Advanced Theory: Maintaining Reputation by Institutions. Business reputation of the company Maintaining reputation

Every business organization has a valuable tool in its arsenal that can contribute to business success. It's about about reputation. The company has it, like common man, has a dual nature. On the one hand, a good reputation will help establish new profitable relationships. On the other hand, bad company reputation will be a brake on development and an obstacle in the search for partners. It is important not only to have a good reputation, but also to be able to manage it.

Image and reputation of the company: what is the difference

To understand how to manage and what, it is necessary to dwell on the issue of terminology. The ambiguity of concepts sometimes threatens to confuse them, and this leads to the inability to lay the fundamental foundations of the company's reputation and manage it competently. More often than not, the concept of reputation is confused with image.

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Image- this is a manipulative, attractive image that affects the emotional and mental sphere of a person.

In accordance with the definition, the image has a number of characteristics that reflect its figurativeness and emotional and psychological orientation:

• the impact on the emotional sphere entails a response expressed by a strong emotion;
• human consciousness creates an ideal object;
• there are no strict criteria for measurement, the image is evaluated by the relationships that arise when communicating, making a choice or in the process of activity;
• since this is an image, it has the integrity and unambiguity of the structure, does not contradict common ideas;
• this is not a static structure, so the image requires “feeding” through advertising, various promotions;
• despite the finite list of components, it is a construction that is difficult to perceive, which leads to unpredictable reactions to it;
• a pragmatic approach implies the focus of the image on individual tasks and their solution in a specific situation and company policy;
• it is intangible, but it has real consequences;
• the variability of the structure makes it possible to make adjustments - the image has a dynamic nature.

The most important task of the image is to form a positive attitude towards someone or something.

Today you can often hear about the business reputation of a company, because it is a very important component in business, and everyone gives their own definition of this concept. In South Florida, specialists from the University have collected without one of fifty author's definitions presented in books and articles since the beginning of the century. If we analyze all these definitions, then they can be reduced to three groups, which will give a general look of what reputation is:

• a generalized view of the work of the organization without a thorough analysis and evaluation;
• attitude towards the enterprise, formed by personal experience, knowledge of other people or the results of sociological research;
• an object of non-physical nature, which is the property of the company and is expressed in economic terms.

Based on the above classification, let's deal with the main definitions and the objects hiding under them.

Company image is an image created by the target groups, emotionally colored and reflecting their opinion about the company.

Corporate reputation- this is the opinion of consumers about the enterprise, formed not permanently and supported by expert studies of the main branches of the organization (economics, ecology, social sphere).

Reputational Capital- the amount that corresponds to the monetary equivalent of an intangible object of business - reputation.

Reputation arises from the experience of direct interaction of consumers with the company. It is important to have assessments, reasoned evidence, reasonable opinions and analyzes of qualified specialists. The image is more superficial, because, by virtue of its emotional nature, it is based on impressions. Reputation is what is hidden behind the image, like a face hidden under a mask. Both of these categories have their own special task, therefore, when properly managed, they help and form a friendly tandem.

An image is an emotion that can turn into a value - a reputation. When a client trusts an organization and sees it as a conscientious and responsible partner, then we are talking about reputation and the corporate capital it represents. Achieving this is a great success for the company, so it is necessary to understand how to create a reputation for the company at the proper level and how to maintain it.

Why your company needs a positive reputation like air

The Company carries out its activities in accordance with the interests of customers and other objects of interaction. And the sphere of these interests can be different: they have a political, economic, spiritual, legal coloring, etc.

The company's business will be successful if the issue of organizing relationships both within the company and with external opponents is correctly raised. The achievement of the existing tasks will directly depend on how flexible the network of interactions and feedback is built.

In the course of this activity, such tasks as the formation of a positive image, the establishment of long-term cooperation with customers, partners and suppliers, as well as the creation of a reputation for a company that brings benefits and results, are solved.

A good reputation helps in the following:

• the offered products and services gain psychological value;
• search for new customers among competing enterprises;
• attracting qualified employees to the company and improving the working conditions of existing employees;
• increasing sales and advertising effectiveness, which means working to establish relationships with suppliers, advertising agents, buyers and partners;
• accumulation of savings in the stock market and resistance to the crisis.

The value of a company's business reputation is huge, so it plays a crucial role in the life of the company. However, not many enterprises have a system to protect and enhance the reputation of the company.

The manager should not forget that the success of his enterprise in the market largely depends on a positively formed reputation.

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Formation of a positive reputation of the company

Reputation doesn't come out of nowhere. It is based on real successes and special conditions companies. Building a reputation takes time and money. This is a risky, lengthy and complex process with no guarantees. It is necessary to approach such an event responsibly and professionally, continuously and comprehensively, using modern technologies. In this case, the reputation will work for the company and bring it a lot of money: customers will pay for guarantees backed by reputation.

Most of the company's assets are usually expressed in intangible equivalent - this is the business reputation of the company, its leaders, brand. Coca-Cola has only 4% of real assets, the remaining 96% is its business reputation. The example shows that something that has no calculus in the material world can bring tangible benefits, expressed in considerable amounts. In such a situation, the issue of systematization, clarification of concepts and strengthening of their positions is not the last place.

Renome is an integral element of business, and it is important to make sure that its formation does not happen by itself. If you do not let this process take its course and maintain a good reputation for the company, then the attitude towards it will be at a high level.

Graham Dowling, professor of marketing at the Australian School of Management, author of the book “Reputation of the firm. Creation, management and efficiency mark», claims (and this is confirmed in practice) that the organization has as many reputations as target groups. And with each of them, the company must maintain a relationship that satisfies both the needs of the audience and the needs of the company. There are four target groups:

1. Regulatory.

This group includes managing and governmental organizations, shareholders - all those who establish the norms and rules for the functioning of the enterprise. These institutions also carry out valuation activities and may limit the activities of the firm. Bad in this case can become an obstacle to work to the fullest. With a good reputation, the life of the enterprise is simplified due to the support of regulatory authorities, new opportunities and ways of development appear.

2. Functional.

The daily maintenance of the company is carried out by the performers of actions. These are groups of suppliers, employees, service departments and all those who, through their work, make the functioning of the company possible. Since these groups are the backbone, hands and brains of the enterprise, the creation of a corporate one plays an important role. The team must be interested in their work, share the policy and values ​​of the company. All this forms a corporate spirit that affects the opinions of other groups that influence from the outside. These functional groups are especially important in the process of corporate governance.

3. Diffuse.

These groups are engaged in the protection of human rights and bring together various interest organizations ("green", for example), media people, local communities. They have little interest in a company with a good reputation. However, friendly relations with target groups of a diffuse nature will reduce losses in adverse circumstances and crisis situations. Such allies help in interacting with the outside world and provide some guarantee of security in the event that the guilt of the enterprise is acceptable to the diffuse group.

4. Consumer.

Represented by customers grouped into separate groups according to their needs. Graham Dowling notes that in every company they should be given special attention and differentiated in accordance with consumer expectations. The task of the enterprise is not to ignore any of the target groups, which are the main source of profit for the company. It is not necessary to explain what role is assigned to the organization in cooperation with consumer groups.

In accordance with the considered groups, it builds in several stages:

1. The stage of studying and identifying the target groups of the company. This is the stage when the reputational foundation of the enterprise is laid.

