Do you have a strong reputation? If you do, it hopefully protects you against attacks on your credibility, on your reputation. It's like a pad that must be maintained. And when things go wrong, what do you do to restore your reputation? Behave in an exemplary manner and communicate about this consistently and transparently. We cannot repeat this enough, because mistakes are often made here. Stakeholders judge you on your behavior and performance, not your nice words. A sustainable strong reputation makes your organization, but also you as an individual, successful in the long term.Reputation and image are not the same but are in line with each other. It starts with identity, and the behavior of each employee. Image is what the general public thinks of you and doesn't even have to be based on truth – a breeding ground for fake news. Reputation is how stakeholders think about you. And that can be difficult because it often involves conflicting interests.
About the Author
Wim Vlekken (1950) was active in Marketing communication and sales during his working life. In addition to his career at industrial and software companies, he taught marketing and communication at a school for graphic techniques and communication for 19 years. Writing advertising texts, media articles and books has been a regular part of his daily work since the sixties. Empathy in business also leads to higher customer loyalty and brand loyalty in the long term. Customers feel taken seriously if you show understanding of their needs and problems, and come up with a good solution.
