REPUTATION MANAGEMENT 1

Reputation management

Student name

Institution of affiliation

Date
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Question tackling

Reputation management is one of the cornerstones of PR. Is it possible to completely

control reputation in order to avoid an issue becoming a crisis? Please use theory and practical

examples to support your argument.

Introduction

When one thinks of any prominent business/ organization, what comes to mind are the

positive/negative things they have heard or experienced in that particular environment. In the

current global setting knowing how well/poor an organization is performing in the eyes of

consumers constitutes reputation. According to Kamvar, Schlosser, and Garcia-Molina, (2003),

reputation is whom the outside people think a person or an organization is, the process is mainly

based on how artificial intelligent portrays an organization as rather than what the organization

owns personal view. The reputation of business extends beyond physical customers/clients and

also affects the social media view about the business. Destroying the reputation of a company

through negative comments ensures that the company's flow of revenue is reduced.

On the other hand, having a positive comment about a person or entity reflects quality

and fruition in its operation. In most cases, if the organization's reputation is severally damaged,

the organization ends up closing down. If the organization does not shut-down, they apply

management reputation to try and redeem itself in the eyes of the consumers. By definition,

reputational management is the process of trying to influence the way consumers view a

particular organization/ person, mostly through an online perspective. The goal of reputation
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management is to reshape the public perception of the organization. The process of reshaping is

tedious are requires a committed management team. With better approaches and strategic goal

setting, an organization can partially control reputation and prevent the closure or destruction of

the company’s image in the eyes of consumers. This paper explores to what extent the

management can influence the reputation of the business and how effective will the influence be

on public relations.    

Reputational management importance 

 The concept behind reputational management lies in the ability of the organization to

monitor and influence the online reputation of a person, business, or a particular brand.

Secondly, this concept aims at highlighting and addressing the negative reviews from the

customers. According to most scholars, managing an organizational reputation occurs for any of

these three reasons.

Building an organization's reputation- when a business is new in the market, requires the

public to know of its existence and the types of the brand the company is dealing with (Firestein,

2006). In this case, most organizations employ the expertise of reputational management to try

and build a good and reliable reputation that will draw customers into investing in the new

business. Take, for example, NETFLIX. Before it comes around, Blockbuster was the favorite

movie producers. With a better reputation management team, the company's name was made

public. Through marketing and promotional services, Netflix was able to become one of the most

known and liked movie productions. 

Maintain the existing reputation- with the increased competitive levels in the market, and

there is a need to stay relevant in the eyes of consumers. For example, Virgin Atlanta Airlines is

one of the most sorted airlines. Its reputation suggests quality service. However, though it is
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known by many, the airlines still has a reputational management team that ensures that the

organizational name stay cleans (Wallin Andreassen, 1994). Withholding the existing reputation

provides that the organization is consistent is a quality production, service delivery, and

customer satisfaction. Therefore an organization may consult the management reputation to

continue its good reputation

Recovery- this is one of the main reasons why management reputation is sorted.

According to Anderson (1983), most organizations take massive hits when a person, a rival

organization, or a social media platform mentions or associates the company with a bad

comment. A negative review usually affects the sales and overall revenue return of an

organization. According to Shouxu and Jianzhong (2007), when a customer orders an item online

and after a few minutes reads a negative review of that particular company, chances of the

customers reversing the order are mostly 87%. If the business does not take corrective measures

immediately, the transaction may be forced out of the market by its rivals. In such a case,

reputational management tries to redeem the companies name by applying strategies like good

marketing and self-promotion aspect.  

Protecting reputation

Establishing an online reputation 

As identified, there are various reasons why an organization may require developing a

reputation management team. With such a group operating as the controller, one is sure that any

negative review or comment will be immediately rectified to prevent issues from blowing out of

proportion. For a reputation management team putting the right measure will guarantee that the

business makes decisive progress in the market. However, according to Pho and Gay (2013), a

wrong diagnosis of a particular negative aspect can seriously affect the business. To build,
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recover, or maintain an organizational reputation in the eyes of the public it is crucial to start by

going online where the majority of customers and clients are. Here one should;

 Create a blog- for a new business, and it is vital that one creates a blog where the company

frequently posts its progress to view by the regularly postin article on how the company is doing

in terms of public relation, use of the system, and how one's products are doing in the market.

