Why reputation matters

Regine Le Roux, founder and managing director at Reputation Matters.

Tell us more about your involvement in this year’s Africa Brand Summit and what we can expect from your masterclass.

The Africa Brand Summit will be raising pertinent issues on the image of Africa. As a continent, we have so much to offer, but for too long we have been selling ourselves short and tend to focus too much on all the negative aspects. We need to change the narrative of Africa and the message that we send to the rest of the world. Changing the reputation of Africa will have a major impact on economic development.

When a company has a good reputation, people want to spend their hard-earned money on a particular product or service because they resonate with the values of the company and want to be associated with a particular brand. The same goes for a country and continent. An improved reputation will positively impact foreign investment, which will stimulate the economy and positively impact infrastructure, education and overall well-being for all citizens.

2 days to go until the hosting of the Africa Brand Summit

6 Oct 2020

Building the reputation of the continent, one company at a time is a key focus for us at Reputation Matters. It’s, therefore, very important for us to be part of the conversation to improve the brand and resultant reputation of Africa. We are thrilled to be hosting a masterclass focusing specifically on reputation management tomorrow, 6 October 2020 from 1 to 3:30pm. It’s a practical hands-on session where the delegates will be taken through the 10 key building blocks that impact a reputation. These building blocks can then either be translated to a personal reputation, or even a country and continent.

Comment on the format (digital, interactive).

It will be a hybrid approach. Some delegates will be attending in person (the session and conference are taking place at the Vineyard Hotel & Spa). Others will join via a live stream. This live stream is kindly being sponsored by the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (Prisa) giving more people an opportunity to participate in the session.

Comment on the agenda (of the masterclass).

The delegates will be taken through a practical class. The Repudometer® model will be used as a base to outline the five reputation building blocks that impact their business' reputation. They will be encouraged to score themselves for each of the elements discussed so that they can get an idea of the percentage of their reputation. With practical exercises throughout, they will be able to ascertain what areas may need immediate attention to help them formulate a reputation strategy and plan for themselves.

Comment on the current state of reputation management.

Unfortunately, I think that reputation management only becomes a priority when there is a crisis. People also tend to confuse reputation management with social media. Effective reputation management will help you to minimise crisis situations and avoid social media blunders.

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What are you going to be teaching?

Tips and tricks on how to build your reputation. I like to compare reputations to fitness.

When you want to get fit, you need the right balance of exercise, healthy food and mind space. Too much focus on one area could be disastrous. Everything needs to be in balance. This is exactly the same when it comes to your reputation, you can't just rely on one aspect of your business to build your reputation.

Every part of your business contributes to how you are perceived. Building a reputation is all about consistency, you are either consistently good (building a positive experience and reputation); or consistently inconsistency, negatively impacting your reputation.

During the session, you will be taken through the ten key things that impact your reputation.

The session starts off with comparing being fit with a company's reputation.

If you are fit and healthy, then:

1. You feel great
2. You avoid getting hurt, and if you do injure yourself you recuperate a lot faster if you are healthy
3. It's something that you constantly measure, you'll know where to improve (what to eat / what equipment to use)

If your company's reputation is good:

1. People will want to do business with you
2. You avoid crisis situations and are able to revert from a crisis much quicker
3. It's something that needs to be monitored to see where you can improve

And lastly, why is this important, why does reputation matter?

Every single person and every company, is contributing to the reputation of South Africa, and ultimately Africa. The reputation of the continent needs to become all our responsibility and priority. Economically it’s non-negotiable, and as mentioned above, the better the economy and investment into the country and continent will have a positive impact on social development.

If you have not booked your seat yet, visit africabrandsummit.co for more information on an incredible programme of important conversations.