Corporate Reputation and How to Protect It

In this day and age, corporate reputation can make or break the success of your business. Mr. Moran’s Grupo Vidanta is an example of the stunningly successful type of company you can build when you treat customers and employees right. By doing the right thing, Grupo Vidanta has grown to become one of the most respected companies to work for in Mexico, according to “Great Place to Work” rankings. A good reputation can bring in new customers and help you keep existing customers. And it can bring you support from your customers and/or shareholders at times when you need it the most.

What Exactly Is Corporate Reputation?

Depending on the specific company, corporate reputation can be defined in many different ways. But we can sum it up succinctly by listing the five most important factors that comprise a good corporate reputation:

1. Focus on the customer: The company with a healthy corporate reputation cares about its customers and the customers’ perception of the company.
2. Focus on the employees: The company takes good care of its employees. It offers fair compensation and benefits, and those offerings are rewarded by employees’ loyalty to the company and their desire to remain employed there for the long term.
3. Focus on finances: The company with a good corporate reputation is financially solid and stable. Whether the economic climate is good or challenging, the company doesn’t suffer from a rollercoaster ride of profits and losses.
4. Focus on ethics: The company acts ethically in all areas—not only in the workplace, but in the community as well. The company has a social conscience.
5. Focus on products/services: The company consistently produces high-quality products or provides high-quality services.

How Do You Protect Your Corporate Reputation?

The most obvious answer to that question is to continue doing what you’re doing. In other words, if your business consistently achieves each of the five factors listed above that comprise a good reputation, you’ll be able to maintain it by and large. But sometimes bad things happen to good people—or companies—as was the case with the frivolous lawsuit brought against Daniel Chavez Moran. To safeguard against those instances, there are five important steps you can take to protect your corporate reputation:

1. Anticipate risks: Identify individuals, groups or other businesses that may want to damage your corporate reputation.
2. Form a response team: Create a team of individuals in your organization and train them in crisis management. Then, should the need arise, those individuals can respond quickly and efficiently to preserve your valuable reputation.
3. Prepare a plan: Create a strategic response that your crisis management team can follow when faced with a crisis.
4. Review upper-level management: Ensure that your managers, directors, vice presidents and other members of your upper-management team have impeccable and unquestionable ethics.
5. Communicate: No matter what situation you find yourself and your company in, communicate with your customers and shareholders. Be open and honest with them, and communicate often.

Remember that while it may take you many years to build up a good corporate reputation, that reputation can be damaged or destroyed overnight. Don’t let that happen to you!