"Take care of your reputation before others do".

Werbewoche.ch: How important is a good reputation for companies today - and to what extent can it be achieved through targeted purpose marketing?

Diana Brasey: Your reputation - your value! A company that focuses on Purpose Marketing has a clear advantage over its competitors. Purpose marketing is a strategy that aims to live the values internally and communicate them externally, thus creating a strong foundation of trust and customer loyalty. This leads to customers preferring the company, even if it is more expensive than its market competitors. It shows that it is more than just a profitable business, that it cares about its customers, employees and society as a whole. And satisfied customers, employees and investors are the foundation of a successful business. Corporations know that it's not enough just to make a profit - you also have to do something good to be successful in the long term.

What role does social media play in terms of reputation, and is it more of an opportunity or a risk?

Social media can pose a very big reputational risk for companies. Shitstorms are very popular. Using social media, massive reputational damage can occur in a matter of seconds. The losses can be downright devastating. However, social media is also an opportunity, for example in talent recruitment. However, it is very important to actively manage your reputation. And to maintain a good reputation. This includes active monitoring on all channels and corresponding communication with all players.

Why is actively managing reputation so important - and what mistakes do companies make in the process?

In today's world, you can't afford not to actively manage your reputation. Let's take the example of the asset manager. Would he rely 90 percent on good luck when making an investment for his clients? No. That's where research comes in. In the same way, stakeholder groups read reviews, find out about a service or product on the Internet before they buy or purchase it. Everything is available and viewable online today.

And yes, you will not believe it, but just barely one of three CEOs has understood that. That means that two thirds leave their reputation to chance!

How can the concept of reputation influence the market value of a company?

If corporations understand that the concept of reputation - intangibles - account for 90 percent of a company's market value, then it is negligent not to take advantage of this important asset. What a missed opportunity - an opportunity over competitors! Because a good reputation enables

- higher intangible assets
- higher return on investment
- lower gearing
- higher growth rates
- better chances in the fight for talent
- much higher emotional value than the pure book value - the brand with a good reputation!

Why is a (good) self-assessment so important today - and how can you use it to stand out from the competition?

With a self-assessment, you gain the trust of all stakeholders. Trust as well as credibility are the basic building blocks for a good reputation. Disruptive companies already rely on it voluntarily. Because if you remain silent about this asset any longer, you call part of your management qualities into question.

I say: Take care of your reputation before others do. And the first thing to do is to assess yourself correctly. Because then we experts can show you the great "untapped" potential. And this is a recurring thought exercise to strive for a holistic corporate reputation.

Why is a reputation report an important tool for all companies?

On the one hand, the core of the reputation report provides perspective information on the state, possibilities and potential of the overall reputation in the future. At the same time, the reputation report explains in detail, in 16 different chapters, how the characteristics have come about and how they are justified. With this voluntary report, reputation is not only actively used as an intangible value, but also simultaneously managed and regularly presented. This gives all stakeholder groups a 360-degree overview as a basis for individual decision-making processes.

Officially, a kind of status report on reputation is not yet mandatory as part of financial reporting. This is a pity and is probably due to the fact that the term reputation is generally rather obscure. The same thing happened to the term sustainability years ago. It took what felt like forever for organizations to agree to publish some kind of voluntary sustainability report beyond financial reporting. Today, for marketing and communication reasons alone, it would be simply unthinkable for many companies to do without it.

If you now think two steps further, it is better to use the term reputation reporting today as a voluntary instrument to exemplify trust through transparency.