Talkin 'Bout My Reputation

Managing an organization’s reputation used to be the purview of the customer service department and whether or not a company/product/service upheld its brand promise.  And this made sense based on the fact that customers would go straight to an 800 number or store to lodge complaints and have them addressed.

Rarely did anyone cause a stink beyond a sternly written letter to To Whom It May Concern.

Reputation was also strongly rooted in how quickly a company reacted to a crisis. Tylenol can tell you a thing or two about protecting its reputation amid a sea of product recalls and consumer panic.

That Was Old School

The old reputation management mantra in the midst of a crisis used to be “Mess Up, Fess Up, Dress Up,” and this approach worked well since the dawn of brands. Looking over the course of the past 20 years, even when a brand was on the rocks – think Exxon, Bridgestone Firestone, Gary Condit (yes, you are your brand) – it usually survived unless leadership failed to admit they screwed up and didn’t communicate what they were doing to fix the problem.

It was tough work, but if you contained the problem and communicated the solution, it was often end of story. However, as the channels for reaching audiences has exploded, so, too, has the number of ways for these same individuals to talk about you – whether good or bad.

Moreover, the reach these individual consumers have has increased exponentially as well. Just ask Time Warner about broadband usage in the US and how consumption among its users is increasing about 40 percent per year.  That is a heck of a lot of people online, downloading YouTube videos, posting comments, writing reviews, writing on their Facebook wall. You get the picture.

Our Take on Reputation Management

Working with national brands on similar situations to those mentioned above (product failures, customer anger, crisis communications) we at Off Madison Ave have some simple ideas on how to tackle this beast called Reputation Management.

First, sit very still and just listen. There are myriad monitoring tools available to foster an effective listening campaign with your target audiences. Using this approach, you will quickly discover what they like about you, what they would change if they ran the company, what they like about your competitors, what they had for breakfast on Tuesday – this may not be important unless you are Kellogg’s.

What is important is the information that can be distilled from the conversations already taking place about you, your brand and your competition. It is fascinating to ask a client what they think they do well and then listen to their customers tell us what they think the company does well. These lists can vary dramatically and if we aren’t careful, one can be the basis of an entire marketing communications plan without taking into consideration the other.

Once you are armed with this knowledge, you can build a reputation management program that is based on fact, not fiction, and can determine at what level you need to proactively engage with your consumers. For example, there’s no need to bring out the Spanish Armada of social media if your clients are relatively happy.

Online Reputation Management in Action: Ford

Online reputation management can be as simple as ongoing listening, engagement where needed to put out the random fires quickly and seeding conversations about the good things. One need look no further than one of the oldest brands around, good ‘ol Ford Motor Company, for a stellar example of managing a reputation in the midst of a sh#t storm. 

Let’s look at the facts. Ford hasn’t taken a penny of federal money unlike its counterparts at GM and Chrysler, yet it is continually lumped in to the failing U.S. auto market. Major news outlets call them to the carpet for lower than anticipated earnings, and fault them for not staying ahead of new vehicle trends. And for the longest time, Ford kept its head down, kept working away at putting out fires and seeding conversations on social sites like Twitter.

The company could have easily lashed out and pointed out that they didn’t take bailout money, that they are working hard to bring fuel efficient models to market, and that they are head and shoulders above their US competition in terms of reputation. Would that have helped endear Ford to American consumers? Probably not. It would have looked like sour grapes.

Instead, some brilliant strategist (I’d love to tell you it was Off Madison Ave, but at press time, they hadn’t yet called to request our services – sigh) likely said, “hey, let’s listen to what car buyers are concerned about and address their concerns with a solid plan of action. And while we’re at it, let’s be as transparent as we can be with honest dialogue (see seeding conversations above).”

Thus far, this strategy seems to be working like a charm. The coverage coming out now is positive to neutral with many news outlets starting to focus on the fact that Ford is distancing itself from competitors and is poised to thrive in these difficult economic times. If you don’t think reputation management is responsible for this success, just ask one of Ford’s newest customers.

About the Author: Carol Klimas

Carol Klimas brings a diverse background in both corporate and agency public relations to her position as director of public relations for Off Madison Ave. With a career emphasis on healthcare, business-to-business and technology, Klimas’ work for her current clients includes national media relations, strategic counsel and crisis communications.

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