The actions of and trust surrounding a brand provide the foundations for long-term success, according to a study by Bloomberg Media.
Bloomberg’s Industry Accelerator surveyed more than 1,000 senior business decision makers across the US, UK, Hong Kong, and Singapore for its ‘Corporate Reputation’ study, finding that they rank ‘Actions & Conduct’ as the number one element that shapes that corporate reputation.
In the US, ‘Trust and Credibility’ ranks higher than in any other market, with Hong Kong and the UK placing ‘Actions & Conduct’ first. On the other hand, Singapore prioritises ‘Image & Perception’.
When regional differences and instead segmenting respondents into sceptics, believers, and moderates, the study found that 54% of global business leaders are sceptical about corporate reputation. These people, who tend to be those at the highest levels of organisations, see innovation as a way to enhance corporate reputation and believe that thought leadership is the most effective external channel for positively influencing it. On the other hand, 22% of business leaders are believers – those who value corporate reputation – and they are more likely to represent the next generation of leadership and prioritise it over other business results.
On the topic of building corporate reputation, the study found that externally-focused functions including customer service (57%), marketing (50%), and investor relations (47%) are seen as most responsible. Meanwhile, internally-focused functions, including public relations (43%), legal and compliance (41%), and human resources (40%), while still important, are seen as less responsible.
To strengthen corporate reputation, the findings showed that business leaders rely on “building blocks” that align with their core functions and audiences, prioritising products and services; financial performance; innovation; customer service; and digital responsibility as their top five. These five blocks were closely followed by social responsibility.
*Bloomberg Media is a client of Bluestripe Communications, owned by Bluestripe Group, publishers of NDA
