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The presidents and CEOs of Accor North America, Winland Electronics, and St. Edward’s University discuss:

Standing Out: Maintaining Your

Company’s Reputation in an Increasingly

Competitive MarketOlivier Poirot

CEO, Accor North America, Motel 6, and Studio 6

Thomas de PetraPresident and CEO, Winland Electronics, Inc.

George E. Martin, Ph.D.President, St. Edward’s University

In every market, there are thousands of names that are instantly recog-nizable and thousands more that are completely unknown. You need to make sure that your company not only stands out from the crowd,

but stands out for a specific, excellent, and intentional reason. People no longer just want to work with someone they know, they want to work with someone they can trust. Learning what attracts people to your business and also what may drive them away is essential. You need to stand out, especially in this economy, and finding what differentiates you from your competitors is necessary to rise above them. In this ExecBlueprint, you will learn how to manage a well-known brand that is trying to change its reputation, to manage customer expectations to maintain a reputation, and to emphasize the strongest points of your business to build a new reputa-tion. With these tools, you will be able to draw attention to your company and establish a solid reputation in the marketplace. ■

Action Points

I. The Challenge of Building and Maintaining Your Reputation in a Crowded MarketWhile public perception of your company may already be good, it can always get better. You must strategically plan how to stand out among your peers and adapt to the changing needs of your customers.

II. The Bottom LineYou have to understand your brand before you can successfully grow it. Know what makes your company stand out from the crowd and emphasize that in your marketing. Highlight what makes you unique and build awareness of that aspect to your customers.

III. Must-Haves for Staying Competitive Image is everything. You should always try to not just meet, but exceed expectations. Find out what your clients expect and then deliver more.

IV. The Golden Rules for Rising Above the CompetitionEvery customer has a different need. What works with one may not work with another. Try different strategies and approaches until you find the right one for each client.

V. Essential Take-AwaysEvery person who interacts with your company will walk away with a certain perception of their encounter. Learn what it is and try to build upon the positive and fix the negative. Sometimes, being well-known can be both a blessing and a curse, so make sure you are known for the right things!

Contents

About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.2

Olivier Poirot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.3

Thomas de Petra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.6

George E. Martin, Ph.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.9

Ideas to Build Upon & Action Points . . . p.12

© Books24x7, 2010 About the Authors ExecBlueprints 2

About the Authors

George E. Martin, Ph.D., president of St. Edward’s University since 1999, has led the university’s

successful effort to gain national recogni-tion as one of the best small universities in the country. During this time, the freshman class has more than doubled from 368 to 757 students, and freshman retention has improved to 85 percent, helping to increase overall enrollment from 3,000 to 5,300 students. In its lat-est rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked St. Edward’s 21st among masters-granting universities in the West and also named the university as one of the “Up and Coming Schools” identified by its

academic peers. Donors have responded to the university’s vision and momentum by investing more than $70 million in St. Edward’s. Currently, Dr. Martin is form-ing partnerships to establish a spectrum of educational programs around the world as part of the university’s global engagement initiative.

Dr. Martin is a leader in American higher education, serving as chair of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas and chair-elect of the Council of Independent Colleges. He is equally dedicated to community development and the arts in Austin, serving several civic and artistic organizations including

Ballet Austin and the United Way. He has more than 30 years of experience in higher education.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Martin holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from St. John’s University and master’s and doctoral degrees in Political Science from Fordham University.

George E. Martin, Ph.D.President , St. Edward’s University

Olivier PoirotCEO , Accor North America, Motel 6, and Studio 6

Olivier Poirot is president and chief executive officer of Accor North America and chief execu-

tive officer of Motel 6 and Studio 6. Accor North America’s portfolio includes more than 1,000 Sofitel, Novotel, Studio 6, Motel 6, and Ibis properties through-out the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Before assuming his role as CEO, Poirot served as CFO of Accor North America beginning in 2003. In early 2006, he concluded the Platinum trans-action, a sale-and-management-back transaction encompassing eight of the Sofitel properties in the United States. In 2007, Mr. Poirot coordinated and con-cluded the $1.312 billion sale of Red Roof Inn. In 2008, under his leadership,

Motel 6 introduced the contemporary, European-style Phoenix Prototype that will take the brand through the next decade.