This will have a positive impact on customers and will attract more customers to one's products.

By so doing, the company will always have a site where they can clarify issues and communicate

with customers. On the side of the existing company having such a site ensures that customers

can easily reach the organization at any time and enquire about an issue. Furthermore, the site

will ensure that the company builds trust so that in case of a negative review, its customers can

adequately defend the company since there has been an adequate flow of information between

the two parties. To an organization that is trying to recover, having a site benefits them the most.

According to Zhou, Dresner, and Windle (2008), staying silent on a particular issue will only

harm the organization rather than help it. An established blog will give such a company a place

to beg. (Schwarz Altaba Inc, (2009), further suggested that regardless of how a company’s image

is tarnished, real and devoted customers will want to hear an explanation from the person who is

part of the organization. A cite recovery process can start here by the organization management

posting an explanation as to the negative reviews.

 Getting listed in the directories- this process resembles telephone directories but is done online.

When a company is listed in the directory, customers can quickly type the company’s name on

the company’s website, and the name will appear. Though many may see this process as an

inefficient process, it helps one find the site where one can air their grievances and be sure that

they will be responded. This process aims at eliminating fake company websites that assume the
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name of other companies will the aim of posting negative reviews that would tarnish the

company’s name (Kwan and Ramachandran, 2009). In the case of reputation recovery,

customers will only type the name of the company, and traffic will direct them to the company

where further explanations can be given. When the company is building it a name, this initiative

will ensure that when customers cannot expressly point which company they are searching for,

type the type of product will re-direct them to the company hence creating awareness on the

company’s existence. 

 Encourage reviews- one of the critical aspects that any company should advocate for our

reviews. A according to Etailing Group, more than 93% of the internet users read any review that

is posted online. Furthermore, more than 84% believe what the review state and in most cases,

use the reports to judge the companies service and product quality (to Cone, Inc 2019).

Therefore, it is crucial for a company, especially one seeking to build itself or maintain its

relevance to the customers. The company can apply other apps like SinpleSat, which is an online

app that sieves customer reviews automatic on the products offered. In the app, the company

communicates typically about their experience with the participant company. Customers with

positive feedback are encouraged to repost them on platforms like Google and Facebook. Those

with neutral or negative feedback are re-directed to the company platform where a team of

dedicated staff is ready to resolve most of their problems.

Getting the business social- according to Zheng and Jin (2009), more than 78% of the customers

will first check on the company they wish to associate with on the internet. In most cases, it is

believed that if the business can be found online, chances of them being legitimate are high.

Furthermore, one would find more information about the organization on the internet. Gay and

Pho (2013) further pointed out that a company that is located on the social media site is most
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likely to have a positive reputation. According to research conducted on most businesses, 90% of

the ones that are found online have a good and admirable reputation. Also, 70% of the companies

that are not found online have issues and cannot be trusted. 

 Engage in corporate social responsibilities 

Reputation attacks are not only through online methods, but they can also arise from the

business's internal or external environment. Unsatisfied stakeholders can also play a considerable

role in tarnishing the reputation of the organization. Therefore, as a reputation management team,

it is also essential to look at and address these issues. One of the elements that the organization

should focus on its corporate social responsibilities to stakeholders. According to Hooghiemstra

(2000), social responsibility is one of the tools that can guarantee quick recovery. When an

allegation (negative) arises, the society can either help redeem the organization or accelerate its

rate of demise. It is the role of the organization to participate in social responsibilities. In so

doing, the community can act as protectors of both the reputation and the organization at large.

Act ivies that the organization should participate in include;

I. Corporate donation- according to Laufer (2003), when an organization associates itself

with projects like donations, it redeems itself and paints a positive image to the society.

Although the business must engage in social responsibilities, not are all organizations do

so. According to Peloza (2005), one of the essences of social responsibility is that it

enable and organization creates a good image in the eyes of the public and the

government. Jones, Temperley, and Lima (2009) conducted research on the impact of

corporate social responsibility of the public and identified that the more the organization

is involved in social responsibilities, the more the public is willing to support and defend
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the organization from external factors. Through such an initiative, the probability of the

public standing the organization against negative reviews is high. 