2. Identification with the help of surveys, questionnaires, focus groups, how representatives of target audiences relate to the organization. To create an attractive image, a company must meet several conditions: first, understand how they want to see it target groups and then match what you want with the actual image. The smaller the difference between these looks, the more effectively the company's business reputation is managed. To achieve this, you need to professionally approach the issue of reputation and be able to manage it and its individual elements in market conditions.

3. Definition marketing tools , which will become assistants in solving the problem. These media include advertising, interpersonal communication, PR, presentations and the like.

The whole process of creating and improving the company's reputation can be summarized in the formula "action + communication". These types of activities are added to the object of the enterprise - its intangible, but having an economic equivalent of a reputation.

It would be appropriate to quote Henry Ford that “reputation cannot be built on intentions to do something”. How the company is seen by its target groups depends on the quality of work with the reputation of the company and on the improvement of opinion about it. This process is continuous and result-oriented.

Specialists in PR-promotion and creating an attractive reputation for business identify three of its mandatory conditions, “ Three whales»:

1. High quality products, proper attitude to the client and competent behavior of employees.
2. The attribute of any company is a clearly formulated mission, correlated with a socially significant idea that conveys the essence of its activities.
3. Loyalty to the firm government agencies And public organizations, the attitude towards it in the media.

To fulfill these conditions, the company faces the task of activating all channels for broadcasting positive information about its activities. It must reach the target groups in full.

It is necessary to operate with an effective brand, cultural managerial and corporate policy, a high level of ideological motivation of employees, the volume of cash turnover, the size of the market as a whole, the potential of competitors, etc.

Principle building a positive reputation is Firstly, in a constantly maintained live dialogue with opponents, Secondly, in pursuit of broad information openness, including those that do not recognize national borders.

The impeccable reputation of the company is an important aspect of successful business. If there is a need to sell an enterprise, its value can vary greatly depending on how high its reputation is. For the buyer taking possession ready business, it will be natural to check the reputation base of the organization before closing the deal.

Assessment of the company's business reputation

Reputation is included in the scope of both marketing and financial groups specialists. It is the special services that are able to calculate the value of the reputation of the enterprise. However, they use different methods of calculation, due to which the results vary. The value of the reputation of a Russian company is understood as the difference between the purchase price of an organization and the book value of all its assets and liabilities.

According to IFRS, goodwill, or goodwill(goodwill) - the difference between the price that buyers paid for the company and the so-called fair value - a value that often differs significantly from the value of the company's assets.

Despite the differences in approaches, both methods provide an accessible and complete picture of the company's reputational capital. The real value of the reputation can be found out only after the sale of the enterprise. The price can change its indicator and from factors that are insignificant for it, so it is impossible to reliably guess the result.

There is a marketing method for calculating the current value of an organization's reputational assets - an expert assessment. It is carried out using various methods and taking into account various aspects.

You can evaluate business reputation using the excess profits method. Its essence is this:

1. The difference between the available profit and the revenue from the unbranded product results in the company's profit from using the brand.
2. This result must be multiplied by a special coefficient, which is calculated taking into account factors such as, for example, the level of leadership of the company in the industry represented or the strength of its finances.
3. As a result of the described operations, the value of the brand is obtained, which represents the lion's share of the entire reputation of the enterprise.

There are also indirect ways to assess the company's reputation, for example, through surveys formulated taking into account the results of testing directors and managers of the organization. This helps to collect information about the quality of products and services, the work of the management department and the financial well-being of the company. Such a survey will clarify the state of assets, suggest methods for retaining and searching for experienced employees, and reveal the level of social policy and nature protection.

Building a reputation and managing it is a continuous and complex process that requires a serious attitude and a competent distribution of responsibilities. The opinion about the company is formed not only depending on its communicative achievements in external environment, but also in accordance with the corporate atmosphere in the entire team: from the smallest positions to the top management. In market conditions, the loss of a company's reputation can be equated to a complete fiasco in business.

In order to avoid losses, it is worth taking a closer look at possible reputational risks and learning how to prevent them.

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Possible reputational risks and ways to eliminate them

Reputational risks include such types of risk that can negatively affect the company's image, its interactions with other participants in the relationship. With the right approach and timely recognition of threats, a firm can avoid many adverse conditions. This is the work of special risk managers who are responsible for the reputation of the organization: they manage and shape it, identify and prevent threats, and maintain the image. Qualified reputation management will improve the material level of the company and facilitate the process of doing business.

To defend yourself, it is desirable to know your enemy by sight. Therefore, in order to create a successful reputation, it is important to understand what types of risks can hurt business.

1. Corporate risks.

This is the most common group of risks that can affect absolutely any aspect of the company's activities: sales, production, analytics, company management. Such risks may arise throughout the work of an individual subject of business relations. The risk manager makes sure that all risk-prone areas are securely protected. Production in environmentally friendly conditions, holding socially significant and charitable events, maintaining social activities are all examples of what is happening. Thus, having a beneficial effect on various areas life and maintaining the correct course of internal processes, the company creates an image for itself.

2. Global risks.

They are able to inflict a larger scale. These are factors that can disrupt the operation of an entire area of ​​the enterprise. However, they will only be risks if they are suddenly identified. An example of a factor that can negatively affect the image of a company is the negative attitude of society towards it due to the destructive actions of the enterprise in relation to human life. If such factors are discovered unexpectedly, then there are reputational risks that entail significant losses for the organization.

3. Local risks.

This is the last group of risks that threaten entire departments and, when the leaders of the enterprise or its top managers overestimate their authority, they begin to commit actions that are not approved by society or participate in reprehensible actions. Actions of this kind will not play into the hands of the organization and will lead to a decrease in loyalty and reputation.

The task of the leader is to win over the audience, and for this it is necessary to create a favorable opinion about the employees of the company. For this purpose, a reward system is used: bonuses, wage increases and other similar promotions can reduce the possible number of risks.

In addition to working on risk prevention, it is necessary to be able to form and secure firms at a high level, as well as to understand why it is important.

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Restoring the company's reputation

According to statistics, for the beneficial and productive activities of the organization, it is necessary to undertake a considerable number of operations that are not limited directly to the sphere of production.

It has been proven that if a company does not track the attitude of buyers towards its product, then the level of reputation can drop to a negative indicator. With a timely address to this issue, you can not only save your reputation in the eyes of the public, but also increase income by eliminating shortcomings and shortcomings.

When analyze reputation factors, they are subdivided into groups by data source, or at classes of subjective and objective character. Do not forget that factors of an external subjective nature are entrusted to specialists who have an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bpsychological concepts. Besides, this work is ongoing, and it is usually impossible to achieve this by the company's forces.

Using data from the analysis of internal and external factors, the organization can independently compare its products with analogues of competing firms. You can also conduct surveys among employees about their attitude to their work, to management team and offered products.

Moreover, a survey of the company's personnel is no less effective than third-party observations. Therefore, do not neglect the opinion of the state in matters of how to save and strengthen the reputation. This part of the work does not present any particular difficulties and can be performed by the efforts of the enterprise itself.

Issues of protection formed outside its walls are solved by qualified employees. These are specialists familiar with analytics, sociology and mass psychology. It is to them that management delegates the responsibility for protecting and managing loyalty to the company.