Mr. Poirot is also leading Accor North America’s development and prop-erty growth through corporate acquisi-tions and franchising with a goal of 1,100 properties by 2010. He has also overseen the development of the Accor Pinnacle Program, a program with the goal of increasing diversity and owner-ship in the lodging industry. The pro-gram goes beyond the traditional diversity program structure and includes finance, training, suppliers, employment, fran-chising, and community relations.

Mr. Poirot joined Accor as senior vice president in charge of finance for the

Accor Business and Leisure (ABL) divi-sion in June 2001. Prior to that, he was CFO of Accor UK Ltd., in charge of finance, IT, procurement, and legal for Accor hotels in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where he began his career with Accor in 1992.

In 1990, Mr. Poirot began his profes-sional career by managing the consul-tancy firm he started in France. He holds a business degree and a DESSCAF from Ecole Superieure de Commerce de La Rochelle (Sup de Co), in France.

Thomas de Petra has been the President and CEO of Winland Electronics, Inc. since May 2008

and was previously Interim CEO begin-ning in January 2008. Mr. de Petra was Chairman of the Board of Winland from 2006 through the end of 2007 and has been a member of Winland’s board of directors since 1994.

Prior to his current role as a public company CEO, Mr. de Petra has been a business advisor, public company CEO, turnaround CEO, COO, and entrepre-neur in the financial communications

and publishing industries. Much of his business advisory career has been devoted to assisting troubled companies. As a business advisor, Mr. de Petra has assisted company boards and management teams with investor communications programs, crisis management campaigns, corporate governance programs, and turnaround strategies. He is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD).

Mr. de Petra was the founder of Vantage Advisory Services, De Petra and Associates, Inc. and First Financial

Investor Relations, Inc. and was co-founder of Micro Digest, Inc. He studied Political Science at Loyola University.

Thomas de PetraPresident and CEO , Winland Electronics, Inc.

☛ Read George’s insights on Page 9

☛ Read Tom’s insights on Page 6

☛ Read Olivier’s insights on Page 3

Olivier PoirotCEO , Accor North America, Motel 6, and Studio 6

© Books24x7, 2010 Olivier Poirot ExecBlueprints 3

Maintaining Your Reputation with CustomersWe cannot discriminate between our customers and the public at large in terms of our corporate rep-utation because our brand recogni-tion is very strong — i.e., 99 percent. In fact, Motel 6 is an extremely well-known brand in the U.S., to the point that nearly every single American knows who we are and what we represent. That is

obviously a blessing, but from a perception standpoint that also means that there are a lot of people who love us and a number of peo-ple who dislike us. There are also some people who think they know us, but have never really tried us or have not tried us in many years, and we are trying to recapture some of that clientele.

The public’s overall perception of our organization is fairly good, but we are working at permanently improving our quality in order to move the needle from a customer perception standpoint. To that end, we recently launched Motel 6 on Facebook, and it is very interesting to see the different dialogues between people who love Motel 6; our fans are talking to other cus-tomers, and it is good to see that we have a fairly strong fan community.

Defining Characteristics of a Company’s CultureOur people really know how to stretch their dollars: we use that term in our corporate communica-tions, but that practice has been a long-time reality in our organization — and it has become even truer over the past two years because of the downturn in the economic environment.

We were recently recognized as

the one company in the hotel indus-try that is clearly a leader from a sustainable development and an environmental standpoint; and that has caught a few people by surprise — although we have been mindful of the importance of good corporate citizenship and have been quietly working on it for many years. Again, I believe that Motel 6 serves a key purpose in providing quality lodging for many people who could not otherwise afford a hotel stay, which is especially important in this environment. We offer price value in a way that is uncontested in comparison to our competitors, and many people appreciate that fact.

Indeed, the current unfortunate economic environment and the fact that we strive to continue to improve our price value ratio and our quality consistency all combine

to make us look better in the eyes of our customers.

