Company image: what is it and how to form it?

In modern conditions of business development, the company's image is one of its relevant and effective tools necessary for successful work. When choosing a partner for a commercial transaction, first of all, they pay attention to his business reputation. Creating a favorable opinion of an organization is a painstaking process that takes years to complete. With the growth and development of the company, its image also undergoes a change, which must always correspond to the current state of affairs and be directed to the needs of the consumer.

The concept of a company's image implies the prevailing opinion of partners, customers and the public about the reliability of the company, the quality of the services it provides and the positive business reputation of its management. When forming an image, the management style within the company, the interpersonal relationships of employees, as well as how external business contacts are built, are important. In addition, the image includes the name of the company, its logo, motto, trade mark and other official attributes.

The perception of a company is formed as a set of its characteristics and properties, formed naturally or purposefully formed. To maintain their positive image, they carry out work, thanks to which the image is endowed with additional values. Depending on the activity of introducing such values ​​into the public consciousness, the company promotes itself among competitors. Thus, the image is also a rather strong instrument of competition.

A well-formed perception presents correlation of the company's mission with the needs of the clientthan helps the organization to position itself and its services in the sales market in a favorable perspective.

A positive image is not only a high-quality advertising and PR-campaign that distinguishes an organization from the general mass of competitors in the service market. For this, the image has certain functions. The responsibilities of specialists working in this area include the task of drawing up an annual action plan, all parts of which reflect this functional process. The organization must be presented to the public as a good partner, a responsible manufacturer of quality products and a loyal employer.

The work plan is a working tool, but its effectiveness is high only if all its parts are carried out with equal attention. As part of the plan, the functions of the image must be reflected.

• Disclosing the core values ​​of the company... This part of the image implies a clear formulation of the direction of its activities.
• Development of goals for creating a business. This function is to strive for high performance standards that will benefit not only the firm, but society as a whole.
• Formation of corporate philosophy. Such a function reflects those features of the company that are unique. It has a deep meaning that determines the basis of the entire life of the organization.
• Selection of long-term development plans and ways of their implementation. Knowing the direction of movement, it is easier for the company to navigate in the market space, which means that the achievement of its goals will be clear and fast.
• Creation of the concept of behavior and appearance. This part of the image determines the ways in which the organization will achieve alignment with its chosen philosophy, goals and adherence to its corporate values.

A clear vision of the functions of its image gives the company the opportunity not only to position itself among other market players, but also to assess the situation within itself.

The elements of the company's perception are mainly socially oriented. With their help, it becomes possible to achieve mutually beneficial work with clients and establish an emotional connection with them.

Besides, a positive image in the business environment creates an equally positive corporate spirit among employees. However, the constituent links of the image will have some features characteristic of a particular area of ​​entrepreneurial activity. For example, for an educational organization, the ability to transfer knowledge and take care of the moral education of students will be important in its reputation, and for a corporation that produces cars, the image will consist in the reliability and prestige of its products.

The public perception of the company can be called the external side of the image, which consists of the following components:

• corporate visual style - brand, trade mark, logo, corporate colors and symbols;
• the opinion formed by buyers about the quality of goods or services;
• social orientation of the company;
• business reputation.

The outer side of the image should be attractive and understandable. Marketers believe that 80% of the decision to engage with an organization depends on how attractive its external message is.

The situation within the company determines the inner side of its reputation. Its commercial success directly depends on how well-coordinated and friendly atmosphere reigns in the organization. This part of the image consists of the following components:

• the mission of the company and its values ​​for employees, combined into such a concept as corporate culture;
• the reputation of members of the management team;
• norms of behavior, appearance and interaction of employees with each other.

Improving the outer side of the image is impossible without taking into account its inner component. In the course of evolutionary development, reputation can undergo various changes. The organization's image can be traditional, desired, real, idealized, updated, positive, and so on.

The company's image model is clearly structured, where all the elements are distributed in terms of hierarchy and ordering.

• Business image. Consists of business reputation and commercial activity indicators.
• Social image. Includes aspects of the company's social activities.
• External perception of the organization... Contains elements of corporate identity, staff appearance, room design.
• Employee image. Determined by the competence of personnel, culture of communication, socio-demographic characteristics.
• Internal reputation. It implies corporate culture and psychological climate within the team.
• The reputation of the leader. Consists of his appearance, behavioral features, socio-demographic characteristics, education, psychological characteristics.
• Image of the consumer of the company's goods and services... It is determined by the client's lifestyle, his social status, psychological characteristics.
• Image of goods and services. Consists of the declared value of the goods and additional services.

