Corporate Image

A company's corporate image is the public's perception of it's brand. A corporation shapes it's image by communicating its identity through marketing and advertising. However, what really sculpts the corporate image is a company's financial or innovative performance along with it's products and services. In today's world ethical business practices, business values, customer service and employee engagement play a very important role in establishing corporate image.

Elements of Corporate Image
Corporate Image was once advertising jargon but is today a common phrase referring to a company's reputation. The "image" is what the public is supposed to see when the corporation is mentioned. The ordinary man and woman on the street usually have a wry view of public relations, advertising, hype, hoopla, and therefore also of corporate image — and this often for good reasons. But a good corporate image is a genuine asset; it translates into dollars at the counter and higher stock valuation. The concept is usually associated with large corporations, but small businesses also have a corporate image even if neither their owners nor customers think of it that way. In the absence of active efforts, corporate image "simply happens": it is how a company is perceived. Management, however, may actively attempt to shape the image by communications, brand selection and promotion, use of symbols, and by publicizing its actions. Corporations trying to shape their image are analogous to individuals who will dress appropriately, cultivate courteous manners, and choose their words carefully in order to come across competent, likeable, and reliable. In the personal as in the corporate case, the image should match reality. When it does not, the consequence will be the opposite of the one intended.

A corporate image is, of course, the sum total of impressions left on the company's many publics. In many instances a brief, casual act by an employee can either lift or damage the corporate image in the eyes of a single customer or caller on the phone. But the overall image is a composite of many thousands of impressions and facts. The major elements are:
1) the core business and financial performance of the company,
2) the reputation and performance of its brands ("brand equity"),
3) its reputation for innovation or technological prowess, usually based on concrete events,
4) its policies toward its salaried employees and workers,
5) its external relations with customers, stockholders, and the community, and
6) the perceived trends in the markets in which it operates as seen by the public. Sometimes a charismatic leader becomes so widely known that he or she adds a personal luster to the company.

Importance of Corporate Image
The corporate image of a company plays an important role in the success of the company. Customers’ actions are largely influenced by the corporate image of a company. It is difficult to build a strong and positive image of the company in such a cut-throat competitive environment, and once the image is ruined, it is near impossible to gain it back. A positive corporate image is important because it:

• Increases the loyalty of customers and strengthens the relationship with them: In present times, people have many options when they decide to buy one product. In a highly competitive environment, companies use various strategies to gain the loyalty of their customers and attract new customers. A positive corporate image can help attain customers and helps in gaining their loyalty. For example, nowadays, companies participate in social activities such as helping poor, providing education to underprivileged children, or activities associated with environmental causes. Contribution in such activities creates a positive image of the company in the eyes of people.
• Enhances the performance of products: The performance of products produced by a company is largely impacted by its image in marketing. People have become aware more than ever, and they also have options to reject the products of one company and choose the products of another company. A company with a positive image can easily sell its products with investing less in advertising. For example, people have blind trust in the quality of the Phones and other technological devices produced by the Apple company because Apple, since its inception has managed to sustain a positive corporate image and always presented itself as a leader in the smartphones’ market.
• Influences the actions of the employees of a company: Employees of a company represent the company in the market, and their actions play an important role in building or ruining the image of a company. However, it is not wrong to say that the corporate image of a company also influences the actions of its employees. If employees are associated with a company with a strong and positive corporate image, then they will feel liable to act accordingly so that they will not harm the image of the company.
• Strengthens the business image of the company: People are skeptical when it comes to the investment of their money. Their investment decisions largely influenced by the corporate image of the company. A bad corporate image will not only harm the sales, but it will also repel investors.