Sustainable companies of the 21st century understand the power of stakeholder engagement. Where companies traditionally use branding to communicate corporate identity, corporate image is the view that stakeholders actually have of your organization. Corporate reputation is the sum total of all stakeholder perceptions over time. For stakeholders to support you, they need to trust you. For them to trust you, you need to ensure consistency and alignment of your brand so that you deliver on your brand promises.
The Reputation Institute measures Corporate Reputation on seven dimensions:
- Leadership
- Governance
- Citizenship
- Products & Services
- Innovation
- Workplace
- Financial Performance
If you deliver on these seven dimensions, there is plenty of evidence to show that your stakeholders will support you.
Each of the 7 dimensions account for more than 13% of reputation. So to win you need to excel and communicate about each one
• Product & Services and Innovation explain 32% of reputation
• Citizenship, Governance and Workplace determine 42%
• Financial Performance and Leadership make up the last 26%
Building a company specific reputation platform across dimensions is the key to success in the reputation economy.
Reference: Reputation Institute 2012 Global Report