Best Practices for Cultivating Good Corporate CitizenshipAll of our properties are part of various communities; therefore, we strive to be very good local citizens from a corporate standpoint in terms of getting involved in each community through its local Cham-ber of Commerce as well as its charitable organizations. In our industry it is very important to establish a good relationship with the local authorities and to have an

The public’s overall perception of our organization is fairly good, but we are working at permanently improving our quality in order to move the needle from a customer perception standpoint.

Olivier Poirot

CEO

Accor North America, Motel 6, and Studio 6

Olivier PoirotCEO

Accor North America, Motel 6, and Studio 6

“Everything I do on a daily basis is aimed at trying to move the needle in the area of customer perception.”

• Previously served as CFO of Accor North America, beginning in 2003

• Coordinated and concluded the $1.312 billion sale of Red Roof Inn

• Holds a business degree and DESSCAF from Ecole Superieure de Commerce de La Rochelle (Sup de Co) in France.

Mr. Poirot can be e-mailed at olivier.poirot@execblueprints.com

Olivier PoirotCEO , Accor North America, Motel 6, and Studio 6 (continued)

© Books24x7, 2010 Olivier Poirot ExecBlueprints 4

open dialogue with the local author-ities in order to maintain a safe, welcoming, and family-oriented environment for our guests at all our properties.

On top of that, we encourage our people to participate in various community activities, depending on where they are based. For example, last year all of our properties on the Gulf Coast participated in several days of cleaning up the beaches fol-lowing Hurricane Ike. From a sus-tainable development standpoint we try to encourage as much diver-sity within the organization as pos-sible with respect to our employ-ees and vendors; this means encouraging diversity initiatives within our employee ranks, cele-brating differences — as often they reflect on the diversity of our guests. We also try to encourage minority-owned businesses as part of our procurement sourcing.

We also try to play a role in min-imizing our impact on the environ-ment, and to that end we have designed a number of systems which we have rolled out at our properties nationwide. For example,

we strive to reduce energy usage at every single location across the nation, and we also have a nation-wide fluorescent light bulb and bat-tery recycling program. We try to do what is right for the environ-ment, and we also try to do it the right way — which is sometimes a challenge in terms of costs. For example, we have a special capital expenditure fund of $3 to $5 mil-lion dollars a year to help reduce our energy and water consumption. In addition, we recently opened a prototype property near Dallas which has so many green features that we are applying for LEED certification — possibly making this Motel 6 the first LEED certi-fied property in the U.S. Economy segment, and certainly one of the first hotels in Texas to be LEED certified.

Motivating Employees to Maintain a Good Corporate ReputationThe fact that all of us in this orga-nization work for such a strong brand and a clear leader in our

industry helps a great deal in con-vincing our people that we can make the most out of this environ-ment and be an even greater leader coming out of the recession.

I also think that we are able to successfully motivate our people to maintain and build our reputation by being fairly pragmatic about the goals we set. They can be challeng-ing, but they make sense; and our people see that we can get a lot of traction fairly quickly. For exam-ple, two years ago we decided that in this environment, it is not enough for our general managers to simply wait for customers. Although our managers are extremely busy and have many things to do at their properties on a daily basis, we asked each of them to go out and try to promote their properties in their local market, to their own level of competency. Simply put, we wanted them to do some sales calls, which is something they had never done before. When we first discussed that program, the reac-tion around the table was essen-tially, “There’s no way that will work.” However, we replied,

Be Good Citizens • Meet with the Chamber

of Commerce• Become involved with

local charities

Join the Community • Promote participation

in local activities• Encourage diversity

within the company

Be Environmental • Minimize your impact

on the environment• Reduce energy usage

Best Practices for Cultivating Good Corporate Citizenship

Olivier PoirotCEO , Accor North America, Motel 6, and Studio 6 (continued)

© Books24x7, 2010 Olivier Poirot ExecBlueprints 5

“Look, it’s not a question of do we do it; it’s a question of how do we do it.” Indeed, within 12 months of rolling out our sales call pro-gram we had so many great per-sonal success stories that we were able to quickly turn around that initial perception. We have gener-ated several millions of dollars of additional revenue as a direct con-sequence of this initiative. Ulti-mately, our managers discovered that succeeding at sales calls is all about overcoming your own fears — and all it takes is one success, which is going to feed the second and the third. We always try to feed on real success.

