2. Balancing Stakeholder Forces
Not all stakeholders play an equal role in an
organization success.
It is important to understand where their values
are also in conflict with each other as well as
with the organization.
3. Balancing Stakeholder Forces
Organization who did not accurately assess the
power of their stakeholders’ values risk being
blindsided.
The forces of stakeholder values exist and will
impact the company’s performance, regardless
of whether or not you measure and act on their
influences.
4. Therefore, to balance the influences from
different stakeholders, it is important to align
corporate values with key stakeholder groups.
Focus on:
1. Measure Brand and Reputation
2. Brand Assessment
3. Stakeholder Assessment
4. Stakeholder Return on Investment
5. Balanced Conversation
6. Creating and Maintaining Balance
5. 1
1. Measure Brand and
Reputation
2. Brand Assessment
3. Stakeholder Assessment
4. Stakeholder Return on Investment
5. Balanced Conversation
6. Creating and Maintaining Balance
6. 1.
Measure
Brand &
Reputation Measuring Brand
A method of evaluating a brand is by:
1. Measuring its financial strength,
2. Stakeholder support, and
3. Overall brand awareness.
Brand value measurement must include more
than just the measures of the end user, because
there are other audiences and stakeholders that
impact the future shareholder value that can
emanate from the brand.
7. 1.
Measure
Brand &
Reputation Measuring Reputation
Key dimension to measure reputation (7Ds):
• Perceptions of the company’s financial
Performance results and prospects.
• Perceptions of the company’s
Workplace workplace environment and the quality
of its people.
• Perceptions of the quality and price of
Products the company’s products and services.
8. 1.
Measure
Brand &
Reputation Measuring Reputation
• Perceptions of how well the company is
Leadership managed.
• Perceptions of the environmental
Citizenship strength and social responsibility of the
company.
• Perceptions of the company’s
Governance organizational systems and culture.
• Perceptions of the company’s
Innovation entrepreneurial orientation and
innovativeness.
9. 1.
Measure
Brand &
Reputation Measuring Reputation
Reputation:
“Build in a Lifetime, Lost in a Moment”
10. 1.
Measure
Brand &
Reputation Measuring Reputation
Reputation:
“Build in a Lifetime, Lost in a Moment”
In our judicial system, you are innocent until proven
guilty,
but in the media, you are guilty until proven innocent.
That’s why it’s important for companies to build
strong and trusting relationships with the media.
11. 1.
Measure
Brand &
Reputation Third Party Validation
The strongest part of your brand reputation
comes from the comments and opinions of key
stakeholders or industry experts.
It is not easy to get third party validation, but it
can be done.
There are a some methods to build company
reputation via third party validation.
12. 1.
Measure
Brand &
Reputation Third Party Validation
Ways in getting third party validation:
#1 Articulate your values to all constituencies.
#2 Align your corporate values with your key stakeholders’ values.
#3 Empower employees and customers as ambassadors.
Continually question how your products or services impact your
#4 stakeholders.
#5 Work within your industry to address problems and issues affecting the
community or environment.
#6 Be active in the community.
13. 1.
Measure
Brand &
Reputation Reputation and Mistakes
If you’re thinking that companies with great
reputations never make mistakes, you’re wrong.
If you want to build a strong reputation, you
need to accept that mistakes will happen and
make a plan now about how to handle them.
Here are some basic guidelines to follow when
mistakes happen:
14. 1.
Measure
Brand &
Reputation Reputation and Mistakes
Here are some basic guidelines to follow when
mistakes happen:
1. Be honest.
2. Take responsibility.
3. Be willing to change and adapt.
4. Be consistent.
15. 1.
Measure
Brand &
Reputation Reputation and Mistakes
Example:
Schwan’s is the largest direct-to-home food company in
the United States, with multibillions in revenues and 700
national distribution depots.
With 24,000 employees, they are the largest producer of
frozen pizza and egg rolls in the country.
In 1994, more than 200,000 people were sickened in the
largest single case of salmonella poisoning in the United
States from a single food source—Schwan’s ice cream.
Salmonellosis is an infection with Salmonella bacteria.
Most people infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, vomiting, and abdominal cramps.
16. 1.
Measure
Brand &
Reputation Reputation and Mistakes
The company didn’t waste time assigning blame or
denying that their product had caused the illness.
They sent their home delivery truck drivers to every
house on their routes, retrieved all the ice cream, then
shut down production until the source of the problem was
discovered and appropriate corrective action could be
taken.
17. 1.
Measure
Brand &
Reputation Reputation and Mistakes
It turned out that an independent trucking contractor Schwan’s
used for hauling milk and ice cream had previously hauled raw
eggs that were contaminated with salmonella enteritis.
