TOEFL---IBT閱讀材料：怎樣經營品牌聲譽

In February, Google found itself in an unusual position: out of step with its customers. When the company launched Buzz, its social networking service, it faced a barrage of criticism from users who objected to the way it had automatically enrolled users of Gmail, its e-mail service, into the new offering. Their gripe was that it would make their private contacts public. Google was stung by the uproar but put it down to a mistake made in good faith and quickly made Buzz optional.

今年2月，谷歌(Google)發現自己陷入了一個不同尋常的境地：與客戶步調不合。公司推出社交網絡服務Buzz時，遭到用戶的猛烈批評，他們反對谷歌將電子郵件Gmail的用戶自動註冊為新服務的用戶，抱怨這會公開自己的私密聯繫人。這場騷亂對谷歌造成了打擊，但公司將此歸為無心之失，並迅速把Buzz變成可選服務。

For a company that ranked second in a recent survey by Fortune magazine of the world's most admired companies, getting it so wrong with users was uncomfortable. It also begged the question of how a company known for being so intuitively connected to consumers could get it so wrong.

在《財富》(Fortune)雜誌近期的世界最受尊敬公司調查中，谷歌排名第二。對這樣一家公司來說，對用戶的了解錯到如此地步是令人不安的。這也提出了一個問題：一家以與消費者心有靈犀而出名的公司怎麼會犯錯呢?

Google had established its reputation on the back of the functionality and ease of use of its search engine, a stream of popular innovations and a declared commitment to free access to information and the democratisation of the internet. Estimates vary wildly, but in 2009 one research agency, Millward Brown Optimor, valued the Google brand at $100bn.

谷歌的聲譽依賴於搜索引擎的功能性和易用性、接連不斷廣受歡迎的創新、以及對自由獲取信息和網絡民主化的公開推崇。市場對谷歌品牌價值的估算相去甚遠，但2009年，研究機構Millward Brown Optimor對它的估值為1000億美元。

But, even before the furore over Buzz, there were signs of cracks in the edifice. Google's reputation took a beating over its decision to enter the Chinese market, where it initially agreed to government demands to censor search results, only to recant and redirect users to a non-censored site in January based in Hong Kong. Observers wondered if the decision to enter China in the first place had compromised Google's founding values​​, summed up in its unofficial motto: "Don't be evil."

然而，甚至在Buzz事件引發眾怒之前，谷歌大廈便已出現了裂痕。進軍中國市場的決定給谷歌的聲譽造成了衝擊——谷歌最初接受了中國政府對搜索結果進行審查的要求，但在今年1月被迫放棄，並將用戶重新鏈接至香港的站點(最近為了申請延長其在中國的ICP牌照，谷歌不再把中國內地用戶自動轉往其香港站點——編者註)。觀察人士懷疑最初進軍中國的決定是否損害了谷歌的創始價值觀：用其非官方的座右銘總結就是“不做惡”。

Google, of course, is not the only brand to have seen its reputation suffer recently. The public image of Goldman Sachs, the investment bank, has suffered in the wake of the credit crunch with a famous article in Rolling Stone magazine describing the organisation as a "great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity". BPis widely perceived to have compounded the damage done to its image by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico through a poor public relations and crisis management strategy in its aftermath.

當然，谷歌不是最近聲名受損的惟一品牌。信貸危機爆發後，投資銀行高盛(Goldman Sachs)的公眾形像也受到了損害，《滾石》(Rolling Stone)雜誌上一篇​​著名的文章將該公司描述為“纏繞在人性面孔上的巨大吸血烏賊”。而外界廣泛認為，英國石油(BP)事後不力的公共關係和危機管理戰略，進一步加重了墨西哥灣原油洩漏事件對其形象的損害。

What affects reputations in turn affects brands. It is too soon to say how badly the Goldman Sachs and BP brands will be affected but it seems certain that they will be. And what all of these examples highlight is how hard it is to manage reputations.

影響聲譽的事情反過來也會影響到品牌。要判斷高盛和英國石油的品牌會受到多麼嚴重的衝擊，現在還為時過早，但衝擊似乎已不可避免。這些例子都突顯出管理聲譽有多麼困難。

Rohit Deshpandé, professor ​​of marketing at Harvard Business School, says the pressures to grow mean that some businesses, and start-ups in particular, forget to adapt their strategies as they become bigger. "When you are growing, your focus is on growing rapidly and you tend to be opportunistic about growth," he says. "You are not thinking about the vision and strategy. You are doing everything, so you have no time to sit back and think about things."

