Perception and Reputation in a Circular Economy

In the last 30 years, the importance of intangible assets (and primarily of corporate reputation and brand) in assessing the overall value of the company has changed drastically. Today, according to various studies, intangible assets count for 80-85% of the company’s value. Simultaneously, communication mechanisms between the business and its target audiences have also been significantly upgraded. However, we can say that we are on the verge of new, even more ambitious changes.

Fifty and even twenty years ago, communication was linear: information was first created and then transmitted. If the information and the channel were chosen correctly, there was a positive result. In today’s world, however, such simple technology does not work anymore because the total amount of information has grown exponentially. We live in a world of colossal excess of information, so we often disregard very important pieces of it.

Therefore, what’s most important for the business today is to be able to interact with the target audience after the information has been created and delivered. Formation of perception and reputation become the same circular process as the modern economy itself. Maintaining the attention of the target audience via constant dialogue in their language is now a more important task than simply delivering information to the outside world.

Consequently, in the near future, we will see how tools that allow for a truly consistent and multilateral dialogue between the business and its target audiences will be most in demand.

Sustainable Development Reporting - An Instrument for Companies to Enter New Markets

The development of the consulting sector in the field of CSR reports, from our point of view, can become an integral part of the PR strategy of foreign companies, primarily for companies from developing countries wishing to enter European markets. The report of the foreign manufacturer on its activities in the field of improving the quality of products, protecting the environment, sustainable development and improving working conditions, compiled in accordance with the requirements of international standards and regulating bodies of the EU countries, will demonstrate a high degree of corporate responsibility to the European consumer and will create an atmosphere of trust for a new and unfamiliar brand.

Such a strategy, for example, is very beneficial to Chinese companies, whose brands, albeit successful, are not yet well known to European consumers. And this is in a situation where, according to research findings, 98% of Chinese mid-level companies systematically implement certain programmes in the sphere of sustainable development.

Differences in the approaches to the dissemination and use of information are gradually becoming the primary differences in the corporate culture of companies from different regions of the world. When it comes to projects that involve partnership between such companies, the use of standardised and universal communication tools allows for these differences to be overcome.