SALİM KADIBEŞEGİL

In my presentations on reputation management, I direct a critical question to the audience:

1. Who do you want to be credited with?
2. Which of your characteristics does being perceived in carry you to the reputation league?

Unfortunately, the answers to these questions, which are very decisive and  which we can already call “indispensable”, do not appear in the applications. Generally, among the answers circulated, there are business and external stakeholders that are not clearly defined enough, and the corporate values menu is listed in the perception. However, the main determinant in stakeholder maps is both internal and external stakeholders, “impressive stakeholders” due to their independence, social status, and knowledge of the language of the public.These  may be influencers, columnists, academics, civil society leaders, professional organizations and trade union representatives who have become “brands” in  their fields, and whose views are respected by the business world.

In the answer to the first question, the first thing to look at is who our internal and external stakeholders are, and  who can be the “influential stakeholders”  whose opinions these segments will take into account. This work is not a job that can be done all at once! It needs to be updated at regular intervals. It is also clear that influencers cannot be a list of hundreds of stakeholders. Communication and relationship management with few, concise, effective and respected names, preferably at the CEO level, are among the expectations of reputation management.

In the answer to the second question, there is no doubt that corporate values (if determined in accordance with the expectations of the society) are a good starting point. Here, too, “reputation stories”  compiled from these values will be needed. Therefore,  these stories will come into play in communication and relationship management according to the interests of “opinion leaders” who are determined as influential stakeholders.

The secret of success in reputation management  is how accurately our influential stakeholders are identified, who convey “our stories in environments where we are not”