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Report Card on Reputation

Part 1 of 2. See if your company has the foundation to have a great reputation.

A strong reputation increases the change of business success. Every company should plan and manage its desired reputation just like executing any other business activity.

In a previous article, we outlined the five "Drivers of Reputation" (link to article) that are the building blocks of your company's reputation. The drivers are identity, distinctiveness, focus, consistency, and transparency.

Use the following test to see if you have the foundational elements for a good reputation. Click "Show my results" at the end of the form for feedback from Atkinson Public Relations.

  What is it Give your company a '5' if... Give your company a '0' if... Your company's score
Identity Having a clear purpose and corporate DNA Has a mission and strong values that it reinforces constantly to employees (think Johnson & Johnson) Judges success solely on the bottom line
Distinctiveness Ability to distinguish yourself from your competition Can easily demonstrate a difference to prospective customers in terms of product, service, cost, and customer service Looks, sounds, and acts like every other business in the industry
Focus Knowing and building upon your strengths Spends most of its time on what it does best Often says "Sure. We can do that." to get business
Consistency Doing what you said you would do Sticks to a plan and keeps its promises to all constituencies Implements the "idea of the week" and goes back on its word
Transparency Seeing the inner workings of the company Encourages all parties to understand the company and how it works; is truthful when problems occur Keeps everyone in the dark or on a "need to know" basis and tries to cover up problems (think Enron)
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