CRISis and Reputation Management

Reputations of individuals and organizations are more fragile than ever. Here are a few ways Kurschner Consulting helps fend off or defend crisis situations:

Crisis management: We protect and defend an individual or organization experiencing an attack or threat on its reputation by quickly assembling a team of internal experts, getting a clear assessment of the situation, assigning roles and accountabilities, prioritizing steps, developing key messages and related messaging, and responding (or in some instances, not responding but being ready to do so if need be). Some situations require the development of a crisis and reputation management plan as we fight fires; others require review and possible fine tuning of an organization's already drafted crisis plan.

Reputation management: A respected reputation takes years to create and only a few minutes to harm or destroy. We develop a strategy and plan and can help execute it including with the delivery of messages designed to influence key stakeholders such as employees, clients/customers, suppliers, investors, family members (for family businesses), general media, trade media and government entities.

The Value of Reputation

Companies with better reputations attract more and better job applicants, gain more favorable earned media, have larger premiums and pay less for goods and services.
The value of reputation is approximately 20 percent of the market cap of large companies.
75 percent of 34,000 people recently surveyed say they actively recommend a business they trust. They are willing to pay a premium, want to try its latest innovations first and stick with a brand even if a competitor gets better reviews.

Like your health, a reputation can suffer if it doesn’t have a healthy immune system. And even then, it occasionally needs help thwarting off attacks and accidents. How fit is your reputation?

Kurschner Consulting guides business owners and leaders in ensuring their reputations are healthy, and remain as such as much as possible, regardless of what may come their way. We do this by providing the following services:

Reputation Health Check

We do a checkup on the strength of your reputation by analyzing a variety of factors including:

How much employees, customers and other constituents trust and value your brand
The consistency of your organization’s messaging relative to its purpose, values and performance
How often and to whom you communicate, and how nimble this can be if needed
Your organizations’ governance structure, codes of conduct, delegations of authority, management practices and financials

Reputation Wellbeing

We do the health checkup mentioned above and then run your brand through a proprietary, “What if?” crisis simulator. This process identifies and clarifies ways to keep your reputation healthy, while uncovering current and potential susceptibilities. We then craft a formal reputation management plan that aligns performance, behavior, communication and authenticity, addresses any areas that can be improved upon, and includes approaches to dealing with potential crises.

Defense

Once a reputation has been hurt or attacked, Kurschner Consulting can quickly and calmly work with you, your legal team and others working on the crisis to stop further damage from occurring while starting the reputation rehabilitation process. Our experience as business owners and leaders solving complex, crisis-related situations enable us to efficiently extinguish the fire, while creating and starting a reputation repair and regrowth process.