Ronn Torossian On The Role Of Public Relations In Building A Corporate Image

According to PR agency executive Ronn Torossian, the role of public relations in building a corporate image is immense.

Corporate image, also referred to as corporate reputation, has the power to make or break a business. When people think about a company, it is important that the first thing that comes to their mind is positive. 

This can be achieved through public relations. Some of the ways that public relations can help build a good corporate image are:

Communicating with Stakeholders

Public relations involves creating and maintaining mutual relationships between a company and its stakeholder groups. Stakeholders include customers, employees, investors, suppliers, government agencies and the general public. By keeping these groups satisfied and engaged, companies can maintain a strong corporate image.

Suppliers are one example of a stakeholder group that can have a significant effect on a company’s corporate image if they are not managed well. They may share grievances to the media or even spread negative gossip on social media platforms if they feel dissatisfied with business practices. 

Similarly, employees who do not feel appreciated by management may also speak poorly of employers during job interviews or work-related conversations with friends and family members. Both of these scenarios can severely damage corporate images, which requires years of effort to repair.

Shaping Perceptions

Public relations takes the lead in building corporate image. PR is not a job of the media, but of the business itself. Through PR, a company can shape its image through public relations. It can influence perception in a timely manner while establishing good communication with the public, and while promoting exchanges and cooperation with the public too.

PR can also be used to carry out various external exchanges and internal publicity. The task of public relations is to improve a company's image in order to win more market opportunities.

How PR Affects Corporate Image and Goodwill

PR can be used to achieve many different goals, depending on what an organization wishes to accomplish. For example, if a company wants to change its image, it can use public relations to do so. If a company wants to increase its sales, it can also use public relations to do so. And if a company wants to simply get more information out about its products and services, public relations can help in this area as well.

The traditional function of PR was to build awareness and recognition of an organization's products and services through third-party endorsements. In the past, that meant sending out press releases to the media, with follow-up calls to newspapers and magazines to get coverage. In today's digital environment, that still applies, but the role of PR is changing rapidly.

Public relations is not just a buzzword. It can add a lot of value to a company in the form of brand-building, sales, and customer support. When people think of PR, they usually think of crisis management or event planning, but it's so much more than that.

PR executives are responsible for increasing a company’s values and ensuring that consumers receive the right messages about them. They also communicate with customers on behalf of their client company.

Ronn Torossian founded 5WPR.