Corporate Reputation vs Corporate Image

John Spacey, updated on August 23, 2016

Corporate reputation are the collective ideas that the public hold about your firm. Corporate image are the collective visual, emotional and cognitive associations that the public hold about your firm.

Corporate Reputation vs Corporate Image

Corporate reputation is about ideas and covers how customers, employees, partners, communities and regulators view your business. This goes far beyond how likely customers are to choose your brand from a shelf. For example, your reputation for corporate governance and financial stability may impact your cost of capital and ability to attract partners.

Corporate image is mostly focused on marketing and includes factors such as brand recognition and the feeling associated with your customer experience. It is less about ideas and more about visual and emotional appeal. In some cases, customers may be less influenced by reputation factors such as financial stability than image factors such as a stylish design.

Corporate Reputation vs Corporate Image
	Corporate Reputation	Corporate Image
Definition	The beliefs and opinions that customers, employees, partners, regulators and communities hold about a firm.	Visual, emotional and conceptual impressions that the public hold about a firm.
Focused On	Regulators Partners Media Customers Employees Communities	Customers Media
Scope	Beliefs Opinions Ideas	Visual symbols Emotional impressions Concepts Beliefs Opinions Ideas