2012 Republican Presidential Race: In _____ we Trust

In ___________ we Trust.  With Rick Santorum winning 3 states, Mitt Romney still leading polls and Newt Gingrich showing no signs of backing down, the big question for the Republican Party, is who their Presidential Candidate for 2012 elections going to be?

Polls aside, a sampling of a few comments posted on Facebook for Mitt Romney gives the sentiment of some people:
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Mr. Romney, May I suggest rather than attacking your opponents, please tell us your plan for America. I know what Mr. Obama’s leadership has done for this country. I know what the “Old Guard” has done. Give the American voter a positive based roadmap that will take this country on the road to recovery. I believe a lot of voters are tired of the negative campaigns that we listen to for months on end. A positive voice will be a refreshing change. I do not by any means to ignore the facts, just stick to them, hold your opponents responsible for their past actions but show me and the American voter your roadmap for obtaining a more prosperous country. What can you do for America, not what has been done. Thank You

“I know that Mitt donated millions to the poor! I know that he went to Harvard! I know that he is a good man! That doesn’t mean that he is electable. I voted for him in 2008. I am a registered REPUBLICAN! The fact of the matter, is that our party had become a disgrace to this country, and there is a rEVOLution happening! We want sound money, anti-war, and constitutional rights RESTORED!

STOP THE NEGATIVE ATTACKS TO OTHER REPUBLICANS, SAY WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO ….YOU ARE HURTING OUR CHANCES….
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So, does Ad spend on TV make a lasting impact on the results of an election?  Do citizens cast their vote under the influence of media or do they demand definitive candidates’ position on key issues that matter to them, such as Economy and Jobs?  Regardless of the strategy, candidates’ reputation remains at the heart of every issue and the analysis of this reputation will be paramount to their candidacy.

Manish Sheth
Chief Operating Officer
Neputation

Building Reputation and Value Creation through Transparency

One of the most important driver of company’s corporate or brand reputation is its business transparency. My definition of transparency is being totally transparent with all aspects of our business, and there is no fabrication in terms of who we are, what we stand for and how we make money. Thus, transparency is really a fusion of five qualities: ethics, trustworthiness, openness, communication and accountability.

• Ethics – We have to be right and fair with our conduct. There can be no compromises to our values under any circumstances.
• Trustworthiness – We have to be honest and reliable in all customer interactions.  We earn trust by genuinely helping customers with their toughest problems.
• Openness – We have to be open and accessible to our customers. We make it easy for our customers to contact us on their terms—anytime, anywhere and anyhow.
• Communication – Be proactive and share relevant information (good as well as bad) early and often. There can be no bad surprises for our customers—ever!
• Accountability – We have to be accountable and responsible for all of our actions. We routinely over-deliver to our customers on all fronts.

The above qualities of transparency must permeate in all aspects of your business from people to processes to technologies. Easier said than done, right? So how do companies execute on the culture of transparency? Let’s take Eli Lilly and Company as an example. Lilly strives to be a leading voice and role model in transparency efforts in the biopharmaceutical industry. Lilly strongly believes that transparency is critical to rebuilding trust in their industry and their ability to execute on their mission to make medicines that help people live longer, healthier, more active lives. In 2004, Lilly was the first company to establish an online database of clinical-trial results, and in 2007, they were the first company to establish a public registry of their grants and charitable contributions. Again, in 2009, they became the first company to report their payments to physicians for speaking and advising services.

All of the qualities of transparency discussed above are critical; however, ethics may have the deepest impact on shareholder value creation. The impact is so great that one can claim that ethical organizations are transparent organizations and vice-versa. ETHISPHERE compiles an annual listing of the World’s Most Ethical (WME) companies. The WME designation is awarded to those companies that have leading ethics and compliance programs, particularly as compared to their industry peers. Below is a partial list of ETHISPHERE 2011 World’s Most Ethical companies based on target industries that are of interest to us. You can find the complete list here.

Aerospace

• Indra Sistemas
• Rockwell Collins Inc.
• The Aerospace Corporation

Computer Software

• Adobe Systems
• Microsoft
• Salesforce.com
• Symantec Corporation
• Teradata Corporation

Diversified Industries

• General Electric Co.

Electronics and Semiconductors

• Freescale Semiconductor
• Premier Farnell
• TexasInstruments

Engineering and Design

• AECOM Technology Corporation
• CH2M Hill
• Fluor Corporation

Industrial Manufacturing

• Caterpillar
• Deere & Company
• Eaton Corporation
• Milliken & Company
• Schneider Electric

Internet

• Zappos

Medical Devices

• Becton Dickinson
• Royal Philips

Telecom Hardware

• Avaya Inc.
• Cisco Systems
• Juniper Networks

Transportation and Logistics

• AutoridaddelCanal de Panama
• East Japan Railway Company
• NipponYusen Kabushi Kaisha
• UPS

As we review the WME company list, we see several of our favorite brands like AMEX, General Mills, PepsiCo, Whole Food, Marriott, Starbucks, Target and UPS. One of the primary reasons we remain loyal to these companies and brands is because of the transparency of their products, services and experiences. There are no gimmicks or pretending to be something they are not. I am a bit surprised to not see Apple on this list, and maybe it is because of their top-secrecy with respect to new product development, design and supply-chain execution. However, as part of Apple’s newly launched Supplier Responsibility initiative, they are driving a range of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities across their worldwide supply chain. For example, they unveiled the names of 156 companies that represent 97% of their global supply chain, performing a thorough supplier audit in the areas of Labor and Human Rights, Worker Health and Safety, Environmental Impact, Ethics, Management Systems and Worker Education and Development. It is an unusual move for Apple, underscoring that new CEO, Tim Cook, has ushered in an era of greater transparency. So it’s just a matter of time before Apple is inducted onto this list.

