a completely new and immeasurably powerful outlet for PR on-line, we have unlimited opportunities to bring credibility, knowledge and understanding to you and your product.

Third party “Earned Media” means you earn the media’s attention through newsworthy stories and articles, ezines, blogs and many other public communication opportunities. You earn the trust of the reader by being placed there. This will actually support and increase your future advertising and marketing efforts. Media has a word-of-mouth like effect that bridges the credibility gap in advertising – and that means publicity. Using media as a public relations tool works because consumers pay more attention to features and stories and put much more trust in them.

Advertising cannot start a fire. It can only fan a fire after it has been started. To get something going from nothing, you need the validity that only third-party endorsement can bring. Consider it like a personal recommendation from a good friend about a hot business tip or fabulous new restaurant. Recent marketing successes have been built on public relations and not advertising successes.

The Body Shop, eBay, Google, Harry Potter, Botox and RedBull have all been built on the premise of publicity first, advertising second. The first stage of any new campaign ought to be public relations.

Jenny Kaplan and her company JKaplan Communications creates powerful PR and media campaigns that help businesses communicate their message. She has had much success in this realm. You can learn more about her work at this site.

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Tags: pr, value, brand, media, reputation

Whether you own a long-established business, one with a track record of growth and success, or you’re just starting your first venture, your reputation within the community you operate – whether it’s Main Street or in the e-commerce sphere – is a valuable asset. Building a reputation for quality takes time, but there’s lots you can do to hasten the process and ensure that your hard-earned reputation is kept tarnish-free.

Business Transparency People (especially customers) don’t like to be fooled. It makes them mad. And that means your reputation around town is going to suffer as clients or customers spread the bad word about your hidden fees or last-minute charge on the client’s invoice. Be transparent in all activities – fee structure, services provided, statement of work (SOW), delivery dates – everything. And if a problem or setback does occur, be transparent with your client, explain the problem and how you plan to fix it.

Corporate Citizenship Your business is part of a community – a real community or a virtual, on-line community. Your reputation is tied strongly to how good a corporate citizen you are in all commercial spheres. There are lots of ways to demonstrate your corporate citizenship:

* sponsor a sports team in your community;
* donate time and money to local charities;
* maintain your storefront or office – even if it isn’t your job!
* Contribute your thoughts and ideas. Write a column for the local newspaper on your area of expertise.
* Join the Chamber of Commerce and the Better Business Bureau.

All of these show prospects that you’re a proud member of the local business community.

Warranties, Guarantees and Kept Promises Do you provide a guarantee for the services your company delivers? A guarantee of complete customer satisfaction? This one is a no brainer. Guarantees, warranties and such cost very little because few consumers ever take advantage of these promises.

One publisher in Colorado offered a 30-day, complete money-back guarantee. Each buyer could try a product before buying it – even if it was a book, a book that could be read in less than 30 days and returned for a full refund. This on-line business owner reports a less than 3% return rate and his guarantee keeps those orders coming in to more than offset that 3% rate.

Client Satisfaction After 40 years as an independent businessperson, I believe that client satisfaction is the number one key to business growth and long-term success – even if it costs you money.

If you’re a retailer (I am) you know that all client requests are…well, let’s say legitimate. I’ve had customers try to return items I don’t even sell! So, yes, there are times when you just have to live with a dissatisfied client – one who’s trying to rip you off.

However, these are the exceptions. Most customers don’t want to fuss and hassle to have a satisfying buying experience so if there’s a problem, in most cases it deserves to be fixed at your expense. Why?

Even if you lose a few dollars on the transaction, that happy customer will talk you up to neighbors and friends in the area, so maybe it cost you $40, but you better believe you’ll get more than that in good word of mouth (WOM) advertising – the best advertising there is.

Conversely, if one of your customers or clients has a legitimate gripe that you opt to ignore, that one person becomes toxic, spreading bad reviews of your company’s service – and that’s the kind of reputation management you need to control.