Challenges in Maintaining a Good Corporate ReputationThe main challenge in maintaining a good corporate reputation comes down to the fact that people tend to do a lot of things in a hotel room, and some of those activities can, unfortunately, end up in the media. Again, having very strong

brand recognition is both a bless-ing and a curse, because any time something bad happens at one property it sticks in the public’s mind. There might be 10 other hotel properties experiencing the same issues, but since they are lesser-known they are going to fly under the radar.

Given the fact that we are a nationwide brand means that every time something happens at our locations, it is going to be on the public’s radar screen, and that keeps us on our toes. Simply put,

we are extremely well-known; therefore, any incident can easily become blown out of proportion, and our challenge is to overcome that situation. While there is not much we can do to deter media attention during certain circum-stances, it is important for us to communicate, during these situa-tions, our ongoing commitment to collaborating with local authorities and training of our own staff in order to maintain the greatest pos-sible level of health and safety at all our properties. ■

Expert Advice

In 2009 we made tremendous improvements from a cultural standpoint in terms of understanding what it takes to manage a network of 1,000 locations across a country such as the United States. We have a few locations outside of the U.S., but the bulk of our brand is in this country, and it takes a special kind of manage-ment to make sure that we maintain those properties so that they look fresh and vibrant to our customers. The one aspect of the culture where we still have to move the needle is in the area of operational consistency, and we are working on that; this means that at any given time, 10 percent of the network is not complying with our standard. We can do better than that, and in 2010 we are rolling out the tools, training, and resources to help us be even more consistent.

Thomas de PetraPresident and CEO , Winland Electronics, Inc.

© Books24x7, 2010 Thomas de Petra ExecBlueprints 6

Beyond Maintaining: Standing Out as a CompanyIn a competitive and dynamic mar-ket space, merely maintaining your company’s reputation is never good enough, because it assumes little if anything is changing in market expectations or with competitors. In fact, nothing could be further than the truth, as new competitive forces enter the field, long-term market players reinvent them-selves, and technology and eco-nomic factors constantly alter the landscape.

To stand out above your compe-tition takes research, planning, and effort in two distinct areas: brand awareness and development, and analysis and refinement of your value proposition. These are the elements of business that will make or break your strategy, because they force you to manage and lead from the outside in. Because your customers’ needs are changing, you must constantly analyze, monitor, and adjust using this external per-spective. Your corporate vision statement must support and rein-force your brand development efforts.

Understanding Your BrandThe first step in truly standing out begins with understanding the char-acteristics of your brand. I do not mean your logo and tagline, or the look of your Web site and your marketing materials. Your brand also has nothing to do with what you believe or what the collective company thinks; it is instead defined as how the public and all your stakeholders view your company, from both intellectual and emo-tional perspectives. Your brand is

the essence of the first few words people think of when they think of your company or describe it. Some-times the most difficult part of branding is getting to the truth, and that starts with checking your ego at the door and hiring a profes-sional to conduct internal and external surveys. Most people are shocked when they discover how divergent their survey answers are from those of their external audi-ences. Only by understanding where you are at the present time can you know what you want your brand to become and how to accomplish it.

Understanding Your StakeholdersPurely from a revenue point of view, your customers are your pri-mary stakeholders. Yet the cus-tomer perspective is one-dimensional and misses the critical relationships you have with employees, inves-tors, suppliers, lenders, the commu-nity, regulators, and influential special interest groups. Every stake-holder type is vital to your success. Loyal, engaged employees have the heaviest routine impact on company performance and on your ability to implement strategy. Other stakeholders are the most influential in ensuring a steady

availability of top talent, as well as in establishing reliable, long-term supply chain relationships, main-taining liquidity, and staying in reg-ulatory compliance.