Reputation protection from the outside consists in viewing the published information material for the mention of the company in it. Next, work is carried out to analyze the collected information in order to identify third-party loyalty to the organization.

Working with the reputation of the masses is not an easy task and requires special skills and abilities. Experts do not advise trying to maintain and correct your reputation on your own, especially a neglected one. Working with public opinion is a task that is within the power of trained professionals who can avoid unforeseen situations and losses. Delegate these responsibilities to them - The best way save business reputation.

Social groups have their own opinion: it consists of their expectations, assessments, desires and needs. Depending on all this, the reputation of both individuals and legal entities. Instability is also associated with the occasional need to protect reputation. According to statistics, about 70% of companies expanding their business face the problem of protecting or restoring business reputation. As with analysis, its restoration is possible with the help of the Internet.

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Restoring a company's reputation: 5 methods

Restoring reputation is a matter that does not accept universality. Experts advise in each case to find the right combination of methods.

Method 1. Tell the truth and obey.

Sometimes such situations are created when hidden information can do much harm in the future if it becomes known. Honesty in this case will reduce losses and prevent possible problems. Such a decision should be taken only if the guilt of the company is obvious.

The main management and the first person of the company in these circumstances publicly inform the audience about what happened and their further actions. It is often enough to make a public apology and say that the situation that tarnished the reputation will not happen again.

Method 2. Support the reputation financially.

It's no secret that high price justified with a good reputation, and low price follows a negative opinion about the firm. Price reduction is a good way to win back and attract customers. At the same time, you can see the cost of lost reputation.

Method 3. Distract attention.

The emphasis is shifting to other topics that are relevant to the public. Information that has nothing to do with the problem situation is disseminated through information channels. You can also divert attention to another company.

This method must be used with caution: there will come a time when the public will ask the company why it hasn't spoken up about the problem. This can seriously damage your reputation.

Usage this method perhaps when there is a negative opinion about the enterprise public opinion. Distracting attention should be according to a clearly calculated plan, otherwise there is a threat to aggravate the situation. Poorly thought-out presentation of information can lead the public to suspect the company of deliberately avoiding the problem.

Method 4. Restore reputation in parts.

In this case, the reputation is restored gradually, among a part of the target audience. Suppose, out of 10 business partners, contact is established with three to begin with. Relations with them must be built with the utmost care, because their attitude towards the company will change the reputation. And at one point they will tell others about the company.

Method 5. Compensate for negative information with positive information.

This method was applied in one of the Russian companies. When it became necessary to significantly reduce the number of employees, the director publicly announced this decision and its reasons. At the same time, centers were opened for retraining personnel and supporting regional business, financed from the organization's funds.

Another way to restore your reputation is to do charity work. With this, it is necessary to behave carefully and act in accordance with the main idea and strategy of the enterprise. Otherwise, competitors may suspect that the firm's goal is to withdraw funds from the main business.

Whichever method is used, maintenance remains a laborious and troublesome task. Therefore, it is worth making efforts to be able to maintain it at the proper level, rather than then restore it.

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Restoring a company's online reputation

How is business reputation restored? Bad information is replaced by positive material. There are instructions on how to do this.

Step #1. We analyze the results of the issuance and see what they “say” about us on the network.

On this stage you can analyze the first two dozen sites in the search results and break them down into groups:

1. First group. Sites that are cleaned of negativity and left in the TOP. Then there is continuous work to monitor negative reviews. The emerging negative requires prompt removal.
2. Second group. Sites that do not allow participation in moderation, but can delete the entire bad thread.
3. Third group. Those sites that need to be removed from the TOP of the search. These are resources on which there is no possibility to either moderate or delete information.

Not all sites are collaborating. Some resources will give an answer in an official form, which can only worsen the situation.

Others will make contact in person, and the owner usually does not advertise his data. Some resources are more willing to support the dialogue. There is a practice of "removing" bad reviews for money.

Step #2. We form the desired type of output results.

The desired view is formed from the reputation requests of a particular company. It is important that the built list looks as natural as possible. Before that, you should make sure that the TOP-10 contains resources with various information.

Ideally, the top 10 search results should consist of the following resources:

1. Corporate website and pages in social networks - at least 2 positions out of 10.
2. Review sites that are moderated by the agency and on which negatives cannot be posted - at least 4, maximum 6 positions out of 10.
3. Mentions of the company's activities in the media (press releases, news, articles, interviews) - at least 2, maximum 4 positions out of 10.

Step #3. We create new branches on review sites.

Branches are created in advance, which are used to replace the removed, negative ones. Within three months after a new thread is posted, it is supplemented with reviews, both positive and pseudo-negative and neutral. Their ratio is as follows: 25% positive/ 65% neutral/ 10% pseudo-negative.

Step number 4. We take control of several sites from the TOP-10.

During the control, clearly exaggerated and inappropriate reviews are subject to removal. The rest of the negativity is extinguished through an official answer directly in the thread.

Step number 5. We organize PR publications.

PR publications create information base work. If every month you place in the media information that helps restore the company's reputation on the network, then in less than six months you can see the result.

But the Internet is not always able to correct the situation, so the protection of reputation is not limited to cyberspace. Companies carefully monitor what is happening in real life.

TOP 10 companies with the best reputation at the beginning of 2017

The ReputationInstitute presented its annual rating world companies with the best reputation for 2016.

1st place - Rolex.

Rolex is a world famous Swiss watch and accessories company. The volume of their production has more than half a million items per year. For centuries, Rolex watches have served as a symbol of wealth, luxury and success. Their reputation stands up to serious competition. Interesting fact that the company has become popular since the registration of the brand. Since then, they have been an invariable attribute of a person who has taken place in life.

2 place– The Walt Disney Company.

The children's cartoon and movie company is now a conglomerate. Today, her influence has expanded into many areas of entertainment (Entertainment):

• theme parks around the world (France, China, USA);
• water parks;
• own television and radio companies;
• personal cable networks.

3rd place - Google.

The specialization of this American company is search engines on the Internet. Main office located in Mountain View, California.

4th place - BMW Group.

The company is among the leading car manufacturers in the world. BMW vehicles are renowned for their cutting-edge engineering and commitment to excellence. The first engineers of the company paid special attention to the car engine, so it changed its characteristics from generation to generation.

5th place - Daimler.

German Automobile Corporation, Vehicle and engines.

6th place - LEGO.

Beloved by children around the world, the construction set is so popular that it has left the likes of Hasbro and Barbie behind.

7th place - Microsoft.

Market leader in manufacturing software.

8th place - Canon.

The firm was at the forefront of the Japanese photography business and has now grown into large corporation. Photo equipment makes up a small percentage of all its products. Canon specializes in the creation of office equipment.

9th place -Sony.

A multinational corporation with a diversified business, it is primarily engaged in the production of professional and semi-professional electrical equipment. In addition to the production of refrigerators, televisions and other devices, the company provides financial and entertainment services.

10th place - Apple.

The products of the American company are known all over the world: these are tablets, phones, computers, players and even software. One of the reasons for such popularity Apple Inc. is the presence of its own innovative technologies.

The gap between the leaders is minimal - a few tenths of a point. Apple has dropped from 7th to 10th place since 2014. In addition, Microsoft returned to the list, and Intel left it, which entered the TOP 10 for the first time in 2015.