The Business of Business Ethics If you run an ethical business, one that goes out of its way to provide services or goods to people at reasonable prices and on time, your reputation will grow both on Main Street and within the commercial realm of the web. News spreads fast today. How do you think Amazon.com keeps growing? Ethical, responsive customer service and complete transparency, down to offering lower-cost shipping options at Amazon’s recommendation! That’s business ethics.

Run your business honestly and fairly. Become a member of your town’s business and public community. Offer and honor your warranties and absolutely ensure client satisfaction.

The Small Business Administration reports that 50% of all new business launches fail within five years. The record is even worse on-line with only 6% of new site launches delivering success to the owner after 12 months. The odds are NOT stacked in your favor.

However, don’t let that stop you. If you run your business with client care and business reputation foremost in your daily activities, you can sure you’ll be one of the success stories.

John M. Adams III is the owner of this site and has built many successful businesses both on- and off-line.

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Tags: reputation, pr, manage, business, public relations

It can be difficult for charities and not-for-profit organisations to maintain their respective profiles in the minds of those audiences that are important to them. Securing the support of celebrities is a tried and tested way to raise profile as well as encourage the support of donors and key stakeholders. So, how do you get celebrities interested and how can you avoid paying them big bucks for their involvement? The key lies in taking a strategic approach and doing a bit of research, in particular:

From a public relations perspective, reputation is an executive’s most powerful asset. Understanding the elements of reputation will guide you in business crisis management, developing media strategies for your business and strengthening public trust in you and your company.

“Reputation management” has become a buzzword in PR circles. The idea that reputations need to be controlled also means that reputations are to be contained.

Your goal as a CEO should be to build your reputation, not to “manage” or contain it. In the world of PR, a whole industry has grown up trying to convince executives they need “reputation management.” Reputation has become overanalyzed and overintellectualized.

In fact, reputation is based on the time-tested business principle of sticking to your company’s core values.

Building Your Reputation

Every press release, media interview, speaking engagement, product launch, employees’ forum–even every hand shaken–all contribute to building reputation.

Public relations is a corporation’s primary reputation-building tool. PR makes sure the name of your company is a known entity, gets your expert opinion and comments out into the public arena and puts your face front and center when your industry or your company is featured in the media.

The two most important elements that impact your reputation as a CEO are the quality of your relationships–with your clients, employees, shareholders and the media–and the quality of your communications.

Start with the basics: it’s critical that a CEO becomes intimately familiar with the company’s mission statement. Having the ability to readily relate your mission statement to every action or communication–be it yours or your company’s–forms the foundation in establishing and maintaining a well-regarded reputation.

Talk the talk of your mission statement and then walk that walk. If your company is committed to the green movement, for example, you might illustrate this by cutting down on the air conditioning, ramping up recycling efforts and driving a hybrid car. But if your product is shipped cross-country via noncompliant tractor-trailers, you betray the public’s trust in your company by sending mixed messages.

Consider Warren Buffet, who, by the way, has been quoted as saying, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” No matter the circumstance, the year or the place, he always says the same thing: “I am a value investor; I look for long-term value.” His message never waivers and in this way he is prepared to answer any question at any time. No one can ever say Buffet sends mixed messages, has a hidden agenda or talks a good game. What he says is always the same, communicated clearly and consistently over and over again.

Doing this effortlessly and consistently will ensure that there will never be a need to “manage” your reputation. Why? In a word: Authenticity.

If your company doesn’t have a mission statement that clearly communicates its vision and core values, then, as a friend of mine says, “It’s time for a three-day retreat.”

Executive Accessibility and Visibility

Being accessible to the media leads to public trust in you and your company.

Savvy CEOs do not hide behind closed doors, corporate “spokespersons” or impersonal “statements to the press.” Savvy CEOs show their faces in the office and to the public. They speak at press conferences, listen and take questions in the open, before the cameras, before the public, and thus generate public trust. You are not afraid to take hard questions, either, and the public respects that stance.

Executive Communications

Sometimes, as leaders, we forgot that communication includes both speaking and listening. Dialogue is crucial in PR because it enhances customer and brand loyalty and adds longevity to your message through the forum it provides.