Shaping Your Value PropositionYour value proposition and mission statement are the fuel to make you stand out from your competitors. They define who you are and what you do. Whether you operate in a

Thomas de PetraPresident and CEO

Winland Electronics, Inc.

“In many ways, standing out means standing apart from everyone in your market space.”

• Elected Chairman of the Board of Winland from 2006 through the end of 2007 and member of board since 1994

• Founded Vantage Advisory Services, De Petra and Associates, Inc., First Financial Investor Relations, Inc., and cofounded Micro Digest, Inc.

• Earned Political Science degree from Loyola University

• Member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD)

Mr. de Petra can be e-mailed at thomas.depetra@execblueprints.com

Your brand is the essence of the first few words people think of when they think of your company or describe it.

Thomas de Petra

President and CEO

Winland Electronics, Inc.

Thomas de PetraPresident and CEO , Winland Electronics, Inc. (continued)

© Books24x7, 2010 Thomas de Petra ExecBlueprints 7

narrow and specialized niche or a crowded commodity market, cus-tomers must clearly understand your value proposition in relation to your peer group. There must always be at least one distinguish-able characteristic of your business, whether it is a novel capability you possess or an uncanny ability to absolutely never miss a shipment date. Because your value proposi-tion must clearly align to what your customers want, you need to con-tinually check in with them through surveys, quarterly business reviews, or other relevant means.

Tailoring to Your Customer’s ExpectationsAt a very minimum, small EMS companies who want to be compet-itive must execute flawlessly to tra-ditional customer metrics like quality, delivery, and cost. Yet there is also significant opportunity for

those companies that focus on the kind of relational equity that can be built by managing the total customer experience. This starts with identifying the “personality” characteristics of each of your cus-tomers. Some customers will dem-onstrate a desire to have frequent engagement on subjects beyond the current scope of the relationship. Others may not want to see you or hear from you outside of routine transactional activities unless

there is an exception to the norm. This is largely due to the left-brain/right-brain hardwiring of the indi-viduals themselves and the custom-er’s corporate culture. Regardless of what kind of behavior custom-ers demonstrate, sooner or later each one will let you know where they have pain.

Different Customers, Different ResponsesAfter changing or strengthening virtually every system and process a couple of years ago, we began scoring customers through the full range of a behavior scale. With one customer in particular, we discov-ered that our primary focus needed to be on customer metrics, report-ing, and data delivery that went beyond their expectations. With this customer’s extreme left-brain orientation, there was not much emphasis, if any, on feelings or atti-tudes; data trumped everything else when it came to that customer’s experience. Urgency was another key expectation, and it was a cor-porate attribute that was evident in everything we experienced from this customer. We differentiated ourselves with an unparalleled ser-vice level through the reliable deliv-ery of products, data, and 100

Expert Advice

In the field of electronic manufacturing services (EMS), my company’s market space, one of fastest ways to damage a good reputation is to overemphasize a particular capability and not be able to consistently deliver it. It is very risky and expensive for a manufacturer to change or add an EMS supplier due to the under-performance of another supplier. Clawing your way out of a sub-par reputation can take years, because manufacturing customers have long memories and tend to maintain relationships with other manufacturers through professional associa-tions. For that reason, if small EMS companies want to genuinely stand out, they must go significantly further than any other competitor in the way they shape their value proposition to their target customers.

Building Trust

Integrity Candor

Reliability

Thomas de PetraPresident and CEO , Winland Electronics, Inc. (continued)

© Books24x7, 2010 Thomas de Petra ExecBlueprints 8

percent consistent behavior. Every-thing we did could be repeated because of robust internal pro-cesses and our customer knew it. We sought to continually “surprise and delight” such customers in a way that could remind them how painful and risky it might be to work with another EMS provider. This particular customer has rewarded us with request for quo-tation (RFQ) opportunities that were unimaginable two years ago.

We have another customer, on the other hand, that could not be more opposite. Superior perfor-mance metrics were, and remain,

every bit as important as for the customer in the previous example. However, in this case there is a desire for continuous engagement designed to mine new possibilities supporting innovation and new product development, as well as preemptive new supply chain tech-niques intended to reduce product line risk.

