I get this question often: What's the difference between a company's brand and its reputation? Aren't they just different words that public relations and ad people use to say the same thing?
Nope. Closely related, but very different.
A brand is a company's promise to the people and institutions most important to its success in the marketplace of products, services and ideas. It is the (usually) carefully constructed embodiment of what the company wants its stakeholders and their influencers to believe to be true.
A company's reputation, on the other hand, belongs to those stakeholders and influencers. It is their collective perception based on what they in fact believe to be true about the company: its integrity and credibility, its alignment with their own values, its historic and future ability to deliver on the brand promise.
Whether a company's reputation is justified or not, the stakeholders own it. Smart companies own up to it when it's damaged by screw-ups and controversy, real or perceived.
Properly managed as a bona fide strategic asset, a strong corporate reputation multiplies every dollar spent. It strengthens the brand like steroids on steroids. It creates goodwill that helps the company navigate through bad market conditions, complex issues and crises.
It helps consumers answer the "why buy" question by answering the "why trust" question.
Reputation is why most of today's good companies have a market cap of 30 to 70 percent more than their book value.
Brand is how the company talks to the world. Reputation is how the world hears the company.
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