Making your in-house PR campaign a priority is one of the most cost-effective efforts you can take to support and enhance your company’s reputation. If you are visible and accessible and encourage conversations easily, your staff and your Board of Directors become your biggest proponent and mouthpiece.

Corporate policies should be in synch with what you say to your employees as well. If you advocate cancer awareness as part of your mission statement, make sure you allow and encourage employees time away from their desks for cancer screenings. Consistent messages–in words and actions–bolster your reputation.

Projecting the Right Message

How do you tailor the right message for the public? Ask yourself what you want to accomplish. Are you sharing good news about productivity within the company? Do you have some high-profile resignations to address? Have you just signed new contracts with China? Have you completed cleaning up the asbestos found at one of your factories?

Remember that if communication is not direct and consistent, messages get filtered down, and just like in that old game of “Whisper Down the Lane,” what is said initially is never what is heard if it isn’t communicated directly.

Keep it simple. Remember your company mission statement. If you live the principles of that mission statement and closely guide your company from that philosophy consistently, no one can ever ask you a question you can’t answer; no outside force will ever prompt you into an action that is in opposition to it.

If you ever find yourself or your company off track, go back to your mission statement. Your mission statement is the message you give to your communications department and that becomes the basis of their PR and Marketing Plan. It’s the same conversation you have with your employees and that becomes how they speak about the company for which they work.

The company’s vision and core values are always at the forefront of each level of communications. It’s the position you take with your clients and that position becomes your promise to them.

Taking Responsibility

There’s nothing more distasteful and inauthentic than a CEO whose first response to a media crisis is making excuses. Always remember, when it comes to PR and reputation, the first line of defense is to live up to the leadership role with which you’ve been entrusted.

Today’s Media Landscape

The biggest change we’ve seen in today’s media landscape in the last couple of years is the speed and ease at which everything becomes public these days. Today, there’s no downtime between what we say or do, and when and how it goes public.

Blogging

* Bloggers exposed Southwest Airlines when the company allegedly refused to let an overweight man with hepatitis C board a flight unless he bought two seats-even though he’d gained weight because of the disease and was traveling to a lifesaving operation.
* Bloggers also exposed fake blogs that a prominent PR firm had created to boost the reputation of its client Wal-Mart. The blog was supposed to be written by real-life fans of Wal-Mart.

YouTube

* The video showing Taco Bell’s rat-infested New York City locale was posted on YouTube within minutes of the story breaking.

MySpace

* All the political candidates have MySpace pages.

Search engines

* Search engines such as Google also make it impossible to hide anything because their crawlers are constantly at work, crawling through news stories, blogs and YouTube postings. Bloggers and online writers are also diligent about linking to other relevant sites.

Crisis Management – 8 Tips for Handling a Crisis

Everybody always thinks of reputation when it comes managing a crisis. Let’s review a few basics. The speed in which news happens and our immediate access to it increases the chances of a CEO having a media crisis on her or his hands.

Here are eight tips for handling these, based on the simple actions.

1. Mantra’s mantra for crisis management is to tell it all, tell it fast, tell the truth. Otherwise, the crisis and all of its repercussions will continue to damage you and your company’s reputation over and over again.
2. As mentioned above, information is distributed these days with the speed of light, but some of it is based on hearsay. At times it’s almost like the water cooler has exploded onto the Internet, and now people gossip in a more public forum. Your crisis response must address and correct any rumors and hearsay.
3. It doesn’t matter what created the company crisis or whether the accusations are true or false, you’ve got to get front and center ASAP. Address the issue immediately and support your position with visible actions. Make sure your verbal communications and the corresponding actions are positioned in accordance with the company’s core values. Remember that mission statement?
4. When you are front and center, remember to tell the good news first, followed by the bad news.
5. In PR, a distinction is made between “opinion” and “belief.” Opinions are easy to change but rarely is there a chance to alter a belief. Approach crisis situations with that in mind. Change public perception while it’s still at the opinion level.
6. Consider a public forum on your Web site, or hang a bulletin board where customers and/or employees can ask questions and submit comments. Starbucks has a section on their Web site where they actually address rumors about the company. By offering a public forum, two positive impressions about your company are made: You aren’t afraid to draw attention to the fact that rumors are a part of business; and you identify which pieces of information are incorrect and thereby nip rumors in the bud.
7. Hidden Agendas. If you’ve got one, sooner or later you or it will be revealed. The fear that comes from hiding something makes you do everything wrong and sets into motion a series of actions that are very hard to recover from.
8. Remember the 55/38/7 Rule developed by Albert Mehrabian: 55% of communication is based on your physical demeanor, 38% is how you sound and only 7% is what you say.

