The great multidirectional advances in communication and the advantages that social media provide us, force any company or brand to ask what is the image transmitted to the community through the conversations that are generated in groups, forums, communities, social networks, since in these, admirers, detractors, current or potential clients, comment on their experiences and can transmit on the network great satisfactions or disappointments related to any brand or company. Consumers today are connecting with brands or companies in fundamentally new ways, usually through media channels that are outside the control of manufacturers and retailers.This means that traditional marketing and public relations strategies could undergo some changes to match the way in which the relationships between the community of customers and suppliers with the corporate image of companies have changed.
The corporate image and social communities
Kane, GC et al. (2009) point out that before the internet existed, firms had much more time to monitor and respond to community activity. But that no longer exists today, leaving a void in community management that requires new skills, new adaptive tactics, and a coherent strategy. Kane and colleagues describe the changes brought about by social media in particular and show executives how to take advantage of them; lessons Amazon, Kaiser Permanente, Domino's and others learned painfully. Social media platforms increase the power of communities by fostering deep relationships, facilitating rapid organization, enhancing knowledge creation and synthesis, and allowing broad information filtering.The authors cite many examples from the health care sector, where social media engagement is strong and influential. For example, members of Sermo (www.sermo.com), an online network exclusively for physicians, used the site to raise awareness and organize against the reimbursement cuts proposed by insurers. And on PatientsLikeMe (www.patientslikeme.com), where people share details about their chronic conditions and the treatments they have sought, progress charts and curves have helped members visualize their own stories and allow for comparisons and feedback between patients.. As we modernize our company's approach to community engagement,We will need to put together a social media team to identify new opportunities and prevent brand damage. In the most successful companies, community management was a dedicated function, combining marketing, public relations, and information technology capabilities.
On the other hand, former executive vice president of corporate affairs for Walmart, Dach, L. (2013) tells us that companies usually hire public relations people when they feel that the current of opinion is turning against them. Firms may be facing nasty headlines and want them to go away. There are expressions such as “We are misunderstood” or the CEO of the company says “We just have to tell them our best story”. Sometimes there is some truth in that. When Dach joined Walmart, Walmart was focused on running an efficient business and keeping customers happy. Even after Walmart became America's Largest Company, much of the information to the public came from its detractors. So,yes there was a need to tell a better Walmart story. But it's a huge mistake to assume that once you've told your story, the audience will hug you. “After spending many years in consulting, I know that telling a better story without becoming a better company doesn't work,” says Dach.
A scandal can cause a lot of agitation in a firm, even if it is not guilty. Scandals can easily spread beyond their culprits; even also to companies outside the value chain that can be seen as similar in some key attribute to the cause of the problem. For example, the dairy, pet food and toy scandals in China in recent years have caused all Chinese products to be viewed by many as suspects. Drawing on more than ten years of research, Marketing Professors Tybout, AM, and Roehm, M. (2009), have developed a framework for developing accurate and timely responses to a scandal. They developed four important steps: assess the incident, acknowledge the problem,formulate a strategic response and implement the response. The most effective responses are carefully calibrated based on the characteristics of the brand, the nature of the outrageous event, and the apparent degree of guilt. Those responses minimize brand damage, and sometimes even provide opportunities for the company to deepen its connection with customers. For example, antivirus software company Trend Micro responded effectively when a faulty antivirus update paralyzed its customers' computers. In less than an hour and a half, he had removed the problematic file from his website and updated the servers, increased his customer support staff, and held a press conference to apologize to customers and describe how the problem was addressed.The most effective responses are carefully calibrated based on the characteristics of the brand, the nature of the outrageous event, and the apparent degree of guilt. Those responses minimize brand damage, and sometimes even provide opportunities for the company to deepen its connection with customers. For example, antivirus software company Trend Micro responded effectively when a faulty antivirus update paralyzed its customers' computers. In less than an hour and a half, he had removed the problematic file from his website and updated the servers, increased his customer support staff, and held a press conference to apologize to customers and describe how the problem was addressed.The most effective responses are carefully calibrated based on the characteristics of the brand, the nature of the outrageous event, and the apparent degree of guilt. Those responses minimize brand damage, and sometimes even provide opportunities for the company to deepen its connection with customers. For example, antivirus software company Trend Micro responded effectively when a faulty antivirus update paralyzed its customers' computers. In less than an hour and a half, he had removed the problematic file from his website and updated the servers, increased his customer support staff, and held a press conference to apologize to customers and describe how the problem was addressed.the nature of the scandalous act and the apparent degree of guilt. Those responses minimize brand damage, and sometimes even provide opportunities for the company to deepen its connection with customers. For example, antivirus software company Trend Micro responded effectively when a faulty antivirus update paralyzed its customers' computers. In less than an hour and a half, he had removed the problematic file from his website and updated the servers, increased his customer support staff, and held a press conference to apologize to customers and describe how the problem was addressed.the nature of the scandalous act and the apparent degree of guilt. Those responses minimize brand damage, and sometimes even provide opportunities for the company to deepen its connection with customers. For example, antivirus software company Trend Micro responded effectively when a faulty antivirus update paralyzed its customers' computers. In less than an hour and a half, he had removed the problematic file from his website and updated the servers, increased his customer support staff, and held a press conference to apologize to customers and describe how the problem was addressed.For example, antivirus software company Trend Micro responded effectively when a faulty antivirus update paralyzed its customers' computers. In less than an hour and a half, he had removed the problematic file from his website and updated the servers, increased his customer support staff, and held a press conference to apologize to customers and describe how the problem was addressed.For example, antivirus software company Trend Micro responded effectively when a faulty antivirus update paralyzed its customers' computers. In less than an hour and a half, he had removed the problematic file from his website and updated the servers, increased his customer support staff, and held a press conference to apologize to customers and describe how the problem was addressed.increased their customer support staff and held a press conference to apologize to customers and describe how the issue was addressed.increased their customer support staff and held a press conference to apologize to customers and describe how the issue was addressed.