GlobalRepTrak is based on 7 main categories: products and services, innovation, financial achievement, leadership, management, responsibility and working conditions. The leaders in these indicators were 4 companies: Apple, Disney, Google and Rolex. This year, Google has wrested the measure of financial success from Apple, leaving Apple with the measure of leadership and innovation. It is also believed that Better conditions labor created by Google.

Information aspects of corporate construction
According to American studies, since the mid-1980s, it has become obvious that a company with a good corporate reputation is significantly ahead of its competitors in terms of sales, attracting investments, hiring the best professionals and maintaining its credibility. Today, thanks to a good reputation, it is possible to increase the likelihood of concluding optimal strategic alliances, to protect the company both from attacks by the press and from the arbitrariness of officials.

Reputation or image?

The concepts of "reputation" and "image" are often confused even by specialists. Let's try to clarify the difference between them.

Corporate reputation- this is a complex perception by employees, customers, partners, competitors, the media and the public of the values, mission, business strategy, goods and services of the company. Corporate reputation is the affective or emotional response of these audiences to your organization. Since reputation is out of control, it is very difficult to manipulate, and it depends on the company's ability to:

Directly control perception;

Build strong relationships with key audiences, as well as from the indirect influence of rumors and bringing them to the attention of stakeholders, such as analysts and journalists.

Image- this is, in fact, the impression of the company that advertising creates. Despite the fact that the image is based on the essential characteristics of the company, its products and services, it can change sooner or later.

A company needs to have a reputation that is stable and receptive to changing reality, able to withstand a scandal or an attack by ill-wishers. This is not quite what traditionally belongs to the field of PR and advertising. A stronger infrastructure is needed to maintain reputation.

Market value of reputation

You can evaluate the reputation of a company by analyzing how much a third party could pay for the right to use a particular brand. Take the example of a fashion house Pierre Cardin. In 1988, sales of the company's products amounted to about $ 2 billion. And Pierre Cardin earned $ 75 million from the sale of the right to use his brand.

There is another way to evaluate reputation. Let's take as an axiom the favorite rule of financiers: "The value of securities on the market reflects all the information about the brand, as well as the company's prospects." In this context, one speaks of the company's goodwill, defined as the excess market price of the company's shares, that is, the amount by which the company's market value exceeds the liquidation value of its assets involved in production and sales. According to research Ernst & Young 40% of the market value of an average company is based on its non-financial assets and reputation.

IMC as a reputation management tool

The main factors determining the company's reputation are financial and economic indicators, attentive attitude to employees, responsibility towards society, transparency for the media and interested audiences. Taken together, all methods of working with key audiences are integrated Marketing communications(IMC). IMC- this is the process of managing all sources of information about a product / service or the company itself, which are at the disposal of a client, potential investor or any other interested person.

To maintain a reputation, you need:

Strict coordination and subordination of company employees.

The information policy for interaction with the outside world should be unified in all departments, branches and divisions of the company. It should be coordinated by one person person (or body) at the level of top management of the company.

The company must have a universal and uniform selection for all information materials: Messages must not contradict each other. Whether such unity exists can be determined only by practicing the collection of information materials in all areas. In the course of such an audit in one of the firms, it was revealed that in a number of printed materials its old name is still used. And in a Chicago healthcare company, it turned out that the marketing department was constantly creating new key messages and publishing them simply because they had nothing to do.

Information interaction with employees

There are a number of internal audiences that directly affect reputation. "Vanguard Reputation Squad" (as Davis Young, president of one of America's oldest PR firms) Edward Howard & Co) are the employees of the company. Management needs to develop internal politics aimed at developing their understanding of the value of the good name of the company. Warren Bufe, company president Salomon Brothers, once told his employees: "If the company loses money because you make the wrong decision, I will treat it with understanding. But if the company loses its reputation because of you, I will be merciless."

In information interaction with employees, the key messages are: trust in the company, delegation of authority, pride in the company.

1. Trust in the company

Today, the growth of trust is promoted by:

Timely and constant communication;

Demonstrating trust in employees (for example, spreading both good and bad news);

Involving employees in resolving problem situations, finding out their opinions.

2. Delegation of authority due to the need to increase the speed of the company's response. Reducing the middle levels of management in organizations increases the responsibility of employees for decisions. Company IBM makes significant efforts to increase the autonomy of various levels of the structure of the corporation. For example: the powers of managers are expanded to such an extent that they are ordered to increase sales "by all means" and pay bonuses and commissions for this.

3. Pride in the company

To form the image of an "honest" company in the minds of the staff and convey key messages to it, the following intra-organizational communications are used: a news sheet, a bulletin for managers, annual reports of employees (an analogue of an annual report for shareholders), bulletin boards, a company web page on the Internet, general meetings employees.

Working with shareholders and investors

Most studies show that investors evaluate a company in terms of its profitability, stability, debt amounts, and based on this they judge its attractiveness.

1. High profits

What better predictor of a company's future than its profits? According to research, investors prefer to invest in stocks of companies with a good reputation, whose income is low, but stable.

2. Stability

To assess the degree of risk of investing in a particular company, you can analyze the constancy of its profits over recent years. The less stable the returns, the higher the risk. Companies that do not meet the expectations of investors lose their positions in the market, and also partially lose their reputation.

3. Growth prospects

rating agencies such as Moody's Standard and Poor's help to assess the merits various companies in terms of their investment attractiveness. Analysts first study balance sheets, compare the assets and liabilities of the company and its industry peers, the dynamics of the company's shares, credit rating, study market conditions and development prospects of each industry, take into account political situation in the countries where the company operates. And then, based on these data, they give recommendations on the shares of a particular company.

4. Financial transparency

The reputation of the company is positively affected by the prompt disclosure of all information that may affect the price of its shares. To maintain relationships with investors, the company needs to conduct a comprehensive program of financial communications.

Analysts require figures and their interpretation; and financial media - positive and negative news and sensations related to the company, as well as the announcement of financial results.

Information interaction with clients

The most important factors in maintaining a company's reputation among customers include: quality products, the primary role of the consumer, a strong brand.

1. Maintain product awareness

The company must constantly take care to inform customers (existing and potential) about their product. To do this, there is such a tool as the organization of special events. For example, well-known politicians and businessmen are invited to the laying of a new vessel, which improves the reputation of the shipyard among consumers. Personal meetings with consumers, for example, an invitation to dinner or a presentation, allow supplier companies to get to know customers better, find out their plans, and vice versa. Sponsorship can also support awareness of an existing product. For example, an oil company LUKoil producing, among other things, engine oils, is a sponsor of car racing, thereby reminding the public of its product and its high quality.

2. Communication with dealers and distributors needs to be supported at every stage life cycle goods. When working with a product on the market, it is very important to follow the correct sequence of informing target audiences about it, as well as about strategic plans companies. For example, information about the release of a new product should first reach dealers and distributors, and only then potential buyers. Dealers and distributors also need to be notified of the success (or failure) after a product launch, as they too have a vested interest in the progress of the new endeavor.

Companies with products that are well received by customers rely on a simple and logical strategy: they keep in touch with customers. Toll-free telephone lines mean that customers' wishes are heard and their complaints and problems are resolved without delay. Regular customer surveys allow companies to identify sources of dissatisfaction and develop tactical solutions.

Information interaction with the public

Key messages in public outreach include being a good corporate citizen, working for the good of society, and protecting the environment.