II.     Corporate sponsorship- by definition, corporate sponsorship is an initiative by an

organization to advertise itself and promote its sales by volunteering to fund a particular

action. According to Morsing (2006), most organizations public recognition through such

an event. This strategy ensures that the company in question is protected in case of

negative reviews. When an organization participates is such the probability that new

customers will be attracted to the organizational operation and products are 70%.

Furthermore, according to Argenti and Druckenmiller (2004), people will tend to buy

products from an organization that fully participate in social responsibility compared to

another popular organization that not participate in CSR. 

Use of corporate advocates 

Over the years, organizations have tried to merge their advertisement strategies with

famous figures that help to popularize their products. According to Doorley and Garcia (2015),

these celebrities are known and respected by many, therefore whatever they say or advice about

the organization products sticks. Furthermore, most followers of these celebrities take their word

and buy the products advertised. In the case of reputation management, using a figure guarantees

that more customers will give the organization positive feedback. When an organization is trying

to recover from a crisis, the managers can use such celebrities who will use their online accounts

like twitter and Instagram to rectify the allegation and further advocate for a positive response.

Avoid basic common mistakes  

The process of reputation management is very critical and essential to the current and

future image of the company. Therefore, there is a great need to be cautious of who or what to
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post or say both in social media platforms and to the public. Saying too much may negatively

affect the organization's flow of operation. Therefore there is a need to evaluate some of the

mistakes that a reputation manager should avoid at all times.

Paying for positive reviews – many organizational reputation managers are tempted to

pay people to creates fake accounts and give positive reviews to the company to attract other

people to purchase a product from the organization. This method may prove beneficial in the

initial stage, but in the long-run, it will affect the business substantially. When Google identifies

that one has hired/created a fake account to gives itself positive reviews, is punishes the company

by further pushing down the company’s name in the resulting search. This also affects the

reputation of the company rather than redeem it. According to Coombs (2007), the best way to

win customers over is by giving them quality product and services which will attract them to

one’s product.

Encouraging trolling- trolling is one of the mistakes that managers do. Some people on

the internet are waiting for others to post and rash out on small issues so that the managers can

react to them. According to Tucker and Melewar (2005), managers should know more and avoid

strollers. In most cases, the people wait for the manager’s response and get into unconstructive

arguments with them. Although it may seem harmless, Phillips (2011) suggested that such an

exchange of words leads to tarnished reputation since the public view the manager as an

unprofessional person. The best thing is to avoid them and clarify issues rather than argues

problems out. 

Ignoring customers- this is one of the biggest mistakes that any organization employees

can do. Customers are the mere reason the organization exists in the first place. With the

customers, the organization would seize to exist. Therefore customers are given the utmost
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attention every-time they show up or raise an issue on the company’s website. Furthermore,

customers have the right to be upset and angry if they are not satisfied with the services or the

products that are offered. To ensure that the reputation of the company is not questioned,

employees are expected to show concern even if the customers are unbearable. Ignoring the

customers is the first step to encouraging a significant crisis in the business. Employees should

try as much as possible to resolve as many concerns as possible using the best possible method.

This will reflect positively on the organizational image.

Conclusion 

As identified, it is tough to insulate an organization from a reputation crisis entirely. A

crisis arises from even aspects that are not in any way associated with the business. Therefore,

the best way to insulate the organization from such occurrence is by putting into place strategies

that are aimed are protecting the organization from such a crisis. Most of the disasters are likely

to originate from online activities that may or may not be triggered by the organization.

However, initiates like having an online blog, corporate social responsibilities, and advocates for

the company and others will ensure that incase an occurrence of such a crisis, reputation

management will control the intent to which damage is felt.  

Reference list

Anderson, D.A., 1983. Reputation, Compensation, and Proof. Wm. & Mary L. Rev., 25, p.747.
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Argenti, P.A. and Druckenmiller, B., 2004. Reputation and the corporate brand. Corporate

reputation review, 6(4), pp.368-374.

Coombs, W.T., 2007. Protecting organization reputations during a crisis: The development and

application of situational crisis communication theory. Corporate reputation

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Doorley, J. and Garcia, H.F., 2015. Reputation management: The key to successful public

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Firestein, P.J., 2006. Building and protecting corporate reputation. Strategy & leadership, 34(4),

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