*Talkin' Bout My Reputation: The Reputation Institute's third annual Global Pulse consumer perception survey puts Toyota ahead of other mega-corporations like Google, Ikea and
Johnson & Johnson in reputation rankings.
The survey was designed to quantify the overall respect, trust, esteem and admiration that customers hold toward the world's largest 600 companies individually. Other findings
include:
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Toyota is the only car company in the top tier of reputation leaders;
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Two U.S. companies, Google and Johnson & Johnson, landed in top five rankings;
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Consumer and technology product companies enjoyed the best reputations, followed by pharmaceutical companies, conglomerates, raw material manufacturers and airlines
(surprising, given recent airline woes);
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The largest gains in reputation from the previous years' study were in the information/media and computer sectors; and,
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Cracking the global top 10 this year is Denmark's diabetes drug specialist Novo Nordisk, Mexico's food retailer Grupo Bimbo and Switzerland's food giant Migros.
Source: Reputation Institute
*Step 1--Admitting You Have a Problem: According to a CMO Council study, the majority of global companies are aware of their deficiencies in their go-to-market capabilities, as
well as in their marketing and sales processes.
The study confirmed what before was only an assumption--that some of the world's most respected corporations acknowledge a major disconnect between what they know they should
be doing and their actual methods of operation. The survey also revealed that:
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66% of executives polled have undertaken fewer than four high-profile initiatives to improve their marketing and sales capabilities over the last five years;
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Most of the executives surveyed said they were focused on selling effectiveness and account management (43%), while placing less importance on longer-term capabilities such
as customer data capture, integration and warehousing (15%). Improvements in channel management (14%) or multifunctional selling teams (11%) also ranked lower;
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56% of respondents said that investments in people (talent and performance management) will be key to enhancing go-to-market performance over the next three years.
- Still, only 24% are planning to improve their existing teams' skills and capabilities via increased training and development;
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While most marketing and sales professionals (58%) strive to be considered best-in-class, few are prioritizing analysis of competitors' strengths and best practices.
- Less than 8% ranked looking at best practices externally or internally as a top priority; and,
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Companies appear to be relying on traditional metrics such as revenue growth (85%), acquisition and retention (53%), market share (49%) and margin improvement (47%) for
evaluating go-to-market performance.
Source: CMO Council
*Re: Saving the World: A global study on corporations' concern for environmental sustainability shows that half of all businesses polled lack a sustainability strategy. The
survey, developed by The Vandiver Group and sponsored by Pinnacle Worldwide, shed light on the responses of CEOs to increasing regulations and to calls for perception improvement.
Other conclusions include:
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The highest-rated business strategy was the creation of a sustainability vision that establishes a shared road map for meeting current unmet needs;
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Blogs, radio and TV were the lowest-rated drivers, scoring below "somewhat important";
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46% of respondents perceived media coverage of environmental topics as accurate about half the time, with 28% seeing reporting as "mostly accurate."
- However, 22% rated media as "mostly inaccurate" or "extremely inaccurate";
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When asked about potential production methods for meeting the world's food needs, respondents saw very little difference in current practices; and,
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Clearing forests and grasslands for food production and ocean-caught fishing were seen as having the least potential for success at providing future food needs for the
planet. PRN
Source: Vandiver Group