Being a good corporate citizen means a company management strategy where managers make decisions, develop systems and implement programs that reflect their commitment. ethical principles communities. For example, the president oil company ARCO, spends a third of his working time supporting education, fighting drugs and helping ethnic minorities. The University of California conducted a study among 156 companies that showed that morale and responsibility are 3 times higher among employees of companies that actively help the community through sponsorship and charitable initiatives.

The company must have a well-developed reputation management strategy and trained personnel who support this valuable asset of the company day in and day out.

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Brand reputation- this is a set of fixed judgments about him on the basis of criteria that are significant for the target audience (honesty, responsibility, decency). Reputation involves an analytical approach in forming an opinion and is based on reliable knowledge and assessments. Most often, this is supported own experience consumer.

Reputation is a dynamic process in which strategic objectives of the company calculated for the long term. Reputation depends on how and by what methods entrepreneurial activity companies. It reflects the deep economic and social characteristics of the brand.

Why is reputation important?

Reputation is equally important for every socialized object - from a person to an international company.

According to research, more than 60% of investors consider brand reputation as one of the main factors in shaping its value. Reputation can provide from 20 to 80% of the shareholder value of the company, representing the real asset of the company. Reputation is slowly formed, but, unlike tangible assets, is relatively stable and is not subject to market price fluctuations.

reputation significantly affects the sales performance of branded products. 87% of people who shop online are sure to ask for company reviews before buying a product. 73% of consumers are more likely to trust a company if the majority of its reviews are positive. 80% of online shoppers cancel their order after reading a negative brand review. Reputation is sometimes referred to as "credibility" - 62% of consumers believe that a company with a good reputation will not produce poor quality products.

At the same time, reputation is important to a company. when hiring employees. Potential employees are always looking for information about a future employer. 67% of professionals turn down a job offer because of a brand's bad corporate reputation.

A good company reputation helps to attract new customers and retain existing ones, increase investment inflow and sales efficiency. Long term reputation supports the company in the event of economic difficulties due to loyal customers.

Brand reputation and image

Quite often, consumers and even brand leaders equate the concept of "image" and "reputation". In fact, image is a component of reputation and has other prerequisites for its formation.

Acquaintance of the consumer with the brand begins with interaction with the components of the corporate identity - this is a means of objective positioning. When these elements are perceived, an image is formed in the human mind - this is an ideal image that is created by the brand to create a certain impression of the company in the minds of the target audience. Thus, image is an artificially created opinion among certain group of people. Its task is to create a positive image of the brand among the audience.

Unlike the image reputation cannot be created need to earn. Reputation can be thought of as the response or reaction of the public to a company's policy. Reputation building takes place throughout the life of the brand and works for the long term. If the image depends on external characteristics, then reputation depends on a holistic perception of both internal and external qualities of the brand.

What is reputation management

For the effective implementation of brand reputation management, a reputation strategy. This program defines a set of measures for the formation of a positive reputation and mechanisms for their implementation.

Who is in charge of brand reputation management?

Brand reputation management brand managers. A company may have its own or hired specialists who develop a comprehensive strategy for building a reputation. In creating a reputation strategy and its immediate implementation, the main officials companies.

Brand reputation management strategies

Formation of reputation at the expense of the first persons and top managers of the company

In many cases reputation of the head of the company is inextricably linked to brand reputation. A public leader commands the respect of both potential customers and consumers, as well as partners and employees. A recognizable person inspires confidence in the company, confidence in its professionalism and respect. Such a leader will serve as a strong motivation for other employees who will also work to improve the brand's reputation.

More about personal branding read our article.

A strong team as the basis for building a reputation

This aspect of reputation management is most important for those organizations that provide various expert services or technology solutions. For example, in branding agencyKoloro Several specialists are working on the creation of the brand - a project manager, a designer, a marketer, a copywriter. All of them are responsible for different aspects of the work. Productivity and quality of work is supported by effective communication between all responsible employees.

Careful study of the mission and philosophy of the company

A brand philosophy based on core virtues helps shape the image responsible, decent or honest company. Over time, if the image is reinforced with appropriate events, it will turn into a positive brand reputation.

Emphasis on the strengths of the company

The easiest way to manage reputation is through such brand value as quality(products or services). It effectively increases loyalty existing clients and attract new ones. In addition, the quality is easy to check (by trying or giving it for analysis) or test (by ordering a service).

As an advantage of the company, you can use years of experience in the provision of services and indicators successful implementation projects. A big plus in favor of building a positive reputation will be confirmation of the quality of work by certificates and participation in international competitions or exhibitions.

Financial stability can also be used as one of the components of a reputation strategy. This will help to gain the trust of investors and partners, potential employees.

Corporate social responsibility of the company

It is important to take into account not only the interests of the company, but also society - from suppliers to ordinary employees. Care and concern of the company about its employees plays an important role in shaping the reputation of the brand. By voluntarily taking responsibility for improving the quality of life of its employees and society as a whole, the brand gains additional advantages, especially against the background of inactive competitors.

The best results can be achieved by integrating at least two or three strategies in the company at the same time. Special attention should be paid corporate identity development, which is closely related to brand reputation. Specialists of the branding agency Koloro develop the name, slogan, logo and other elements corporate identity.

Reputation management technologies

To achieve the above strategies, the following technologies can and should be used.

Organization of special events and promotions

It is a powerful tool for attracting public attention. This includes the organization of exhibitions, presentations, fairs, participation in conferences or seminars, competitions, social events.

This helps to implement several reputation management strategies at once. A public leader who confidently speaks about the merits of a brand at a conference will attract new partners and customers. A strong team of employees represented at the competition will show the professionalism of the company.

Plays an important role carrying out social actions- they best show the responsibility of the company.

Every day, thousands of workers traveled from South Asia to Dubai to get jobs to support their families. The cost of a call abroad is $0.91/minute, while the average wage- $6/day. Workers were unable to contact their families regularly. In 2014, Coca-Cola launched a promotion helloHappinessphoneBooth. A special machine accepted caps from cola bottles (can cost $0.68) and provided 3 free minutes for calls abroad, allowing workers to save money.

Strengthening internal corporate relations

Patriotism of workers in relation to their company also contributes to strengthening the reputation. The following activities will help build a strong team:

• association of employees for achieving one goal: the formation of common values;
• support high level professionalism: development of employees through trainings, seminars;
• employee motivation and formation of corporate culture;
• support favorable atmosphere for the work of all specialists;
• understanding between employees;
• implementation elementscorporate identity .

Business-to-business (B2B) communications

Interaction with partners should be based on conscientiousness implementation of agreements and transparency cooperation goals. Reputation building in the business environment depends on rational brand leaders and their thoughtful decisions.

Media relations

Competently built press relations to a large extent influence the attitude of the public towards the brand. From time to time it is worth holding press conferences, inviting several representatives of the media to them. A good relationship with the press are not as important for building a positive reputation as they are for preventing negative reviews towards the company. Therefore, journalists should be supplied in a timely manner necessary information about the activities of the company.

Do you want to know more about creating an ideal image and building a reputation? Subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of the page and call by phone - we will be happy to advise you on all your questions! Do not forget to order the development of corporate identity from us - this is the foundation for building the reputation of your brand!

