How to better manage your business reputation in crazy times - 2024
As a PR consultancy highly specialised in reputation management, Lighthouse PR is dedicated to helping businesses build, maintain and protect their reputation as the foundation for growth.
The number of companies that have publicly revealed their suffering from image issues, has increased tenfold over the past year, according to company data.
At the same time, reputation assessments have become a stringent part of the due diligence for investors and banks, for financial support consideration.
In 2023, reorganisations and restructurings triggered by a drop in consumption, a high inflation rate, and more difficult access to financing will impact business performance.
Here is what you need to watch out for in 2023:
Reputation Management
The number of companies that have image issues revealed publicly has increased tenfold over the last 1 year, as opposed to the year before, according to our company data. At the same time, reputation assessments are part of the due diligence that investors and banks are closely looking at before giving financing and, thus, a company’s online image is even more significant now in the ESG context.
Media Relations
Creating valuable content is less critical now with the emergence of AI solutions such as Chat GPT which can easily develop, for example, social media posts or blog articles in a few seconds.
However, trusted relationships developed over many years or decades with key journalists, editors-in-chief or top-rated influencers are not something that AI can replace. Therefore, a key focus moving forward for every company that cares about its online reputation is to maintain and develop valuable relationships with media and social media stakeholders.
Corporate Communication
Clear, concise, and convincing communication with all stakeholder categories including investors, employees, suppliers, and customers is key to ensuring ”we are all aligned” and there are no misunderstandings.
Dedicated, yet unified messaging for each stakeholder depending on the relationship’s history, level of information access, status quo, and future business plans should be considered a top priority moving forward.
Crisis Communication
Lighthouse PR has registered a 30% increase in demand for crisis management and preparedness activities in 2020, but this number increased by 400% in 2022.
We know that crises can happen at any time, and we're here to help companies manage them. We can develop crisis communication plans, train staff on crisis management best practices, and help navigate difficult situations.
Employer Branding
A company’s employees are its most valuable asset. And, in this note, employee retention is more important than recruitment. Easier said than done, some of you might say. But it’s not rocket science if a company’s culture is efficiently structured under an employer branding strategy.
Statistics show that, in Romania, the need for developing a company culture and employer brand skyrocketed in 2017.
For 2023, reorganizations and restructurings triggered by a drop in consumption, a high inflation rate, and more difficult access to financing will generate layoffs. In this context, it is even more important for companies to have a strong company culture and a trusted employer brand to ensure stability in the short, medium, and long term.
