Dear CEO’s: Your Company’s Reputation Matters
I was in the middle of writing a post on how our individual reputations as marketers in this industry truly matters and how small this industry can actually be; when I spotted a post over at 10,000 Marshmallows about a report done by Wal-Mart’s old agency GSD&M. The report said that Wal-Mart as a company suffered a lack of respect that could drive away shoppers. I then followed the link from 10,000 Marshmallows to a New York Times article that discussed the report even further.
In the Times article, they had a quote from a Wal-Mart representative who said,
“I’m afraid this particular piece of work is not very useful, not least because it’s now completely out of date and in some areas just plain wrong.”
Now I have never done any real research into Wal-Mart, but as a human being and a consumer, I would say that Wal-Mart absolutely suffers from a huge lack of respect in the marketplace.
My post here is not meant to bash Wal-Mart, there are already plenty of posts out there for that. The point I would like to make is that it seems to me there are so many companies and businesses out there that have terrible reputations and they seem to be doing nothing about it. Burying your head in the sand and pretending it is not there is not going to solve anything.
Based on my experience working with clients with a reputation issue, it seems the biggest problem they have is where to start. How do you start digging yourself out of that hole? My recommendation has always been fairly simple, start listening.
For the longest time, marketing has always been just a one way street. We have told our messages through multiple mediums and that was pretty much it. Today, I believe listening to what customers and consumers are saying and feeling is just as important as getting your message out. By listening, you can figure out what the issues and problems are and actually put together a plan on what can and should be solved and what cannot. It also can have a dramatic effect on how and where you market in the future.
I am going to shut up now and listen. 
Technorati Tags: reputations, marketers, GSD&M, Wal-Mart
Cord, thanks for the shout out!
-Steven
“I am going to shut up now and listen”.
Cord, it’s the CEO’s that need to listen. Many don’t.
JJ
I think reputation is one of the most important things when you are marketing and it doesn’t matter if you are a small business or a huge company.
You have to build truth and be honest, people don’t buy from who they don’t trust. If you have a good reputation and you begin to lose it, people begin to have doubts about you, then they look for a better place.
A reputation takes a long time to build but a few seconds to destroy. Never violate the truth between you and your customers.
If you listen to people, you can know what they want and how they want it. Therefore you can treat them in the way they want.
Brilliant post.
I have to wonder about WalMart. They have achieved an unbelievable scale in reach and growth. I wonder how much of their effort is on new market growth vs. churn or dealing with issues that impact their brand.
ie: they can continue to scale up and expand internationally for some time before having to deal with their image (and continue to show a profit)
I was just in a conversation with someone regarding WalMart and their brand and their image.
Yes, WalMart gets kicked around a lot. And in many ways, deservedly so. But they’re still continually successful. That’s because, I would surmise, is that those who buy from the company, are a lot less concerned about its labor practices or the company’s effects on small businesses in the local area than they are interested in buying things at a cheap price and having the convenience of the diversity of what the company offers.
Their brand is ‘cheap and convenient’…and that outweighs the negative image.
The company has become to big to listen effectively. Their forumla works…unfortunately. To listen and change may bring their profits down…anethema to Wall Street.
To counter problems, they put together commercials featuring a few ‘associates’, create fake blogs, and employ fake grassroots advocacy efforts. It often works.