Introduction. 3

1. Order for the implementation of the project. 4

1.1 Application for a project. 4

1.2 Refinement of the order for the project. 6

2. Maintaining the reputation of the company and the manager. eleven

Conclusion. 12

References.. 13

Introduction.

This topic covers the manager's activities that go beyond the time frame of the LCPE. The first stage of activity begins the project, and it ends with the approval of resources for development. Taking into account the goals of the customer (profit from development, guarantee of execution) and the goals of the manager (maximizing the benefits from the order), the tasks of the latter consist of two main components

· Convince the customer of the need for development;

· Demonstrate your own ability to complete the project.

For different projects, the importance of these subtasks is different, but even if there is a clear need for development, the manager must provide a compelling motivation about how the project should be developed. It is quite an ordinary situation when the customer only feels the need for a new software product, but does not at all imagine the level of necessary costs, priorities and other defining moments. On the other hand, if the customer announces a competition for development, then more clear, formalized requirements for software appear, but on the other hand, the rigid framework of the competition limits the possibilities of proposals for the manager. The only optimal way out of the current situation is the ability to convince the customer that the objectives of the task and the ways to solve them that you propose:

Fully satisfy the customer;

· Acceptable (or even maximally acceptable) in terms of development costs;

· Provide minimal risk project failure.

· As a result, they will have tangible market prospects.

This is one of the sides of pre-project interaction with the customer. The other one is to convince the customer that it is your company (team) that is able to cope with the task in at its best. That is, you:

· Have the right resources;

Sufficiently qualified to perform such tasks

Have already carried out similar projects and very successfully;

· Offer a well-thought-out approach that was motivated by your team from all points of view.

Project order

Project application.

To cover the aspects just indicated to the customer, it will be necessary to develop a document, which is referred to as the "Application for the project" (later grows into technical task, TK), and from the manager it is necessary that he, the document, does the following:

· Accurately defines the expected scope of work. Be sure to clearly define what exactly you are going to produce for him;

· Convinces the customer that your development proposal will satisfy his needs better than any of the competitors;

· Describes to the customer how to carry out this plan, including those details that prove your competence in this matter;

Creates absolute confidence in the customer that you are fully capable of achieving your goal;

This list needs comments that specify the document in connection with different situations receiving a development order. The other side of the discussion of the document is the extent to which it should correspond to reality.

I must say that receiving an order always demonstrates the uniqueness of the situation. However, several types of orders can be distinguished based on the procedure for receiving them.

First of all, it is necessary to point out the division of orders into competitive and target ones. Moreover, for the former, the clarity of the task statement and the performer is characteristic, and for the latter, the development task may vary slightly, and the performers may be selected depending on the subtasks and satisfaction of the customer's needs.

Depending on the form in which the application for participation in the competition is submitted, competitive orders should be divided into two groups. The first includes orders, the competition for which requires filling fixed application form. The appointment of a contractor for the order of the second group is made on the basis of an assessment of applications submitted in free form.

Table 1 shows the classification of possible orders, presented together with the goals that a potential customer pursues when announcing a tender for a project or offering a target order. These goals predetermine those points that the manager should pay attention to when compiling the "Application for the project".

The presented classification is idealized. In real practice, it is possible mixed forms, in particular, multilevel order receipt, when first a preliminary selection of applicants is made (as a rule, this is a competition with a fixed application form), then an additional selection is made (for example, using a free form). In the end, orders of this kind turn out to be targeted for those performers who turn out to be winners.

Order classification

from the point of view of the document "Application for the project"

Table 1.1

As a result, the receipt of a competitive order always leads either to the rejection of the services of the applicant, or to the transition to the target order with one or more performers. In the latter case, it is possible that one order is placed with a small number of performers, with the subsequent refusal of the services of those whose results (current or final) turn out to be worse than those of competitors.

When working with an application in a fixed form, the manager must be well aware of the possible and most attractive answers for the customer. You should not abuse vague answers (“I find it difficult to answer”, “I need to clarify this with ...”, “maybe it will be possible ...”, etc.). This indicates the limited range of issues of the applicant's competence.

Particular attention should be paid to the positions of the document, which reflect the qualifications and potential of the performer. There is always room for arbitrariness. You can not indicate, for example, that your team participated in the development of a particular well-known system for various reasons: due to the fact that the project was unsuccessful, that the main employees of the team dropped out during a particular development, or simply forget about the presence such an experience. What will be the reaction to this from a potential customer? Ah hu .. he knows! The customer may simply not notice that you have experience that is not reflected in the application, and this is a minus in terms of assessing your capabilities. If the customer was aware of your, for example, unsuccessful experience and noticed this, then the result of the assessment depends on the criteria (what is more important for the customer: your self-esteem or your desire to hide unwanted things). However, in most cases, what may seem insignificant at first glance should not be overlooked. But on the other hand, one should not exaggerate one's experience and competence. Even if the information presented is difficult to verify, you can get in trouble or run into an asshole.

Refinement of the project order

One of the most subtle moments of the manager's pre-project activities is work with a potential customer, aimed at obtaining information about what should be done during the course of the project, and what will be the cost of the order. The first part of this information is needed for the company in order to avoid mutual misunderstanding of the goals and capabilities of the ordered product, the second - for the customer, so that he can navigate what costs he will face if he uses the services of this organization (manager).

It should be noted that the situation when the customer does not really imagine the answer to the questions posed is quite typical, and therefore in most real cases it is necessary dialogue between manager and customer(including potential), which will clarify the order. The best way to conduct a dialogue is to:

· at first understand what tasks the customer wants to solve with the help of ordered tools,

· then offer him the most rational way solution that is feasible when placing an order with your organization.

Within the framework of this dialogue, the main thing to do is to achieve an unambiguous understanding of the concepts used. Directly telling the customer that he is wrong about something is not only impolite, but can also nullify all progress. The direct question of what the software product is ordered for is also destructive. Bottom line - you need to look for indirect ways to obtain initial information for design.

The problem of unambiguous understanding most often cannot be solved before the end of the stage of the first specifications for the project (sometimes later, but this is already a design defect). The requirement for uniqueness is set by the contractor, because the customer is not at all obliged to assume that some people think differently than he does. Therefore, the manager must scrupulously analyze the documents coming from a potential customer in order to identify ambiguities in them and politely point them out to the opposite side. At the pre-design stage, this concerns concepts of the conceptual level, other ambiguities can be eliminated even after the official start of work.

It is equally important that by the time the order is received, the customer and the contractor have a common understanding of the problem statements, the achievement of which can be considered as constituent part ambiguity elimination process. But here is a feature that is connected with the fact that the solution of the project tasks must be ordered in time, and, as a result, it is necessary to build this sequence.

When clarifying the problem statements, first of all, it is necessary to find out which of the user tasks are considered as the most relevant by the customer. It is possible that the customer does not structure the tasks at all, and then it is up to the manager receiving the order to propose the appropriate structure of the project tasks.