Summary

The overriding principle upon which I guide my own business and our client campaigns is that all public relations efforts fall into the category of reputation “management.” Every relationship and communication impacts public perception. Strive for clarity, authenticity and consistency. If you lose your way anywhere along the line, go back to the basics.

Gaye Carleton is the president of Mantra, Empowered Public Relations. For more information on the benefits of public relations, see Mantra Public Relations.

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Ten seconds is all it takes to make a first impression – whether it’s your personal presentation or the first contact a potential client or customer has with your business through the telephone, website or other communication collateral.

When they walk through their door – or you walk through theirs – your image is imprinted in the first moment.

Research has proven that 67% of first impressions are accurate. Your personal image tells the world who you are and where you are going. Your business image says the same. Every email, voicemail, and phone call you make creates first impressions that build your brand.

But it’s not just your logo or your business stationery that needs to look good. How you present yourself in person also says a lot about your brand. For many small business people or business entrepreneurs, you are your business and how your project yourself is vitally important to the success of your business.

How you shake hands, make eye contact, conduct yourself in social situations and the clothes you choose to wear contribute to your personal brand. Your image is like the weather. People notice when it’s extremely good or extremely bad. People shouldn’t judge us by our outward appearances but of course you know they will. First impressions can indicate to a potential client, your sense of style, ambition and self-confidence level.

Another measure of your success in dealing with people is due to personality.

Your voice, way of talking, body language and the way you develop relationships with your clients all count towards giving you a ‘manner’. Your personal manner speaks loudly to other people. You may need to do some self-analysis on your plus and minus personality traits before establishing a self-satisfying public image.

Sometimes things like aggravating speech habits, lack of good manners, sloppy dress or grooming can be your worst enemies.

Punctuality, your tone of voice, these are the things about you that speak loud and clear to others. Make sure that they’re working for you.

I’m sure you’ve seen many examples of people who have had too much to drink at the office party and regretted things done or said. Perhaps not such good personal PR for career progression.

Maybe that date who sounded so promising on the telephone really let you down when you met and saw how badly dressed and untidy they were.

I’m not suggesting you need to have a complete makeover and invest a fortune in new clothes – but it is those little things that people notice.

You’ve no doubt invested a lot of time, effort and money into setting up your own business and learning many new skills – why not invest some time and effort into yourself – you’re worth it!

* Business image – brand all letterhead, newsletters, email messages for a professional

* Personal image – establish a strong visual image – develop your own style and personal brand. Be aware of grooming and professional dress sense.

* Self image – get rid of bad habits, develop self-confidence and charm, walk tall and smile!

Sue Currie, the director of Shine Communications Consultancy and author of Apprentice to Business Ace – your inside-out guide to personal branding, is a business educator and speaker on personal branding through image and media. To learn more about how you can achieve recognition, enhance your image and shine, sign up for free monthly tips here

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Tag: pr, personal, business, gold, reputation

The reputation of a company or organization is an intangible asset, but it is an extremely important and valuable asset. Some people believe and have written that a good reputation is an organization’s most priceless asset. Unfortunately businesses face inevitable crisis situations with the potential to seriously damage a good reputation.

One may ask what can be done to establish a good reputation, keep that good reputation and when hit by a crisis, repair a damaged reputation? Is there a prescription out there that provides some solid advice on this subject? Well, the “PR Doctor” researched the subject and was referred to a book entitled “The 18 Immutable Laws of Corporate Reputation. Creating, Protecting and Repairing Your Most Valuable Asset,” and authored by Ronald J. Alsop.