Learning What Is Important to Your CompanyIn dealing with the two customers I mentioned above, as well as with others along the way, we

recognized a few soft attributes that are integral to prosperous, long-term relationships. For us, trust is the most important, with its framework of integrity, reliabil-ity, and candor. How many busi-ness and personal relationships have been impaired or destroyed due to someone’s unwillingness to present facts, even unpleasant ones, when they counted? It is critically important that we con-tinually demonstrate objective reasoning skills and business matu-rity, both as individuals and as an organization. ■

George E. Martin, Ph.D.President , St. Edward’s University

© Books24x7, 2010 George E. Martin, Ph.D. ExecBlueprints 9

Competition in the AcademyIn higher education, a university doesn’t have a principal competitor in the marketplace. It has many. In every market, there are universities of all sizes and stripes competing for a finite number of potential stu-dents each year. Yet, each univer-sity offers a different kind of educational experience, a different mix of academic rigor, interaction

with faculty, values emphasized in the curriculum, and opportunities available outside the classroom. In that sense, one of the primary jobs of a university is to match its edu-cational experience with students who will thrive in its unique learn-ing environment. In short, the uni-versity that successfully defines its distinctive niche in the market stands out.

This lesson applies beyond the halls of higher education. Share your story — what makes you unique — and customers, both young and old, will be drawn to what you have to offer. Also focus on quality: achieve excellence through strategic planning, manage growth and resources carefully, and remain committed to your institu-tion’s core values, such as diversity and ethics. You will stand out among your peers. St. Edward’s University has done just that over the course of the last 10 years, accomplishing its vision to be rec-ognized as one of the best small

universities in the country. Now, we plan to build on our vision.

Staying Competitive in the FutureThe driving principles that guided our strategic plan and helped us achieve such national recognition provide a useful model as we set new goals and address new chal-lenges. These driving principles —

excellence through vision and mission, managed growth, and a confluence of energies — create a powerful cultural dynamic that ensures success. We will grow not for growth’s sake, but to provide more students with the opportunity to experience a personalized St. Edward’s education with its empha-sis on thinking critically, clarifying personal values, and promoting social justice. As we look to the future, we will also look to these values, which have guided the uni-versity since its founding by the Congregation of Holy Cross 125 years ago. And we will continue to emphasize collaboration, breaking down the silos that often exist between units and creating a con-fluence of energies that opens doors to opportunities otherwise not possible.

These driving principles are fundamental to the strategic plan we are drafting for 2015. In the next six years, we will work toward achieving excellence as an

international university with edu-cational partners and exceptional academic opportunities around the world. Already, we have estab-lished a portal campus in France where we have collaborated with the governments of Angers and Anjou, the Université Catholique de l’Ouest, and the Institut Bois-Robert. We have even partnered with Apple® in France to incorpo-rate new technology into research projects being conducted by our students. With the successful launch

George E. Martin, Ph.D.President

St. Edward’s University

“A St. Edward’s education is more than the accumulation of knowledge — it is using knowledge to implement positive changes in the community, the workplace, and the world.”

• President of St. Edward’s University since 1999

• Chair of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas and chair-elect of the Council of Independent Colleges

• Holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from St. John’s University

• Earned master’s and doctoral degrees in Political Science from Fordham University

Mr. Martin can be e-mailed at george.martin@execblueprints.com

In short, the university that successfully defines its distinctive niche in the market stands out.

George E. Martin, Ph.D.

President

St. Edward’s University

George E. Martin, Ph.D.President , St. Edward’s University (continued)

© Books24x7, 2010 George E. Martin, Ph.D. ExecBlueprints 10

of our campus in France, we are developing similar educational partnerships in Scotland, Asia, and the Middle East.

We believe that this global emphasis is going to make St. Edward’s University the destination school for students who want that kind of experience. We anticipate an increasingly large number of students within the United States who value an international educa-tion, as well as a strong market abroad for students who want to pursue higher education in Amer-ica. The skills gained from this invaluable international experience will translate unequivocally to the real world once students graduate. Thus, the idea of being “global” becomes another distinction, another value added to the educa-tional experience at St. Edward’s.

