Reputation Marketing: Building and Sustaining Your Organization’s Greatest Asset, 1st ed.

Citation

Burke, S.E. (2003), "Reputation Marketing: Building and Sustaining Your Organization’s Greatest Asset, 1st ed.", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 68-71. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363760310457396

This book provides the reader with a skillful analysis on the subject of reputation marketing and how it contributes to the success or failure of a company. This book was of special interest to me, as a public relations professional, because it provided me with a very solid, concrete guide to managing a company’s reputation in today’s modern marketplace.

The author gives examples in each chapter of marketing issues and challenges facing the marketer, while examining these issues from a reputation perspective. The overall challenge to the author is to convince the reader of the overall importance of reputation marketing and how this often‐misunderstood practice is vital to a successful marketing plan.

A company’s reputation refers to the public’s collective opinion of that organization. A reputation has the power to attract or repel customers, employees, suppliers, community members and others, and reputation can be either an asset or a liability. It is a well‐known fact that reputations take a long time to build or change, and it is important for companies to understand that reputation management should become a priority in their marketing plan.

With easy‐to‐follow examples from everyday life, the author clearly communicates the importance of a good corporate reputation. With case studies from companies such as Ford, Firestone, and Levi’s, this work provides in‐depth coverage of a variety of subjects, including the role of research in building reputation, the use of new media resources to further a reputation, and proven strategies for improving a “bad” reputation. The book is structured with the following eight major parts:

1. (1)

   Understanding reputation marketing.

2. (2)

   The role of research in building a reputation.

3. 3.

   (3) Using what you have (or do not have) to manage your reputation.

4. (4)

   Dressing for success, for failure, or just to be noticed.

5. (5)

   Reputation marketing in the age of the Internet.

6. (6)

   Changing a “bad reputation”.

7. (7)

   Getting ahead on someone else’s reputation.

8. (8)

   Case studies of how companies built, changed, or exploited their reputations.

The author delves into the subject of reputation marketing by first defining its overall importance: “a good reputation is the cornerstone of a successful business” (p. 19).

The author makes a crucial point when he says that, in the end, reputation is about actions and deeds, not words. Thus, every manager must be aware of the daily, weekly, yearly, and longer‐term activities that provide the opportunity to strengthen or destroy company reputation. This book has provided a number of insights to get us all thinking – and doing – those things that bring the benefits and rewards of solid relationships with all types of constituents.

The second chapter explains the importance of research in building a reputation. The author stresses that in order to achieve the support of your customers, you need to first understand your target audience, and your messaging should then reflect the concerns of that audience. Research is much more than just gathering data and fact checking; it gives the marketer a greater understanding on how you can “grab” the attention of your target audience. “A company with a good reputation has an edge, but how much of an advantage this affords should never be left to guesswork” (p. 31).

Chapter three differentiates between the new and the old. According to the author, companies, businesses, and brands must not only do all they can to create a good reputation for themselves in the marketplace, but should they be fortunate enough to succeed, they must aggressively defend that reputation and justify their leadership position over and over again. This chapter expresses the importance of distinguishing between the age and experience of a business and the age and experience of the target audience. Within this chapter, the author uses everyday examples of easily identifiable companies with a strong reputational history, such as McDonald’s, Procter & Gamble, Coca‐Cola and Anheuser‐Busch. The case studies show how these “experienced” companies have reacted to the changing marketplace over the past decades and still keep a consistently good reputation.

Marconi then examines the concept of corporate identity, which consists of components such as name, look, logo, signature, corporate colors, and placement. It is no secret that a first impression is important in marketing. Your customer will, indeed, judge you by your appearance; therefore, it is so very important to create a name and image consistent with what you want your target audience to view you as: “How you look and what you do create an image. Images, over time, create a reputation” (p. 70).

The author also devotes a good portion of the book to the Internet and how an Internet presence, or lack thereof, can define and position a brand, product or company. How does the World Wide Web help marketers develop a larger presence in the marketplace? The answer is simple. The Internet is not the end‐all and be‐all for marketers, but it can indeed provide something for everyone. This is a cost‐effective way to promote your business’s products or services. At the same time, you are building a reputation as an innovator by providing access to your products or services in a more convenient manner for the consumer.

While a strong reputation may take years to build, it can be destroyed seemingly overnight if a company does not handle crisis situations to the satisfaction of the various constituents and stakeholders. The author goes right to the point when discussing crisis management and damage control in chapter. Here, Marconi introduces the term “public disapproval rating”, a new concept to marketers. He discusses basic ideas and tactics to changing a poor reputation, using modern‐day examples of companies that have dealt with crises, such as Johnson & Johnson and Ford Motor Company.

Marconi continues by uncovering the concept of the “halo effect” which, in the author’s own words, is “to bask in the reflected glow of an already established, successful entity” (p. 148).

The author concludes with a crash course in reputation marketing and a casebook, which details various well‐known companies that have built, changed, or exploited their reputations over the past decades.

As a public relations professional, until now, I have yet to read a book with a true connection between public relations and other marketing professions. The author bridges the gap between these two, often misunderstood, disciplines. Reputation management goes deeper than the traditional practice of public relations. It shapes a company’s image and builds confidence and trust with the audience. Given that reputation marketing is a form of public relations and public relations is a form of marketing, reputation marketing clearly is an area of specialization to public relations professionals.

Why exactly is public relations such an important role in the success of a company and how does a company’s reputation relate to this? The answer is simple. A company is nothing without a good reputation. A company can develop a miraculous product, but with a bad reputation, consumers will not be attracted to the product.

Reputation Marketing is an excellent book enriched with case studies and tips on developing a successful corporate image. I consider this book very beneficial to anyone who is looking to become more familiarized with the idea of reputation marketing and also for public relations professionals who deal with corporate image development.