Gaines-Ross, L. (2010) notes that companies trying to protect their reputations are increasingly attacked by small-scale adversaries: dissatisfied customers, annoying employees, and virtually anyone with a computer and a personal grudge towards the company. As many companies have painfully noted, there are small-scale snipers who dominate an arsenal of new media and social media that can do a great deal of damage to a company's reputation, and very quickly. Blogs, tweets, text messages, online petitions, Facebook protest sites, and digital videos represent potential new threats, and companies must learn to respond to them. Gaines-Ross, Director of Reputational Strategy Weber, Shandwick, a global public relations consultancy,outlines six defensive tactics for organizations whose good reputations come under attack: Avoid disproportionate display of force, respond swiftly with instinct honed by training, empower people in the front lines to confront messages with counter-messages, companies They should not be afraid to play hard, they should recruit and deploy supportive people and institutions to serve as "force multipliers" and, finally, they should gather all the prestige earned when they must prepare to go into battle. It may never be possible to declare final victory in the war for reputation; because the war does not end. However, by changing the perspective and adopting new tools, companies can protect their businesses from the worst attacks of snipers.
Wiesenfeld, B. and Cattani, G. (2010) tell us that, in the late 80's, Oliver Stone in his movie called “Wall Street. Money never sleeps, ”he accused the US financial industry of its greed. The villain of the Wall Street film, Gordon Gekko, declared that "greed was good." His movie hero Bud Fox realized too late that he wasn't. And they both ended up in jail. Public opinion of the film was divided. People liked the movie, it even won an Academy Award. But the aims of Stone's film sermon were controversial. For bankers, traders, and finance managers, Gekko was a role model, while more experienced financiers saw him as a good caricature: "Nobody thinks Wall Street is really like this."But many believe that greed will be represented in the industry as a whole for the next twenty years, through numerous scandals and crises, from S&L to Long Term Capital Management, the dot-com bubble to the subprime real estate debacle. And public trust in the company now is arguably the worst in decades. In a recent survey of the
Pew Research Center, 69% of those surveyed said they viewed banks and financial firms negatively, while 64% felt the same about large corporations.
Barton, D. (2011) points out that the crisis in the financial system and the so-called great recession have marked and will continue to do so for generations and generations of executives. Now that the worst is over, it is good to feel relieved and try to get back to normal. But this is not an option. In the last three years we have seen how the balance of power between the West and the East is rapidly shifting in favor of the latter. We have also seen in some countries the resurgence of both populist policies and social friction. As we emerge from the crisis, geopolitical rivalries are likely to increase, security problems increase, and tensions linked to trade, immigration and resources intensify. However, the great loser of the crisis is capitalism as a system.But this questioning of capitalism did not begin with the Great Recession. Confidence in the business world hit its lowest point a decade ago. The crisis and the public antagonism it has aroused only exacerbated the friction that already existed between business and society. And to problems as serious as wage inequality, we must also add the discontent produced by high unemployment and deficit budgets, among others.We must also add the discontent produced by high unemployment and deficit budgets, among others.We must also add the discontent produced by high unemployment and deficit budgets, among others.
On the other hand, Mayzlin, D. et al. (2012), associate professor of marketing at Yale Business School, believes that washing your hands after failing a task can increase optimism, - but that optimism may be misplaced. Hand washing also hampers later performance on the same task, according to German researcher Kai Kaspar, from the University of Osnabrück. Soap and water can "wash away" your psychological need to try harder to restore your sense of competence, says Kaspar. Previous research has shown that hand washing also reduces a person's guilt after immoral behavior. On the other hand, there is not much managers can do if a competitor puts overly positive opinions about their business.When it comes to suspicious negative comments of your own making, however, you can take action.