Mr. Alsop provides information on “lessons learned” from real world company and organization crises and provides a roadmap with his 18 Immutable Laws. He breaks those 18 laws into 3 parts. Part 1 is about establishing a good reputation. Part 2 deals with keeping that good reputation and then Part 3 presents information on repairing a damaged reputation.

Part 1 – Establishing A Good Reputation Law One: Maximize Your Most Powerful Asset_

Law Two: Know Thyself – Measure Your Reputation Law Three: Learn to Play to Many Audiences_

Law Four: Live Your Values and Ethics Law Five: Be a Model Citizen_

Law Six: Convey a Compelling Corporate Vision_

Law Seven: Create Emotional Appeal Part 2 – Keeping A Good Reputation Law Eight: Recognize Your Shortcomings Law Nine: Stay Vigilant Law Ten: Make Your Employees Your Reputation Champions Law Eleven: Control the Internet Before It Controls You Law Twelve: Speak with a Single Voice Law Thirteen: Beware the Dangers of Reputation Rub-off Part 3 – Repairing A Damaged Reputation Law Fourteen: Manage Crises with Finesse Law Fifteen: Fix It Right the First Time Law Sixteen: Never Underestimate the Public’s Cynicism Law Seventeen: Remember – Being Defensive Is Offensive Law Eighteen: If All Else Fails, Change Your Name For a good summary of each of the 18 laws, please go to: www.bizsum.com

Glenn Ebersole, Jr. is a multi-faceted professional, who is recognized as a visionary, guide and facilitator in the fields of business coaching, marketing, public relations, management, strategic planning and engineering. Glenn is the Founder and Chief Executive of two Lancaster, PA based consulting practices: The Renaissance Group, a creative marketing, public relations, strategic planning and business development consulting firm and J. G. Ebersole Associates, an independent professional engineering, marketing, and management consulting firm. He is a Certified Facilitator and serves as a business coach and a strategic planning facilitator and consultant to a diverse list of clients. Glenn is also the author of a monthly newsletter, “Glenn’s Guiding Lines – Thoughts From Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach” and has published more than 250 articles on business.

To find out more about the benefits & rewards of effectively working with a strategic thinking business coach, please contact Glenn Ebersole through his web site here

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Over the years I have learned that reputation is a massively important business asset. The reason is easy to understand. People like to feel secure when they make a purchase. Your clients like to know that they are making a good decision whey they purchase from you.

But, what is reputation? A good way to define reputation is: “the visible accumulated effect of your past activities.” Please let me know if you have a better description.

Why is Reputation so important to a business? Because it is a benchmark against which a prospective client can make a judgement about the quality of service they are likely to get from your organization.

How do you build a reputation? The short answer is to always do good work. But you can add to the good effect by finding ways to measure the results you get so that they can be quantified.

Testimonials from happy clients are another way to build your reputation and add to the reassurance that a prospect will feel when they are about to purchase from you. Make a point of always asking for testimonials from happy clients. You will find that satisfied clients are more than willing to let you quote what they have said.

Personally I like case studies. They are a great way to build your reputation and also to learn from your successes. Over the years I have developed a really good technique for presenting case studies. I share this with members of my Marketing Club.

Most people don’t put enough effort into broadcasting their reputations. If you don’t do it no one else will do it for you. Don’t hide your light under a bush, get out there and tell the world how good you are. People like to hear good news.

One point is for sure, large corporations would not spend so much money on Corporate Advertising, PR, Sponsorship and Hospitality if they didn’t believe it to be important to keep themselves firmly in the public eye. If they feel the need to keep boosting their reputations, it must be important for you.

So go to it – write articles, give interviews, get on your local radio, talk yourself up, tell the world about all the good things you have done.

David Ferrers M.NLP is a successful business coach with a strong track record of winning good clients. He created the “Win A New Client In Seven Days” and “Effective Networking” Business Development Programs for Professionals who want to build successful and profitable businesses. To discover how you can benefit from these and other proven methods of winning good clients go to his web site

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Tags: public relations, reputation, business, effect, pr