In the name of product safety and quality, Schwan’s decided to
cut out the middleman and bought their own fleet.
And they didn’t stop there. All dairy products used in making ice
cream solutions are pasteurized twice—before and after
transport.
18. 1.
Measure
Brand &
Reputation Reputation and Mistakes
What has the impact been on Schwan’s
reputation?
19. 1.
Measure
Brand &
Reputation Reputation and Mistakes
What has the impact been on Schwan’s
reputation?
Customers appreciated the speed in
addressing the problem and the way the
company took responsibility for its actions.
“they did the right thing”
20. 1.
Measure
Brand &
Reputation Redemption
One of the most difficult jobs is to repair a
damaged brand or reputation.
Most consumer brands could not survive one
year, much less the three to five years it would
take to begin rebuilding trust.
Therefore redemption is not an option for most
companies.
21. 1.
Measure
Brand &
The Four Pitfalls of Brand
Reputation
Development
While having a strong brand and reputation
creates the right environment for selling
products and services, success is not
guaranteed.
The four pitfalls:
1. Weak Product or Service
2. Poor Strategy
3. Lack of Research
4. Relying on Limited Marketing Tools
22. 1.
Measure
Brand &
Pitfall Number 1: Weak Product or
Reputation
Service
Not all products or services are good.
Some are ill conceived or don’t deliver a
relevant benefit to the customer.
Instead of correcting the flawed product or
improving service levels, some companies hold
meetings where committees insist that poor
marketing is the problem.
23. 1.
Measure
Brand &
Reputation
Pitfall Number 2: Poor Strategy
Building a strong brand and a strong reputation
requires innovative, disciplined strategy.
A company’s strategic planning flounders
without clear values, positioning, and brand
message.
Other companies rely on the same strategies
regardless of changing market conditions, which
parallels playing chess and making the same
moves every game.
24. 1.
Measure
Brand &
Reputation
Pitfall Number 3: Lack of Research
Many companies believe that research is
expensive and they either don’t require or can’t
afford.
You need research to help you check in with
your stakeholders’ attitudes and your
competitors’ actions.
25. 1.
Measure
Brand &
Pitfall Number 4: Relying on Limited
Reputation
Marketing Tools
If you’re not using all the tools available to
you, and your competition is using them, you’ve
put yourself at a formidable disadvantage.
Arguing whether advertising is more effective
than public relations, or that direct mail is more
effective than Internet marketing, is like going to
a hardware store and arguing the merits of a
hammer versus a saw.
Without a clear strategic plan none of the tools
are very effective at all.
26. 2
1. Measure Brand and Reputation
2. Brand Assessment
3. Stakeholder Assessment
4. Stakeholder Return on Investment
5. Balanced Conversation
6. Creating and Maintaining Balance
27. 2.
Brand
Assessment Brand Assessment
A careful examination of organization current
vision, values, reputation, brand, and position.
Vision:
Allorganizations must have a clearly stated vision
that explains why you’re in business and where
you’re going.
Without a clear vision, there cannot be values or
operating procedures.
28. 2.
Brand
Assessment Brand Personality
Brand personality provides human
characteristics that help audiences relate to a
company.
A clearly defined brand personality is important
for stakeholders to understand the attributes of
an organization.
There are some notions stakeholders might
form based on the dimensions of your brand
personality:
29. 2.
Brand
Assessment Brand Personality
1. Size: 2. Age:
Small companies are Young companies
seen as having an might go out of
entrepreneurial business soon; older
spirit, while large companies are not
companies are seen as innovative.
considered
monolithic and staid.
30. 2.
Brand
Assessment Brand Personality
3. Category Preconceptions: 4. Regionality:
People stereotype car Decisions about your
dealers as brand can be based
shady, technology on feelings that the
companies as East Coast is
geeky, government pushy, the West
organizations as slow Coast is
moving—even if your flaky, Midwesterners
particular organization are bumpkins, and
is not that way. Southerners are
backward.
31. 3
1. Measure Brand and Reputation
2. Brand Assessment
3. Stakeholder Assessment
4. Stakeholder Return on Investment
5. Balanced Conversation
6. Creating and Maintaining Balance
32. 3.
Stakeholder
Assessment Stakeholder Assessment
Compares and contrasts key stakeholder
values with corporate values to identify
opportunities and possible differences.
Each stakeholder group has its own unique
profile and relationship to a company.
Identifying individual stakeholder groups and
classifying groups into different categories is
the first step of Stakeholder Assessment:
33. 3.
Stakeholder
Identifying and Classifying
Assessment
Stakeholders
Stakeholders can be classified into 4 groups:
• Anyone who directly purchases or influences
BUYERS the purchase of the product or service.
