The internet empowers consumers, allowing them to post their views about a brand to a worldwide audience. Companies need to be able to deal with this new form of brand scrutiny, protect their brands and manage their reputation online. Neatly sorted into categories we all recognise from the big search engines, these websites allow customers very easily to convey their concerns to a broad audience. These internet operations promise to help people make better decisions, but they also empower customers to shape corporate reputations. In the future, many companies may find it necessary to create and staff positions for online reputation management.
Reputation management is important in protecting the long-term value of a brand.
It is not a cosmetic image management device, nor is it a mere strategy to sell more products. Reputation management speaks to the very heart of an organisation. Just as it is difficult for an individual to put on a false face without being found out, so it is difficult for a company to espouse values that its actions do not support. On the web, it is easy to find out about a company's true nature. In Eli Lilly's case this means medicine, life sciences and health care to all the company's key constituents such as doctors, hospitals, insurers and regulators.