Becoming the Custodians of Trust

Authored by Anand Prakash, Reputation Consultant.

The alliance between a Reputation Consultant and his client is sacred, marked by a commitment to build understanding, foster genuine care, and drive effective communication. It serves as a stronghold for safeguarding and promoting their reputation at its zenith. I bear a profound sense of responsibility and nostalgia for those who trust us and bestow upon us the most invaluable asset in the world – their REPUTATION.

A turn of a day brings us to a New Year. I cannot help but wonder why the turn of a calendar year becomes so important to us, although nothing much changes as the four digits at the end of your date line increases by one.  The turn of financial year comprises a spirit of fiscal pragmatism. Our cultural New Year, although celebrated around the same period but on different dates, has an extremely strong community relevance. However, it is the Calendar New Year, the becoming of 2023 to 2024, which has an all-pervading unifying character. The beginning of a new calendar year brings with itself a certain closure as well as a period of reflection and future planning.    

For years as a communications consultant, the new year has been an occasion to not only make customary exchanges with the clients we have serviced, but to engage and discuss the road that we travelled together and the way ahead that needs to be paved. Over the years, the entire exercise evolved naturally and seamlessly, so much so it has become an integral part of our lives.

It has become like friends catching up to recapitulate the year gone by and making plans for the adventures yet to come. It is during these occasions that often have I and my team been touched with the realization of the trust and faith that we have been entrusted with. There have been few consistent reminders year after year, every new year, from these heart-to-heart exchanges.

In the intricate world of business, where success is often measured in numbers and bottom lines, there exists an intangible yet invaluable currency that flows beneath the surface - the currency of trust. For communications professionals, brand reputation management is not merely a job; it’s becoming an extension to the brand. The trust reposed upon us is the lifeblood that courses through the veins of the relationship between a communications consultant and its clients, making the consultant not just a strategic advisor but the banker of client and brand reputation.

As communication consultants, our every exchange is not just a transaction of services but an investment in a sacred covenant. Our entire evolution needs to evolve as a custodian of reputation and trust, a keeper of promises, and a custodian of the intangible assets that define a brand. This position, howsoever attractive, cannot be achieved overnight. We often advise to our clients, the process of brand building is not so much an outcome of doing something big, but more of doing significant things consistently. Similarly, building credibility comes over time though consistent, concerted efforts. Trust and faith between the consultant and the client builds over time. It is a meticulous construction, a blend of competence, transparency, and delivery.

In this process, there will be rooms you will walk into where the mere reception of yours will tell you that you have earned is the reputation of being an able advisor and a harbinger of solutions to key challenges faced by your clients. Then there will be rooms when the reception will tell you that there is a bridge to be built, a chasm to be crossed. In the case of the former, it is important to safeguard against complacency and not take your clients for granted. In the case of the latter, you would know there’s a work that’s cut out for you. Depending upon how wide the chasm is, thinking on your feet, quick action, and delivery might be the need of the hour.

Irrespective of how far along one has progressed in career, a communication consultant remains a frontline soldier for a brand, especially considering the dynamic times we live in. Communication has become easier; it has also become chaotic. With information travelling at the speed of light and stakeholder opinion may swell any moment, miscommunication has become lethal. The role of a communications consultant has evolved from being a mere messenger to being a sentinel, ever watchful, anticipating and assessing every possible ripple impacting the client. It is in this role that it becomes important for us to assess the waves our brands need to ride and the ones that need to be averted. 

A question arises – do we just walk into a conversation to discuss the recent past and the near future? The answer is in negative. There’s a need to be prepared. Being flamboyant or confident are great qualities to have, but there’s no replacement for good preparation. Knowing your clients, the work that has happened, the challenges or concerns them may have voiced – being abreast with all these aspects is important. However, differentiate this from any review meeting. The conversation needs to reflect that you are aware.

While holding the conversation, two things play a key role. The first is to listen, which is of course important. The second is to educate and advise. It has been a common observation that communication consultants become so engrossed in the execution that we forget on being an advisor. The discussion that advising ensues brings clarity to plans and messaging and helps in charting the right course of action. It will make a significant difference in going all out for the brand when the time is right.

The journey to become the guardians of the brand reputation begins from the first day of calendar year. The role of communications consultant needs to evolve as that of an investment banker. Not only we help the brand safeguard its reputation and assets, we have the onus of becoming the growth drivers for brand reputation. In the end, it is not just about managing communication; it is about fostering a relationship of trust that transcends the transactional and becomes a legacy over time.