• Investors, analysts, foundations, and private
FUNDERS ownership are potential funders.
• Boards of
directors, employees, distributors, dealers, and
BUILDERS any other group that builds, distributes, or sells
the company’s product or service.
• Community, media, industry leaders, opinion
leaders, competitors, special interest groups and
INFLUENCERS
government that can impact the organization’s
brand and reputation.
34. 3.
Stakeholder
Identifying and Classifying
Assessment
Stakeholders
Prioritizing Stakeholder Groups
Not all stakeholder groups are equal.
Ranking each group by their importance to the
success of the organization is a complex
process that ties directly back to your
corporate values.
Establishing objective criteria for identifying
and prioritizing stakeholder groups is
imperative to managing your brand and
reputation.
35. 3.
Stakeholder
Assessment Stakeholder Agendas
Each Stakeholder Group has a unique and
sometimes conflicting set of values:
Buyers care about how a product or service will fulfill their
aspirations and personal values.
Funders are interested in maximizing shareholder value.
Builders care about work environment and doing important work.
Influencers are concerned with social or economic impact, job
creation, and the environment.
36. 3.
Stakeholder
Assessment Managing Stakeholder Values
There are 3 dimensions of stakeholder values
that are interrelated in shaping attitudes and
opinions about a company’s brand and
reputation.
By sorting stakeholder values into these three
dimensions, you are able to systematically
analyze multiple stakeholder groups.
37. 3.
Stakeholder
Assessment Managing Stakeholder Values
The three dimensions of the Values Pyramid:
1. Aspiration:
How well does the company’s product or service
satisfy a stakeholder’s needs and desires?
2. Process:
How well does the product manufacturing process
or service delivery process achieve the expected
standard performance?
3. Impact:
What is the impact of your product or service on
the community or environment?
38.
39. 3.
Stakeholder
Assessment Stakeholder Assessment
Stakeholder Assessment:
Identifies stakeholder values and
Provides a framework for understanding the
reaction, a company can expect from each
stakeholder given a particular decision or
action.
40. 3.
Stakeholder
Assessment Stakeholder Assessment
Depending on the importance of the stakeholder
group, your company will choose to:
Align corporate values with stakeholder values
Manage stakeholder expectations
Monitor stakeholder reactions
41. 4
1. Measure Brand and Reputation
2. Brand Assessment
3. Stakeholder Assessment
4. Stakeholder Return on
Investment
5. Balanced Conversation
6. Creating and Maintaining Balance
42. 4.
Stakeholder
Stakeholder Return on
ROI
Investment
Alignment with stakeholder values must show
measurable outcomes.
The return on investment (ROI) may be
measured as a direct benefit to the
stakeholder as well as demonstrating financial
performance.
Alignment outcomes can be identified and
measured by using the 3R Brand Equation.
43. 4.
Stakeholder
Stakeholder Return on
ROI
Investment
For employees, the equation refers to Return
on Involvement instead of Investment.
While there are monetary incentives for
performance, there is also the personal
benefit, which is a major factor in employee
satisfaction.
44. 4.
Stakeholder
Stakeholder Return on
ROI
Investment
The 3R Brand Equation is designed to measure
the following:
Relevance + Relationship = Return on Investment
• For the stakeholder, what need is fulfilled by the
Relevance brand, product, or service?
• How do the values of the organization align with
Relationship those of the stakeholder?
Return on • What is the outcome as measured in direct
Investment benefit or financial returns?
• What are the direct benefits for supporting the
organization’s values? Employees are looking
Return on
for job satisfaction, career growth, and positive
Involvement work environment in addition to wages and
benefits.
45. 4.
Stakeholder
Stakeholder Return on
ROI
Investment
Example:
Health care industry.
Stakeholder values is used in the 3R Brand
Equation to demonstrate outcomes and ROI.
This example illustrates the importance of:
Understanding physicians’ needs and values
(ongoing product information and training)
combined with
Manufacturers’ willingness to align with these
needs and values (full disclosure, training, and
collaboration).
46.
47. 4.
Stakeholder
Stakeholder Return on
ROI
Investment
Reducing risk allows the company to increase
market share and enhance its reputation.
The 3R Brand Equation provides the critical
information necessary to identify and evaluate
which stakeholder values, impact outcomes.
By ensuring that the alignment of corporate
values with stakeholder values has a
measurable outcome, the benefit of values
driven activities can be determine.
48. 5
1. Measure Brand and Reputation
2. Brand Assessment
3. Stakeholder Assessment
4. Stakeholder Return on Investment
5. Balanced Conversation
6. Creating and Maintaining Balance
49. 5.
