In today’s economy, it is made abundantly clear that a company's reputation is paramount to its success, if not its survival. Corporate credibility is at an all-time low, and public mistrust has spilled over into investment markets. This creates a considerable need to restore public faith, and public relations professionals will play a vital role in leading the change.

 Reputation gives a company the ability to attract and retain customers and employees. Corporate reputation is based on factors such as:

• Quality of products or services,
• Earnings and business performance
• Stability and fairness as an employer

Restore The Trust

There are formal definitions of the term "public relations," yet it’s meaning is self-evident; it is the management of relationships between an organization and the constituencies upon which it depends.

Quite literally, public relations is managing relations with various publics, a role that grows in importance as reputation becomes ever more critical to business success. Companies can restore trust in a number of ways, many involving traditional PR strategies, such as:

• Using integrity and fairness as criteria for all business decisions;
• Maintaining an emphasis on quality of products or services;
• Openly sharing truthful information with all publics
• Actively seeking input from publics and being responsive to concerns;
• Renewing a commitment to local communities
• Creating forums to encourage dialogue with constituencies.

A company's reputation, or the essence of how it is viewed by all of its publics, is the leading factor in its ability to achieve success. With this in mind, the suffering situation of the corporate world is no small matter. Smaller companies now have the ability to restore trust and achieve a competitive edge over larger companies and helping these companies earn a reputation for credibility will require sound public relations leadership. The role of public relations today is more critical than ever before.

Linsey Bholah
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