Gaines-Ross, L. (2010) comments on the importance of corporate reputation. “Reputation must be earned every day. If it is lost, it can take up to three years to get it back. It is a fundamental aspect for the success of companies and can influence both the price and the income statement. 63% of the market value of a company is due to its reputation. Much of a company's reputation lies in how its leader behaves and acts. “There is a new generation of CEOs who are communicating more with their employees, through email or face-to-face. They are, after all, the image of the company. Twenty years ago, the perception that different interest groups - investors, suppliers, customers and employees - could have of a company was not so important.“The bottom line was the financial results. It didn't matter how you treated your employees, for example, or whether or not you were environmentally responsible. Today, however, you can be very strong financially, but not have a good reputation if your people are unhappy, "he says. He adds that it is a key tool to attract and retain talent: "Graduates from prestigious centers such as Harvard or Insead prefer to work in a large company with a good reputation.""Graduates from prestigious centers such as Harvard or Insead prefer to work in a large company with a good reputation.""Graduates from prestigious centers such as Harvard or Insead prefer to work in a large company with a good reputation."
According to Wiesenfeld, B. and Cattani, G. (2010), Hollywood has suffered a perception that corporate misdeeds and their negative impact on society are very common. Companies that ignore that fact do themselves a disservice. On the other hand, the research shows different audiences to which it allows them to apply different Evaluation criteria: the public makes a big difference between business innovations driven solely by self-interest, for the benefit of a specific person, organization or industry, and those that take into account social welfare and the redistribution of rewards to society in general. People prefer that companies serve the highest purpose of caring for customers, employees, suppliers and local communities, as well as profit. Unfortunately,according to Stone and other current filmmakers, they only see businesses doing just the opposite.
Barton, D. (2011) points out that all parties continue to consider capitalism to be the best system to generate prosperity. But there is also the feeling that if the errors that generated the crisis are not corrected and the system fails once again, the social contract between capitalism and the citizenry will end up being broken, which will surely lead to a series of unpredictable and very dangerous results.. Furthermore, the dialogue between the parties has allowed us to glimpse the profound reform that capitalism must undergo. In fact, we must move from quarterly capitalism to long-term capitalism. This change not only has to do with taking the next generation into account when thinking and acting, but it also has to do with a change in mentality. This reform involves three fundamental elements. First,business and finance must avoid short-termism, as well as assume new incentives and structures that guide the organization in the long term. Second, executives must promote in their organizations the idea that safeguarding the interest of the various parts that make up the company (employees, suppliers, customers, creditors, communities, the environment) does not have to be at odds with maximizing value; on the contrary, it is essential. Third, public companies must increase the capacity of their boards to govern as they were owners, as this will avoid the evils associated with dispersed ownership.executives should promote in their organizations the idea that safeguarding the interest of the various parts that make up the company (employees, suppliers, clients, creditors, communities, the environment) does not have to be at odds with maximizing value; on the contrary, it is essential. Third, public companies must increase the capacity of their boards to govern as they were owners, as this will avoid the evils associated with dispersed ownership.executives should promote in their organizations the idea that safeguarding the interest of the various parts that make up the company (employees, suppliers, clients, creditors, communities, the environment) does not have to be at odds with maximizing value; on the contrary, it is essential. Third, public companies must increase the capacity of their boards to govern as they were owners, as this will avoid the evils associated with dispersed ownership.since this will allow to avoid the evils linked to a dispersed property.since this will allow to avoid the evils linked to a dispersed property.
Dach, L. (2013) points out that, for Walmart, the turning point was Hurricane Katrina. When the storm hit, they mobilized to provide food, emergency supplies, and cash. No internal debate was necessary - those were the obvious right things to do. But the experience opened their eyes to a broader opportunity to make a difference. Walmart has its best history these days. But the reason the story resonates is that it is a story of real change. So here's my advice: If a critical drumbeat kicks in against your company, don't be too quick to raise your voice above it. We must stop listening and commit to being better.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Barton, D. (2011). Capitalism for the Long Term. Harvard Business Review, March 2011, 85-91. Dach, L. (2013). Don't Spin a Better Story. Be a Better Company. Harvard Business Review, October 2013, 42. Gaines-Ross, L. (2010). Reputation Warfare. Harvard Business Review, December 2010, 70, 72'76. Kane, GC et al. (2009). Community Relations 2.0. Harvard Business Review, November 2009, 45-50. Mayzlin, D. et al. (2012). Who Gave that Hotel five Stars? The Concierge… Harvard Business Review, September 2012, 24. Tybout, M. and Roehm, M. (2009). Let the Response Fit the Scandal. Harvard Business Review, December 2009, 82, 84-88. Wiesenfeld, and Cattani, G. (2010). Business Through Hollywood's Lens. Harvard Business Review, October 2010, 146, 147.
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