Trends in Reputation Management that CEOs Need to Understand
Businesses of all sizes are always in a need to consider their reputations. A reputational problem not only undermines consumer trust in a business but may also have a significant effect on its share price.
As per a recent study, the prestige of the world’s top 15 publicly listed firms accounts for one-third of their share price. On the one hand, this demonstrates the enormous benefit of improving a company’s image. On the other hand, it demonstrates the financial consequences of doing it wrong.
When we recovered from the COVID-19 first wave, I decided to look at the core reputational patterns that should be on CEOs’ minds to cope in serious conditions. And especially to make their business flourish even when they are not actively working. Let’s explore the ideas more.
- Engagement on social media
The rise of social media has fundamentally altered the public’s ability to keep businesses and corporations responsible. It has given many customers the ability to discuss issues and concerns with companies directly online. Eventually, what people think about businesses on social media has come to serve as a reference for their reputation.
As people spend more time on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media sites, businesses will become even more careful about how to maintain their reputations on these sites. Although social media has traditionally been seen primarily as a marketing channel for companies, this is beginning to change; companies are seeing it as a window into future reputation risk.
As a result, businesses must add additional expertise to their social media teams, such as experts from marketing, business and personal reputation management and corporate planning.
- Persistence
The general public, governments, consumers, and other stakeholders are putting pressure on businesses to reduce their environmental effects. Indeed, within the last year, we have seen investors begin to increasingly exit sectors with greater levels of pollution, such as mining and fossil fuels.
However, businesses can go a little forward in the upcoming weeks. Although a number of businesses have begun to proactively shift away from unhealthy practices, such as reliance on fossil energy and non-recyclable materials, corporations should also start viewing sustainability more positively.
In particular, they should proactively start new schemes within their sector and should have a positive impact on the atmosphere, such as initiatives to provide grants to green charities and other activities. They would then be able to use that activity to their advantage in promotions and advertisement, rather than just seeing sustainability as a challenge to their reputation.
- Tax planning
The coronavirus pandemic has reignited discussion about inequality. There has been a surge of national coverage on how the pandemic has widened the gap between society’s rich and poor, with big conglomerates like Amazon watching their profits skyrocket.
We expect this to spark a broader debate over the amount of tax that our largest corporations pay, as well as future additional taxes, such as the inheritance tax that has recently been proposed.
Undoubtedly, we can begin to see firms reshoring elements of their services in order to increase the amount of tax they pay; this knowledge may then be used to boost their reputations in the mind of the people and policymakers.
- Executive management
Previously, reputation was considered to be exclusively associated with a brand. This is starting to change now. A variety of high-profile industry figures have opted to use their corporate profiles to boost their own and their companies’ reputation and popularity.
For example, Apple CEO Tim Cook recently took a noticeable and personal stance on equality in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, announcing that the organisation will be a “force for change” in the community. Originally, those remarks may have been made in the name of the company rather than an individual.
In the future, we hope that more businesses will place their ethical and moral leadership in the names of their CEOs and shareholders, in order to put a face to their company.
Reputation is rapidly becoming a hot subject in business and corporation boardrooms all around the world. This is a rapidly changing field, and it is critical for businesses and corporate executives to keep updated on the latest trends, obstacles, and opportunities for their enterprises.
