Marketing communication: principles and practice

I D E N T I T Y
,
I M A G E
,
A N D R E P U T A T I O N
197
Corporate communications
the way in which an organisation projects its identity (or what it would like its
identity to be) to the outside world via the media.
(
Marketing Business
, February, 1994: 5)
corporate reputation, the management of which reaches far beyond the
traditional black arts of the marketing department. This requires that external
communications be seen in the broadest possible sense, including every
personal contact and telephone call as well as the mass media . . . It also requires
that internal communications, and how the organisation lives its brand promises
– the development of its own ‘brand of work’ – become one and the same . . .
pervading corporate ‘ideologies’ . . . which are expressed in everything the
company does and which create an unmistakable identity.
(Mitchell, 1995: 33)
Corporate manifesto
the way an organisation presents itself through its visual identity, staff, buildings,
sponsorship, etc.
(
Marketing Business
, February, 1994: 5)
Corporate personality
the perceived structure of preferences which are exhibited in the behaviour of
members of the group/corporation/firm.
(March and Simon, 1958)
what the organization actually is.
that set of major attributes that truly characterises an organisation.
(Bromley, 1993)
Corporate brand
The company name . . . forms the epicentre of marketing activity . . . Corporate
brand is part of something much larger: corporate reputation.
(Mitchell, 1995: 33)

---

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF REPUTATION TO
BUSINESS PERFORMANCE
Reputation is only one of several factors in the general ecology in which a
corporation operates – the others are social, political, technological, and
economic in nature. In some circumstances reputation has only marginal
effect on an enterprise’s success; in other circumstances reputation has a
critical effect (Bromley, 1993).
Kay (1993: chapter 6) describes reputation as a primary distinctive
capability, which has differential value in various markets. In a narrow class
of markets, building reputation can be a powerful source of competitive
advantage.
In those markets in which consumers cannot inspect and compare goods
and services and where experience of the good or service is only possible
over a long period of time, the purchase is made only once, or where the
purchase is on behalf of the consumer (pension plan, funeral service, cat food,
car, computer software, company shares), consumers rely on other criteria
in making their purchase and use choices. They rely on their knowledge 
of the manufacturer or supplier, on advice from an intermediary, or on
recommendations from friends and magazines, rather than on their own
experience with the goods or services.
If customers cannot tell the quality of a good or service by inspection or
immediate experience, how can they make a proper choice between low and
high price and low and high quality. Kay defines reputation as a ‘reiterated
high-quality strategy in a market for long-term experience goods’ (1993: 92).
The quality of a good or service is often judged not only on its cost but also
with reference to the standing of the manufacturer or provider. Firms with
a good reputation can charge a higher price for what is objectively an
equivalent or inferior product. Reputation conveys public esteem and
distinctiveness in competition for scarce resources
Every organization has a reputation whether actively managed or not
(Edwards, 1997). Even if the corporation remains unchanged, a reputation
can change simply because of changes in the related public/stakeholder group.
Reputation is a scarce commodity, reflecting the effects of competition in a
field. When one corporation gains reputation, another loses – something akin
to a football league.
Reputation is an intangible asset which enables the enactment of
relationships among an enterprise and its publics (Page and Kinsey, 1997).
It is a more significant, powerful and holistic predictor of organizational
excellence and success in the marketplace than either corporate image or
identity (Page and Kinsey, 1997).
Kay (1993) asserts that reputation is only of major significance in markets
where consumers cannot determine product quality through search or their
own experience – then they will be swayed by reputation and reputation is
profitable. Reputation provides the legitimizing basis for business – the
‘licence to operate’. Thus, the concept of reputation spans the concerns of
public relations, marketing, finance, and management (Sobol 
et al
., 1992).