Balanced
Conversation Balanced Conversation
There are two ways to have a Balanced
Conversation.
1. Talking directly to your stakeholders.
This is achieved through all stakeholder
contact with your company.
2. Having others talk about your company.
This occurs when people discuss
personal experiences with your
company, see media coverage or
advertising.
50. 5.
Balanced
Conversation Balanced Conversation
In all cases, these conversations are
opportunities to build the organization’s brand
and reputation.
51. 5.
Balanced
Conversation Initiating a Conversation
Advertising and public relations professionals
can start a conversation with stakeholders if the
creative content is designed with that goal in
mind.
When you take this approach, and align the
conversation with stakeholder values, you are
both memorable and compelling. This is an
excellent way to begin a conversation.
52. 5.
Balanced
Conversation Sustaining a Conversation
If a conversation is interesting, we want to
participate, and most important, we want to be
heard.
The most important element of a conversation is
the ability to listen and to respond.
One-way communications are not conversations
- they’re monologues.
53. 5.
Balanced
Conversation Sustaining a Conversation
From a marketing perspective, a real
conversation is two-way - it is responsive and
respectful to the customer.
The goal of this level of communication is to
build lasting relationships with the stakeholders
54. 5.
Balanced
Keep the Message, Change the
Conversation
Inflection
All stakeholders have their own values, so it will
be impossible to have the same conversation
with every group.
While the subject may be the same, the
nuances of what’s important and how to conduct
a conversation differ with each group.
Infection: A change in the form of a word, but the overall meaning remains the same
55. 5.
Balanced
Keep the Message, Change the
Conversation
Inflection
Before you start a conversation, you must know
your audience, what’s important to them and
how they would like to be addressed.
Building separate strategies for each
stakeholder group is imperative to creating
meaningful conversations.
56. 5.
Balanced
Conversation Conversation Breaks Down?
Conversations break down because:
Conversation become irrelevant
No agreement achieved
Lost of interest.
For businesses, the threat to breakdown is lack
of agreement. This can destroy the stakeholder-
organization relationship.
Silence rarely mends a relationship.
One-to-one communications are needed.
57. 5.
Balanced
The Role of Public Relations in
Conversation
Conversations
Public relations creates an opportunity to
provide comprehensive, in-depth information on
the company, product, or service.
Unlike advertising, which is limited to TV
commercial or single page print ad, PR gives
the helps in gaining news segment or feature
article that provides the background and
analysis of the company.
58. 5.
Balanced
The Role of Public Relations in
Conversation
Conversations
3 ways PR can ruin your reputation:
Lack of • While public relations can help shape the
Access and conversation, it cannot control it.
Information
• Some companies misuse PR to distort and spin
stories.
Spinning Out
• This may work in the short term, but once trust is
of Control broken with the media, the reputation of the company
is difficult to restore.
• Some companies report every insignificant corporate
event, and it is difficult to differentiate proper coverage
Wasting and really important news.
Opportunities • Some companies never report their accomplishments
or activities, “no news is good news”
59. 6
1. Measure Brand and Reputation
2. Brand Assessment
3. Stakeholder Assessment
4. Stakeholder Return on Investment
5. Balanced Conversation
6. Creating and Maintaining
Balance
60. 6.
Creating &
Maintaining
Creating & Maintaining
Balance
Balance
If corporate values is not aligned with
stakeholder values, you risk destroying
important stakeholder relationships.
Stakeholders expect companies to understand
and abide by their personal values.
61. 6.
Creating &
Maintaining
Creating & Maintaining
Balance
Balance
Getting your organization into alignment with
those values is important.
Of course you can’t perfectly align all
stakeholder values with corporate values, so
your job is to prioritize each stakeholder group
and determine which values are essential for
alignment.
62. 6.
Creating &
Maintaining
Creating & Maintaining
Balance
Balance
Implementation Timelines:
In many organizations, a significant amount of work has already
been accomplished in the areas of corporate
values, reputation, brand personality, positioning, and brand
messaging.
The goal of Brand Assessment is to identify a solid base from which
your company can compare its values, brand, and reputation with
the values and perceptions of your stakeholders
63. 6.
Creating &
Maintaining
Creating & Maintaining
Balance
Balance
Benchmarking stakeholder values and employee
engagement are recommended to be conducted
annually.
A good values monitoring program will quickly identify
potential shifts in values.
Major social, industry, and economic events also
trigger times when your company should monitor
shifts in stakeholder values.
64. 6.
Creating &
Maintaining
Creating & Maintaining
Balance
Balance
Initiating conversations takes approximately the
same amount of time as building and launching a
new advertising or public relations program.
Additional communications will be necessary to
explain the company’s new direction to all
stakeholders.
