Does Corporate Reputation Matter in Asia?

Despite an improving economy and recent record highs in the stock market, nearly half -- 44% -- of financial services companies lost 5% or more business in the past 12 months due to ongoing reputation and customer satisfaction issues. Losses based on total sales of these companies are estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars. There was an average loss of 9% of business among all companies surveyed according to the 2013 Makovsky Wall Street Reputation Study in May 2013.

The Makovsky Study clearly demonstrates what happens when the inauthenticity begins to affect an entire industry, tarring all companies with the same brush and hampering the ability of individual companies to positively differentiate themselves. Banking is a case in point. According to the most recent Ipsos Almanac “Most consumers genuinely do not believe banks want to help them. Industries facing the greatest reputational challenges are Financial Services, Energy and Pharma. In each of these it could be argued that the biggest strategic challenge facing the corporate affairs director is to counter the view that ‘you’re all the same’.