Corporate Image

In nutritional circles, it’s said that “you are
what you eat.” As a corporate entity, you are what people think you are.
According to a recent report from the Opinion Research Corp., corporate image
is a major part of what sells a company and its products. In the study, 97
percent of the responding senior and middle managers said image accounts for a
significant measure of a company’s successes and failures.

This study reflects that people do business with a given
firm or buy its products for more than the quality of the goods or services.
The collective knowledge of customers, stockholders, bankers, brokerage houses,
dealers, distributors and the media regarding a company can affect its sales,
earnings, valuation, ability to obtain loans and ability to attract quality
employees.

Corporate image is the perceived sum of the entire
organization, objectives and plans. It encompasses its products, services,
management style, communications activities and actions.

Many firms focus little attention on their corporate image
until it has been severely damaged. Often, this recognition comes too late to
remedy the situation.

Building a positive corporate image requires skillful
long-term planning. Management cannot limit its focus to the next few weeks or
months. Plans to ensure a positive corporate image should create an impression
that will last for years.

Benefits of a Strong Image

According to A.C. Nielson, 30 brands that currently are
leaders in their markets will lose their positions in less than two years. A strong
corporate image can extend product lives and can buoy a firm through inevitable
sales valleys by providing

* An awareness among managers of the firm’s
long-range goals,

* More clearly defined corporate objectives and
direction,

* Improved insights into competitive positions and
market conditions,

* Improved internal and external communications,

* A positive account to customers of the firm’s
marketplace position,

* Improved understanding of the organization within
the financial community, and

* Better understanding of the company, its objectives
and direction by employees, suppliers, directors and the media.

Influences on Image

Advertising and publicity are only two aspects in
establishing an image. Everything a company is, says and does is a component of
its image.

* The Product--Consistent high-quality from
companies such as Hewlett Packard, Compaq and IBM positions these companies
above competition.

* Service--IBM may not have the most advanced
products, but the level of service it provides is not questioned.

* Finance--When well-known, reputable companies
have short-term setbacks in sales and earnings, there is little concern in the
marketplace. The financial strength of organizations such as Microsoft, IBM,
Compaq and HP is a strong factor in purchasing decisions and affects the
successes of those firms.

* Employees--The attitudes of a firm’s
employees often influence the way it is perceived.

* Sense of Citizenship--In recent years,
management has become increasingly aware of its corporate responsibility as
citizens of communities and as participants in government policy. HP, Intel,
National Semiconductor and other industry leaders have become more vocal and more visible in Washington, D.C., taking
strong positions regarding technology drain, technology transfer and
international sales.

* Acquisition Policy--A company’s growth
through acquisition generally says the firm is growing. But hostile takeovers,
greenmail (an unfriendly move by a securities buyer that buys enough stock to
threaten a hostile takeover and then sells it back to the company at a higher
price) and similar activities can adversely affect a company’s image. The
ability to assimilate new acquisitions into existing corporate structures also
is important.

Launching an Image

There are certain steps to follow when launching a corporate
image program.

* Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the current
image. Define the factors that determine the image and assess the underlying
emotion attributed to these factors. Negative images dictate the need for basic
changes in policies and practices. Neutral images require that choices be made
between maintaining status quo and promoting expansion and growth. Corporations
with positive images should seek to perpetuate and expand on them.

* Define the image that the firm wants to project.
Every firm wants to be perceived as profitable, well-managed, forward-looking,
research-oriented, rapidly growing and rapidly diversifying as well as kind and
beneficial to its employees, stockholders and customers. Carve out a niche
which is unique to your own organization.

* Determine a course of action that appeals to the
largest possible number of your target audience.

* Create audience-specific selling themes. Make
certain each selling theme is compatible and in line with the overall image
theme.

* Coordinate every channel of communications. This
includes advertising, salespeople, letterhead, shipping labels, invoices,
employee training manuals, brochures, posters, business cards, samples,
trademarks, product labels, articles, news releases, trade booth displays and
other internal and external promotional vehicles.

Image Audiences

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The way to launch an effective image development and/or
reinforcement campaign is to define your target publics. Most companies seek to
influence the following.

* Consumers--Utilize every resource to research
and define your consumers. Then find the most effective method to present the firm
to the crucial group.

* Shareholders--By knowing your shareholders,
their degree of involvement in the company and interests, you can develop a
communication program that will create a strong network extension of your sales
force.

* The Investment Community--Management has a new and
vital job in keeping security analysts, brokers and bankers aware of the
company, its management, its plans and its successes.

* Employees--By working with this group,
management can instill a sense of involvement in common goals that will
increase productivity, curb turnover and 
attract the types of people necessary to ensure future corporate
success.

* Communities--When an understanding of one
another’s goals is achieved between a company and the community in which
it operates, the result usually is a solid working relationship.

* Suppliers--These people can have a strong
influence on the success or failure of a corporate image campaign and firm.
Cultivate a feeling of trust and interdependence. Both sides should feel that
they are an integral part of the other’s success.

* The Media--Establish, maintain and constantly
reinforce your relationship with the media at all levels nationally and
locally.

Reaching Audiences

Once you have identified and prioritized various audiences,
you are ready to develop and execute specific programs and plans to reach and
influence the following audiences.

* Shareholders--Use management and public
relations to maintain your image with shareholders via a program of
communications, annual reports, quarterlies, special reports and shareholder
meetings.

* Financial Community--Senior management should
be responsible for regularly contacting financial analysts, brokers and
bankers.

* Employees--Make employees understand that their
skills, attitudes and dedication are part of what makes up the company’s
image and helps ensure success.

* Customers--Let present and prospective
customers know that the firm realizes that its success is closely tied to its
customers’ initial and repeated acceptance of the company, products and
services.

* Industry and Trade Groups--Every company is
part of an industry that includes customers, suppliers and competitors.
Management should regularly communicate its image within the industry by

- Keeping the press informed,

- Participating in trade associations,

- Participating in trade councils,

- Becoming spokespersons for industry needs and goals, and

- Promoting for the overall good of the industry.

Plan of Action

Once an audit of the company’s image has been
completed and priorities established, management is ready to move forward.

Keep in mind that a good image deserves a proper
presentation. You are trying to inspire, motivate and change or reinforce
thought patterns and associations evoked by your organization. This is an art.
It can only be accomplished through fastidious application. Your program must
be directed to the right people at the right time.

Generally, the molding of a corporate image is not a program
that can focus on near-term results. It is a multifaceted, long-term activity
that includes everyone in the organization.

A corporate image is no substitute for fair dealings and
high-quality products. However, first impressions have a lasting effect. A
company’s ability to communicate a favorable and progressive image to its
many publics places it ahead of its competition, and subsequently has a
profound effect on the bottom line.