Projecting a Positive ImageTo continue to stand out among our peers and achieve success with our strategic plan, we must remember that we offer not just an education, but a very distinctive educational experience. When I talk to alumni, whether they grad-uated 50 years ago or five years ago, they all tell me that St. Edward’s University changed their lives. It helped them discover who they are, what they stand for, and what they are able to give to the world through their talent.

We have quantitatively seen the impact of this transformation in the university’s rising retention and graduation rates. Both are well above the national average. We have also heard from our own stu-dents through the National Survey of Student Engagement, in which they consistently rank us above the

national average in every category. This response is a direct result of our approach to education. Because we place a high value on the indi-vidual person, we give each student a greater sense of self-value. With that comes a greater sense of self-confidence, awareness of the world around them, and the ability to lead with integrity.

Benchmarking ReputationWe can determine how success-fully we are communicating this message by benchmarking our

efforts. In the traditional measures for higher education, St. Edward’s ranks well. We have made U.S. News & World Report’s annual list since 2003, are included among the Princeton Review’s “Best Western Colleges,” and in just one year jumped 149 slots in Forbes’ annual rankings. Yet, we also look to less traditional measures to evaluate the job we are doing. The New York Times, for example, has recognized our commitment to diversity by naming us to its “colleges of many colors” list and the Princeton Review has called us one of 81

Driving Principles of St. Edwards

Confluenceof Energies

Managed Growth

Excellence Through Vision and Mission

George E. Martin, Ph.D.President , St. Edward’s University (continued)

© Books24x7, 2010 George E. Martin, Ph.D. ExecBlueprints 11

“colleges with a conscience” in honor of our commitment to social justice.

We couple these accolades with market research and customer sat-isfaction surveys, examining every-thing from the effectiveness of our internal and external communica-tion strategies to what value prop-osition resonate most clearly with prospective students and parents. In addition, we monitor student satisfaction, retention, and gradu-ation rates, as I mentioned earlier, to determine how well we are serv-ing our students. Finally, we look at our fundraising levels to see how well our vision resonates with stakeholders, including the record 9,500 donors who contributed $70 million to our most recent cam-paign and national nonprofits like the Kellogg and Keck foundations that provide grants and scholar-ships in support of our students and faculty.

This collective set of data from a variety of benchmarking measures indicates the level at which we are meeting the strategic goals we have outlined. In short, how well are we doing what we set out to do? These data points, of course, are unique to St. Edward’s. You will have your own benchmarks, your own driving principles, your own institutional

values to guide your quest to stand out in an increasingly complex and competitive market. Take the time to think critically about each area. Dedicate the resources to creating a strategic plan for the future — and make sure that plan guides the work you do every day. ■

Expert Advice

The key to staying competitive is continuing to think strategically. Our most recent strategic plan emphasized seven priorities, including increasing enrollment, pro-viding exceptional student experiences, and enhancing facilities and technology. Since we began this plan in 1999, we have more than doubled the size of our freshman class. At the same time, our average freshman SAT score has risen almost 100 points. We have also increased the size of our faculty to ensure that our student-faculty ratio remains at a low 14:1 and added 43 new academic programs. And we have invested almost $150 million in capital projects to add 11 new facilities to campus and renovate six others. These strategic successes have brought national recognition. Ten years ago, for example, we were unranked in U.S. News and World Report’s annual list of “America’s Best Colleges.” Now, we rank 21st in our region and have been selected by our peers as one of five up-and-coming institutions in the West.

© Books24x7, 2010 Ideas to Build Upon & Action Points ExecBlueprints 12

Ideas to Build Upon & Action Points I. The Challenge of Building and Maintaining Your Reputation in a Crowded MarketEven a strong brand must continue to build and grow. The needs of the market and your customers are con-stantly changing, make sure you are keeping track and giving them what they want. The best ways to stand apart from the crowd are to:

• Maintain a strong reputation. If it is merely good, make it great. If it is great, make it excellent.

• Build your fan base. Use social media to allow customers to share their experiences.

