Reputation counts for everything in business.
In short:
AND THERE’S MOORE…
By Cliff Moore, Account Director, Deep South Media
Harm your reputation and you damage your business, possibly out of existence; protect that hard-won reputation and you can survive disasters.
I reference two recent examples.
Travel firm Thomas Cook lost millions off its value after appallingly handling the case of two children who died while holidaying in Corfu.
Conversely, Dorset-based Merlin Entertainments managed a terrible situation well when riders were maimed in last summer’s rollercoaster crash at its Alton Towers theme park.
Why am I highlighting this now?
Because a new survey* says more than a quarter of UK firms are doing little to protect their reputations.
And only two thirds of small or medium firms have formal corporate reputation risk and crisis communications management plans in place.
Figures extracted from that survey suggest that in the UK the total value of corporate reputation for all companies topped £1.7 trillion.
Yes, £1.7 TRILLION – that’s a lot of money at stake for the 26 per cent of firms not actively managing their reputation.
Successful businesses that do not have disaster plans ready to be implemented at the push of a button are playing with fire, nay, a conflagration set to raze hopes and dreams to the ground in an instant.
That’s where specialists such as Deep South Media can step in.
As experienced former journalists ourselves, we understand how damage can be done in seconds, how bad news travels like wildfire.
Would you know what to do if your firm ended up in the headlines, the wrong sort of headlines? Do you have an embedded plan of action? Do you even know such strategies exist?
Our experts can help you formulate emergency response protocols and step in at a moment’s notice to take responsibility for crucial media relations if the proverbial hits the fan.
And that’s not just with regard to the traditional media because Internet or social media rumours can have the same damaging effect in today’s fast-moving technological world.
It makes sense to expect the unexpected and remain reassured that should the worst happen you will be able to cope. Don’t destroy in moments what has taken years to build.
*Survey carried out by accountancy and business advisory firm BDO and independent membership organisation the Quoted Companies Alliance. Read the full report here in Pulse magazine.