The very foundation of the Internet industry is built on transparency, so I was surprised that only Zappos made the list. Why Amazon, BlueNile and scores of other companies like Costco and Staples did not make the list is up for debate. Within the computer-software industry, the big familiar names within enterprise software, such as Oracle and SAP, did not make the cut.

According to ETHISPHERE, it pays to be ethical, and ethical companies on average generate shareholder returns four times that of S&P 500 returns (see the chart below).

[click to enlarge]

Thus, the business case for transparency is right in front of our eyes. In this dynamic, ever-complex and hyper-competitive world, the organizations that are built on transparency as a core foundation have unfair competitive advantage. As Simon Sinek showed us in his inspirational video at TED, “people don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” Unless transparency is weaved in as a core fabric of your organization, your customers will be challenged to understand both the “what” and the “why” of your purpose. Transparency helps you stay grounded and focused on things that really matter.

Are you committed to making “transparency” a top strategic goal for your company in 2012 and in the process build a stellar reputation?

- Sanjiv Karani, CEO

Bre.ad: Key Ingredient or Tasteless Promo?

When it comes to shortening URLs, bit.ly has been my weapon of choice for conserving characters, tracking analytics, and general organization. However, there is an appetizing startup looking to help you chef-up some additional flavor. Currently in private beta, Bre.ad gives shortened URLs five seconds of personalized promo before taking you to the final destination (ex: http://bre.ad/0ccfyw). Although yet to be released publicly, there has already been plenty of debate over its value proposition. An undoubtedly clever execution, but is this the reincarnation of the pop-up ad masquerading as self-expression? Let’s explore this in greater detail…

7 Deadly Sins of Sentiment Analysis

When it comes to monitoring and measuring social media there are plenty of tools to choose from ranging from the entirely free to the incredibly pricey. Generally, you will get what you pay for on the lower end of the spectrum, but the value really tends to vary once you cross over the $500 per month threshold.

As firehose data access becomes increasingly commoditized, it is the depth of analysis that truly differentiates these solutions. Terms like natural language processing (NLP), text analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) have become all the rage. However, it is sentiment analysis that has received the most hype and it is frightening how often it is abused.

The following will examine some critical mistakes to avoid when analyzing sentiment…

+0.02 on Google +1

When it comes to social, Google has failed to successfully execute. As captivating as Wave initially sounded, it turned out to be nothing more than a learning experience. Many feel the premature timing may have prevented it from living up to its hype. Getting there too early can be equally as devastating as being late to the party like the recent Buzz-kill that will never catch up to Twitter’s traction. Despite previous attempts at social, Google +1 certainly has the search expertise to back any efforts they decide to launch. What can we expect as Google strategically ventures deeper into “social search”? Is this the unofficial beginning of “Google Circles”?

REPUTATIONology

The emergence of the internet may have given anyone in the world a unique voice, but it is the recent proliferation of social graphs that have given these voices both credibility and real-time reach. The once fragmented shouting match of the Web has now been refined to personalized networks, organized communities, and unique identities. People are now able to instantly reach out to anyone with a shared interest, passion, friend, location, etc. Uncensored peer reviews offer more trustworthy opinions than the neatly packaged 30-second Madison Ave propaganda of the past.

Making the Most of Your Data

Dear Corporate Baby Boomers: crank-up your hearing aids and accept social technologies or get out of the way. Actionable insights are just waiting to be mined in these increasingly vocal conversations. There’s no more hiding and running away will only make things worse. People will find you and people will talk about you. How could you not want to hear what they have to say and make the most out of all the available data?

Social Media Monitoring: 6 Critical Questions to Address

As social media continues to evolve exponentially, keeping track of it even at a personal level becomes a difficult task. You can imagine how much more involved this can be for an entire company or brand to make sense of all this data. The following post examines 6 critical questions that arise when attempting to monitor social media.

Can Net Promoter Score Transform Your Business?

The questions is Can Net Promoter Score (NPS) Transform Your Business? According to Charles Schwab, Yes! In their recent video interview with management consultancy Bain & Company, they discussed the impact of NPS on their business. For those who are not familiar with NPS, it’s a company loyalty metric calculated by subtracting the % of Detractors (customers who are not likely to refer the company to others) from the % of Promoters (who are likely to recommend the company to others). For more information about NPS, go to http://www.netpromoter.com.

Attached are the key takeaways from the Charles Schwab case study:

Can Someone Quantify the Value of Online Customer Service?

The answer is YES and it’s a pretty big number according to “The Value of Great Customer Service” survey conducted by STELLAService. Based on the average amount spent by online consumers each year, the survey found that $17.3 billion of value can be created in 2010 by Internet retailers that offer excellent customer service. The survey found that online consumers are willing to pay a 10.7% higher premium for the great customer service. This makes sense considering that the customer service is even more critical in the online retail environment due to the seemingly distant and remote nature of online shopping. The higher premium provides the comfort and peace of mind to the consumers that they will be taken care of independent of any serious problem or issue.