• Highlight your uniqueness. Offer people something they have not seen before.

• Focus on quality. Customers want the best, so make sure you are able to give it to them.

You cannot simply change your reputation overnight. It takes research, planning, and a lot of effort. Before you overhaul your entire brand, make sure you:

• Have brand awareness and development

• Analyze and refine your value proposition

• Think strategically

• Carefully manage growth and resources

• Follow your core values

II. The Bottom LineYour brand is not just your logo or the colors of your marketing materials. Your brand covers your intellectual and emotional value in the market. Find out how you are perceived both internally and externally.

• Are your customers happy? Are your stakeholders? Are your employees? All three are influen-tial in building your reputation.

• Being unique is a good thing. Emphasize what you have that others do not. But don’t grow for growth’s sake – make sure it is organic to the company.

• Name recognition isn’t good enough, make sure the best aspects of your product are well-known, not the worst.

III. Must-Haves for Staying Competitive Whatever your company offers, the experience of receiving it is part of the product. A bad experience will tarnish the product and a good expe-rience will highlight it. In order to give your customer’s the best experi-ence every time, you should:

• Cultivate good corporate citizenship

• Open a dialogue with local authorities, companies, and charities

• Give back through volunteer efforts

• Encourage diversity

• Minimize your impact on the environment

• Cultivate good corporate reputation

• Set challenging, yet manageable goals

• Feed on prior success

• Benchmark your efforts

• Project a positive image

• Emphasize your successes

• Avoid damaging your reputation

• Create a clear value proposition and follow through on it

IV. The Golden Rules for Rising Above the CompetitionIn order to ensure that you are not thought of as a cookie-cutter com-pany, do not try to thrust your cus-tomers into cookie-cutter solutions. Build a relationship with each cus-tomer to help you manage their total experience. Long-term relationships are essential and the more trust and knowledge you build, the easier it will be to overcome problems and weather public relations storms. To do this you should:

• Engage the customer. Call prospective clients to find out what it would take to earn their business.

• Tailor customer expectations. Nothing ruins a relationship faster than over-promising and under-delivering.

• Manage customer relationships. One customer might expect daily interaction; another might only want to hear from you if a prob-lem occurs. Learn what they expect and then give it to them.

V. Essential Take-AwaysThe only way you can find out what people think of you is to ask them. Use benchmarking to determine how successful you are able to convey your message. Only through constant communication with current custom-ers will you be able to uncover what works and what doesn’t. Without this interaction, you will never be able to fix current problems or create future solutions. ■

© Books24x7, 2010 Ideas to Build Upon & Action Points ExecBlueprints 13

Ideas to Build Upon & Action Points (continued)

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10 KEY QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION POINTS

1 What is your company’s current reputation with your customers and the public at large? How does it differ between these two groups? How has it changed in the past five years? In what areas do you seek to improve your company’s reputation?

2 What admirable traits has your company recently developed? Who or what circumstances were responsible for their emergence? What impact has this perception had on the growth and profitability of your company?

3 What are 10 defining characteristics of your company’s culture? How would this list vary across department, division, or location? From the public’s perspective, how do they contribute — or not — to a positive company reputation?

4 What are your best practices for cultivating good corporate citizenship? What role do company leadership and shareholders play? Company employees? Your PR department?

5 What trends are occurring in your industry and/or community that may affect your company’s reputation in the next 12 months? In what ways are they positive? In what ways are they challenging? How do you plan to respond to them?

6 What are your best practices for transforming a damaged or indifferent reputation? Who do you involve in these instances?

7 In the next 12 months, do you plan to launch any major philanthropic or community-building efforts? Why are they being developed at this time? How could they potentially impact your company’s reputation?

8 How do you motivate your employees to project a positive image of your company in the course of their work with customers and the community? What role do management practices play? Which practices have proven especially effective?

9 What are the top three challenges your company faces in maintaining its good reputation? How have these challenges changed in the past five years?

10 How do you benchmark efforts to maintain and/or improve your company’s reputation? Against its past reputation? Against that of other companies in the industry? Against that of other companies in the community?

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