Conclusion

The corporate brand is distinct from product brands in the diversity of audiences with which it has to interact. Rationally, it should not focus on shareholders to the detriment of others, nor just on consumers. The former leads to an obsession with profits to the exclusion of all else and the latter to an obsession with market share. Balancing the needs of audiences, then, should be the task of the complete corporate brand. Listening to and then meeting their requirements therefore makes good business sense. It makes the most of employees’ abilities and initiative, it helps garner positive press comment, it generates the goodwill of shareholders and it meets the demands of consumers for good service. Citing the examples of Marks and Spencer, Unipart, John Lewis, Unilever and Shell, the writer John Plender says: These companies appear to be good at fostering what sociologists call social capital: the intangible wealth represented by education and training, cooperative working practices, loyalty and commitment. In businesses which rely heavily on human capital, stakeholding confers competitive advantage and, quite as important, encourages employees to feel good about what they do.1