The combination of all elements in each organization is unique. Evaluating its parameters from the point of view of a client or a business partner, one can clearly see what the company's image looks like in reality - what has been achieved and what should be strived for.

To create a favorable impression of the organization, its employees and services, a set of various tools is used to work with the internal and external image of the company.

The creation of an internal corporate image is achieved in the following ways.

• Development of personnel policy. Includes requirements for the education of employees, their professional skills and experience. The organization establishes a certain level of official salaries, staff powers, opportunities for professional growth, the rate of penalties and incentives, the possibility of raising the level of qualifications through training.
• Staff motivation. The program implies a scale of bonuses and additional payments for labor achievements, payment for a certain set of medical services, and sports. The company organizes celebrations, excursion trips, team games for employees. This approach improves internal communication between people and increases team cohesion.
• Focus on professionalism. The company's employees are trained in customer service skills, conduct trainings to study the properties of the product being sold, and instill a conscious loyalty to the trade brand and company.

Work with personnel plays an important role for the perception of the organization, not only from the inside, but also from the outside. Seeing a friendly climate between employees, customers are much more loyal to the solution of many commercial issues, since their trust will be high. In addition, each employee performs the function of an external informant, communicating with his family, friends and acquaintances.

The external reputation of a company depends on a set of certain programs that are carried out on a regular basis. It is important for a young organization to declare itself and from the first days of its existence to create a favorable impression by performing the following actions:

• informing partners and potential clients about the goals and mission of the company by inviting them to thematic events, exhibitions, presentations;
• advertising materials must necessarily contain an emphasis not only on the quality of goods and services, but also emphasize for which target audience they are intended;
• When communicating with clients and the media, it is important to strictly observe the rules of business etiquette, since the first impression that has arisen can be very difficult to correct later.

After some time, when the company takes its place in the market and is able to gain a foothold there, it is necessary to increase the amount of funding aimed at creating an internal image. This work includes the following main points:

• creation and implementation in the team of certain corporate norms that contribute to maintaining the team spirit;
• development of a general style of office, clothing, communication with each other, which would correspond to the accepted corporate norms and the specifics of the company's activities;
• analytical research of customer loyalty to a brand, trade mark, product and company.

The set of measures is carried out sequentially and takes at least 1.5-2 years from the moment the company was founded.

The financial costs and the range of activities performed increase with the growth and development of the company. When its life cycle is on its way to becoming, the mechanisms that contribute to strengthening the image are as follows:

• creating short-term goals and plans to achieve them;
• according to development plans, a market segment is determined in which further promotion is required;
• development of a brand name, logo and symbols;
• personnel selection and placement of employees, their management to achieve the planned plans;
• conducting analytical research in the field of marketing to identify those aspects of the company's work that need improvement;
• creating a client base and performing work to maintain its relevance.

In parallel with strengthening a positive external image, work is being done to increase employee loyalty:

• traditions are formed in the team aimed at cohesion and friendly relations between employees;
• an office space or a retail outlet is decorated with attributes made in accordance with corporate standards;
• expert research is being intensified to predict the external conditions of the market and the innovations required from the company in this regard.

When the organization was able to stand firmly on its feet and was fully integrated into the market space, its further positive external image is enhanced by the following actions:

• the emphasis in advertising materials is placed on stable work and growth of the company;
• constant and close communication is maintained with clients;
• booklets or brochures are issued in which the technologies or innovations of the company are advertised from the standpoint of its achievements;
• all types of communications use company logos;
• the first public contacts and socially oriented advertising begin.

When an organization becomes fully stable and resilient to market changes, at the stage of its maturity, the internal image is maintained using the following techniques:

• new sales markets are being developed - business is entering the regional level, subsidiaries of the company are opening;
• innovative developments are carried out and a test of oneself in new directions that fit into the framework of the company's concept;
• relations with clients are set up in a two-way manner, that is, feedback is assumed in the form of a public dialogue.

Steadily growing organizations, Having passed the main stages of the life cycle, they can afford to reduce the costs of advertising with a general focus, since their brand becomes universally recognizable and there is no longer a need to promote it as intensively as it was done before. On the contrary, advertising will now need innovative directions.