To analyze information about project tasks, it is useful to write them out in descending order of priority in the form of a table with the following fields:

· Name of the user task;

What requirements for the ordered product provide a solution to this problem (enumeration or a note that the solution of this problem is not actually supported by the means of the ordered product);

· What is missing to support the solution of this problem (built-in proposals, additions that should be included in the project);

Implementation links between tasks (implementation of support tools for solving one of the tasks entails implementation of support for solving the other task support means for solving both problems have common components, the tasks are not related);

· Possibility of local demonstration of the solution of the problem (i.e. such a demonstration that does not depend on the solution of other problems). If the tasks are poorly differentiated on this basis, then it is useful to construct demonstration tasks, the solution of which can be shown to the customer as soon as possible. Complete the table with them;

· An assessment of the possibility of using available software, in particular, the developments of the firm that undertakes the execution of the order (it is useful to accompany such an assessment with an indication of what exactly is proposed to be used). If there are sufficient grounds for this, then this information can not be shown to the customer;

Evaluation of requirements for the qualification of developers ( Comparative characteristics tasks);

· Preliminary allocation of development costs. It is necessary to evaluate the ratio of the complexity of the assigned tasks and approximate dates their decisions. The table indicates the manager's expert assessments, regardless of the cost of the order and taking into account the proposed financing (the second position is set during the analysis of the table). The process of filling in this field may cause an adjustment of the list and content of the project tasks;

· Evaluation of priority tasks. It is set during the analysis of this table.

Complete the list of tasks in the table with those user tasks that you think might be useful (as long as all the tasks that complement the table come with the lowest priority). It is possible that such additions will make the solution of some of the tasks proposed by the customer redundant, perhaps they will simplify the solution as a whole. Make related notes in the appropriate columns of the table.

The purpose of this table is to better understand the needs of the customer, structure them, and also build a sequence for developing the components of a future project. Therefore, the next step in working with the table is to search key tasks for the project and giving them the highest priority. These are the tasks that satisfy, in general, conflicting selection criteria:

· Minimization of terms of the demonstration solution;

· Reusable use of components (previous developments, existing stationary modules, as well as those that appear during the development of the project);

· Significance of implementation links;

Relevance to the user;

The choice of preferences between these criteria in each case is different, but usually a compromise can be found. A compromise sequence of tasks to be solved, previously divided into two parts, immediate tasks and prospects, should be presented to the customer. It would be nice to convince the customer that additional tasks that fall into the category of immediate ones are useful from one point of view or another. Unfortunately, this is not always possible. It is more realistic and quite sufficient to show the customer that his tasks will be solved.

The results of the analysis, together with the motives for their implementation, will be very advisable to show the customer to reach an agreement on the project. Of course, intermediate information (solutions rejected by the manager himself as unpromising) should not be attached to the document. In addition, the document should be as close as possible to the customer's proposals. Remember that its status is a refinement of the order, and not its transformation into another order.

The most pressing issue that should be resolved as soon as possible is an agreement on immediate tasks. This is due to two circumstances. First: the time spent in the pre-project period is always the cost of your company, not the customer, and therefore delaying it is simply unprofitable. Second: a long-term settling of controversial issues can tire the customer, which in turn can push him to choose another contractor.

Refinement of an order before it is received should be confused with the research phase, which is performed when the main items of the order are fixed. For the manager, the task of clarification is to fix the most acceptable conditions for the implementation of the research phase and the project as a whole.

Partial, but very important for the company's activities, is the clarification prospective order. Its essence is that either from the very beginning, or in the course of a dialogue with a potential customer, it turns out that the proposed task can and, logically, should have a continuation. This continuation is formulated explicitly and not necessarily realized by the customer - he wants to decide specific task but only. But then the manager realizes that:

· It is more reasonable to solve a more general problem and get what is ordered as one of the useful consequences;

· The customer will inevitably have new tasks closely related to the first order;

· Regardless of the financial attractiveness of the order, a possible continuation promises tangible benefits (financing the continuation by this customer, gaining experience, the possibility of developing the order by the company, etc.);

· The initial order is given to test the future performer to test his potential;

Only the last of these reasons characterizes the situation when the continuation is not formally associated with the original order. But even in such a situation, the customer, most likely, will test developers not on abstract tasks, but on those that allow you to see qualifications in a very specific area.

In other cases of ordering with continuation from the very beginning, a sequence of interdependent tasks is visible, for which the original task is the first and often not the most important one in the entire sequence. If such a sequence of tasks cannot be built, then the developers risk getting a spontaneous development of the project.

Thus, a prospective order is the situation when it is reasonable to plan a set of works for successive tasks, prepare universal support tools, and offer the customer solutions that are convenient in terms of this support. This is a real savings in the efforts of developers, which at the first stages, perhaps, will require additional means of organizing development tools.

But it would be a gross mistake for the manager to offer the customer to finance such an environment before completing the first task. The focus of the employer on a specific result does not give reason to hope that a rational strategy will be correctly perceived. In the best case, the customer will agree with the part of the proposal that concerns the first task, without adjusting the timing and funding, in the worst case, they will treat it with distrust. The only way to obtain the required additional resources is to contact the management of the firm.

For a future-oriented continuation of the order, the following execution path can be recommended:

· The first task is carried out in parallel with the definition of requirements for the operating environment, ensuring that the order continues with the necessary means. This task is considered as a prototype for working out the technology for using this environment;

· The development of the operating environment is singled out as an independent project, carried out independently of the first task and in parallel with it;

· All aspects of the first job and jobs continuing the order related to the operating environment are consistent with it in terms of the required functionality and interfaces. Those. the feasibility of the developed approach is demonstrated;

· Jobs of the ongoing order are executed in the context of using the results of building the operating environment.

As already mentioned, the provision of resources for additional design is likely to be carried out within the framework of in-house activities. However, at some point in the development of a prospective order, enough arguments should accumulate to convince the customer that the successful completion of all work would be difficult without a support tool, that it is much more correct to move from particular tasks to complex system design. Therefore, it is possible to raise the question of transferring (partial or full) the costs of an additional project to the main order.

The formation of a prospective order does not necessarily follow the presented scheme in everything. It is quite possible that the order is recognized as promising not immediately, but during the execution of the first task (at the evaluation stage) or after one of the subsequent tasks. This is a signal that it is worth revising what has been worked out and deciding whether or not it is advisable to develop a special operating environment for the order, when and at whose expense to perform additional project whether it is necessary to redo the old one and what is the cost of the alteration. In any case, the decision-making time should be shortened in order to minimize the firm's costs.

It may turn out that the company's management decides to keep the tools as their own (internal) product, in other words, not to transfer its cost to this order. This means that the prospect of the order is realized not from a financial point of view, but as an opportunity to develop the company's potential.

Maintaining the reputation of the company and the manager

Regardless of what level the customer announces the intention to conclude a contract, it is easier to get it for a company with a high reputation. This circumstance encourages the definition of ways to improve the reputation of the company, which should be known and used by the manager, including to improve their own reputation.

Working in a company with a high reputation helps in solving the problem of receiving an order by a manager for the following reasons:

· It is possible to refer to the popularity of your company when drawing up an application and, thereby, gain an advantage over competing companies;

· It is easier to convince the customer of your competence;

· There is an opportunity instead of competition for the order, set its own conditions on which the company agrees to take the order for execution;

· A company with a good reputation is the first to be contacted when development is required.

