41. Reputation Management

The reputation of oneself, a brand or an organisation is very crucial. Reputation helps us understand one’s perspective on you or the brand. Reputation helps to build and maintain relationships and trust. It helps to have influence over others. It has an impact on one’s confidence and facilitates growth. Reputation online as well as offline is inescapable. One must manage their online reputation because in this era a blunder can not only cause destruction in your online reputation but also wreck your offline reputation. A classic example of a well-maintained reputation is of the brand Nestle’s Maggi. Maggi has always been at the top in the ramen noodle category in India and also in the snacks cateogory. Maggi had gained the trust of mothers although being a processed food. Maggi was banned by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) back in June 2015 for five months citing excessive lead content per government lab tests forcing Nestle to withdraw the product from the market. Consumers switched from Maggi and completely stooped purchasing Maggi. The reputation that Maggi had built since 1983 came crumbling down. This turned out to be a blow for their reputation. Another classic example is Linsey Lohan who is an American actress, singer-songwriter, fashion designer, and film producer. She is best known for her acting roles in films such as Mean Girls and Freaky Friday etc. She was every girl’s favorite actress including mine. Her reputation started going downhill starting from her drunken driving arrest in 2007. Linsey Lohan’s struggle with drugs and alcohol sent her to five rehab facilities for a total of 250 days since January 2007. Her reputation was terribly affected and she yet faces legal concerns. There are many such reputation related cases that have been ravaged over the years. Some have managed to escape their disaster and some have vanished.