Thus, improving the reputation of the company occupies a significant place in the work of the manager. This activity usually includes the following steps:

· Publication of articles in well-known and well-established publications read by potential customers - the best way to increase both the company's reputation and personal reputation. If you have not yet earned a reputation sufficient to be evaluated in solid editorial offices, you can recommend co-authorship with well-known authors from your organization or another organization;

· Publishing messages on the Internet can also increase your reputation. It is important, however, to note that the choice of sites for such messages (regardless of their nature: scientific, advertising) plays a role to an even greater extent than when choosing the publisher of articles;

· Speaking at seminars, conferences, etc. where potential customers may be present, or information about which they are available, is an essential point in the growth of the manager's reputation (especially if the performance was a noticeable success);

· Demonstration of real programs- the most frequently used method by the manager to prove that their programs win in comparison with competitors;

· Demonstration for potential customers progressive development methods increases the manager's chances, but only when he is able to convince the customer that these methods are really used, and not used in marketing purposes;

· Subcontract warranties manager in significant projects significantly increase the weight of his experience in the eyes of potential customers.

Another method to increase the company's chances of getting profitable orders: reputation can be hired. This implies an invitation to work for well-known specialists with a brilliant track record, although this, of course, is not excluded. When making an effort to get such specialists interested in your company, as a first step in increasing the reputation, it can be recommended to attract well-known scientists as consultants for your projects. It would be correct to include project documentation and materials related to the sale of software, resumes of such consultants. W.H. Roetzheim, in his book Structural Management of Software Projects, points out that the typical pay for such services to a university professor is $500 per year plus hourly rates for specific jobs. So you can quite legally use the invited experts to improve the reputation of the company.

Conclusion.

In general, all the main tasks of a manager during pre-project activities are reduced to a balanced assessment of the project's profitability, the capabilities and sufficient qualifications of his employees who will be involved in the project. On the other hand, the second important task is to convince the potential customer that it is his manager's team that will complete this or that project in the best possible way and with the best impressions, as well as ensure further fruitful cooperation. And in the appendage: thanks to effective management at the initial stages, it is possible to inflate the financing of the project by enough to receive solid post-project premiums.

Bibliography

Each of us understands how important it is to have an excellent reputation on the Internet, but not everyone checks it and even fewer try to maintain it somehow. Unfortunately, statistics show that people with a great desire to leave negative reviews if they didn’t like something, but leave good or neutral ones very rarely, because they are just too lazy. Since humans are not robots, everyone makes mistakes at some point and sometimes this leads to a negative review on the Internet, which can affect your sales.

To bookmarks

In this article, I want to talk about the reputation that comes from sites with reviews in the top 10 search results. We will not consider how to influence the company's reputation all over the Internet by tracking every mention in social networks and blogs, as this is a very complex topic and this requires at least a team and a decent amount of money. And you can even manage your reputation in search engines alone, devoting several hours a week to this business. There are rarely sharp jumps in search engines, and if 2-3 new reviews appear there, then for the first time in a few days you may not even see them, and in some cases they may not even get into the top 10 search results.

Some time ago, SERM services of specialists who deal with reputation management in search engines became very popular, but not everyone wants to contact them, as this in some way can stain the company's reputation even more.

How SERM works and why it is dangerous to do it

So, if you don’t know, then SERM specialists are engaged in improving the reputation in search engines and they do it in the following ways:

• Write new positive reviews and upload them, most often from fake accounts, and sometimes they simply pay authors with upgraded accounts.
• They look for negative reviews and try to hide them from the search results. On some sites it is quite easy to remove reviews through the administration, on others with the help of lawyers, and if you can’t get rid of them, they simply promote reviews on other sites so that the site with the negative disappears from the top 10.
• They create the illusion of dialogues on forums and Q&A sites where your company is shown in the best possible light.
• They wind up ratings and ratings in the most prominent places, for example, in the organization's card, which is shown by Yandex or Google.

Everything seems to be clear and if you order SERM, then the company's reputation will immediately become at the right level, but not everyone wants to use their services, so why? The answer is very simple and now I will give you a few arguments that stop many companies

• By ordering SERM services, you are already becoming a dishonest company, because you create an artificial reputation for yourself and mislead potential buyers.
• Not real reviews are written for your company, which means they can reveal it, especially if you come across an inexperienced specialist. For example, algorithms that calculate the most active topics and check reviews have been working on the largest sites for a long time. Very often they catch companies that leave reviews from one computer, just registering different accounts. Since they have one ip, then without any clarification of the circumstances, the company is assigned a badge that it falsifies reviews. And this is a big fat cross on your reputation, since it is almost impossible to remove this stamp.
• Dangerous ties. SERM specialists need to be chosen very carefully, because if you may come across a not entirely honest and very cunning person. As soon as your paid package ends, he may deliberately throw in a few negative reviews so that you again have the need to order his services, as a result, this will turn into an endless cycle. Therefore, you need to think a hundred times before contacting such people.
• Not the best argument, but still some are tormented by conscience when they order such services and it is she who stops them at the last moment.

How to maintain your reputation

So, I hope you understand what kind of reputation I want to tell you about and now let's move on to tips on how to maintain it yourself, without resorting to all sorts of specialists and various cheat services.

• Reputation audit. The simplest reputation audit is done like this: enter “your company name” + various prefixes “reviews”, “is it worth buying”, “throw”, etc. into the search engine. After doing a small reputation audit in the search engine, it is best to collect the most useful sites according to the following list: - Sites with at least one negative review - Sites with the most positive reviews - Sites that rank 1-3 in the search results. This We will need a list for the next steps.
• Dealing with negativity, constant dialogue. On almost all popular review sites, you can create an official account for your company and use it to respond to any reviews. If you respond to every negative review and offer a solution to the problem, then you can at least partially restore your reputation.
• Remove reviews. If there is a sharply negative review about your company that puts an end to your sales, then it is better to try to remove it. There are several ways to do this, but not the entire Internet is under your control, so you won’t be able to do anything with some publications. - Solve the problem with the client and ask him to delete the review. But on some sites, even the author of the review himself cannot simply delete it, so you will have to contact the administration. - Dodge and find a reason for the site owner to delete the review. For example, if there are serious insults in the review, then the administration will most likely delete it. The simplest example: in the reviews, no one can call you a fraudster or a criminal until the court recognizes it, which means that a review with this word violates the laws of the Russian Federation. - Appeal to the court. Expensive pleasure, but sometimes it's worth it, especially if the review is fake. Such a procedure costs from 30,000 rubles, and even the coolest lawyer will not give you a 100% guarantee for the success of this case.
• Encourage customers to leave reviews. In order not to have to write reviews yourself, you need to look for ways to motivate customers to leave them on their own. To do this, you need to select sites that are in the top 3 search results for "company name + reviews" and come up with a bonus for which people will be happy to leave reviews there. For example, one of the online stores gives a bonus of 200-300 rubles for leaving a review about goods on Yandex.Market and other sites. Agree, for 200-300 rubles it is more interesting for buyers to leave reviews than just like that, besides, their attitude towards you may change depending on better side even if they didn't like it all at first.
• Well, the most simple and banal advice in the end. Work honestly and engage in dialogue with your customers on social media more often so that as early as possible what problems and difficulties your customers face. And remember that your reputation is not only about mistakes and failures, but also how you got out of conflict situations. For example, Toyota made very serious mistakes, after which it seems impossible to restore its reputation, but it simply never abandoned its customers. In 2010, Tayota's brakes and accelerator malfunctioned, causing the company to issue a recall of more than 8 million vehicles. And no one screams around the corner that Tayota are scammers, as they admit their mistakes and correct them publicly, apologizing 1000 times to their customers.