哈佛商學院(HBS)營銷學教授羅希特•德什潘德(Rohit Deshpandé)表示，增長的壓力會讓部分企業(尤其是初創企業)在發展壯大時忘記調整自己的戰略。 “在發展階段，你的關注重點是迅速成長，對於發展往往抱著機會主義心態，”他說。 “你沒有考慮到願景和戰略。你什麼事都要做，所以沒有時間坐下來想事情。”

In other cases, companies lose sight of the core values​​ that define their brand. "Brands are attitudes and perceptions in customers' minds," says Patrick Barwise, a professor ​​of marketing at London Business School and chairman of Which?, the consumer organisation. Successful reputations, he says, are built on customer experience. Those companies that have built strong global brands, such as Apple and Procter & Gamble, have done so by first creating a strong customer promise and then delivering on that promise consistently.

在其他一些案例中，企業忘記了詮釋其品牌的核心價值觀。 “品牌就是顧客心目中的態度和認知，”倫敦商學院(LBS)營銷學教授、消費者組織Which?的主席帕特里克•巴韋斯(Patrick Barwise)表示。他說，成功的聲譽建立在顧客的體驗上。打造了知名國際品牌的公司，如蘋果(Apple)和寶潔(P&G)，都是先對顧客做出強有力的承諾，接著不間斷地履行這個承諾，才取得成功。

Other companies start out well and then lose their way. Café chain Starbucks was a very powerful and successful brand in North America, in part because it became very good at delivering what customers wanted. But somewhere along the way, says Prof Deshpandé, hubris set in. "It was so focused on growth by opening new stores that it lost touch with its core customers," he says. As a result in some markets, such as the UK, Starbucks has seen its image and reputation decline.

還有一些企業開頭不錯，但後來迷失了方向。連鎖咖啡店星巴克(Starbucks)曾是北美地區一個非常強大和成功的品牌，部分原因就在於它非常善於滿足客戶需求。但在發展過程中，德什潘德表示，傲慢不知不覺地滋生了。 “它過於重視發展壯大，不斷開設新店，以至於失去了與核心顧客的聯繫，”他表示。結果在英國等部分市場，星巴克的形象和聲譽都直線下落。

Prof Deshpandé adds that most companies make a big mistake by relegating brand management issues to the marketing department.

德什潘德補充表示，大多數公司都犯了個大錯：把品牌管理事務託付給了營銷部門。

Martin Roll, chief executive of brand consultancy VentureRepublic, agrees. Many companies, he says, think of brands only in terms of advertising and positioning. "Most companies do not put brands at the heart of their strategy," he says.

品牌諮詢公司VentureRepublic首席執行官馬丁•羅爾(Martin Roll)對此表示贊同。他說，許多公司只是從廣告和定位的角度去考慮品牌。 “大多數公司沒有把品牌作為戰略的核心。”

Another challenge for companies is how to manage their reputations as their operations become more global. It was easier for Google, for example, to adhere to its motto when it operated in open markets such as the US and western Europe but in a more controlled economy , such as China, this proved more tricky.

企業面臨的另一個挑戰是，在業務進一步全球化之時，如何管理品牌聲譽。例如，當谷歌在美國和西歐等開放市場裡經營時，要堅守自己的信條會比較容易，但在中國這樣管控更加嚴格的經濟體，問題就會更加棘手。

A similar difficulty is faced by Asian companies as they try to grow outside their home markets. The Tata group, for example, is India's biggest and most valuable brand but the country's own brand image is weak in the west. Apart from IT services, India is considered by many to be a source of low-cost, low-quality goods and services. How can Tata transcend that image? One option is to follow the example of Sony and create a global brand that is not country-specific.

當亞洲企業試圖在本土市場以外發展時，也面臨類似的難題。比如，塔塔集團(Tata)是印度最大、最有價值的品牌，但在西方，這個國家自身的品牌形像很弱。除了IT服務之外，許多人都將印度視為廉價低質商品和服務的來源。塔塔如何才能超越這種形象?選擇之一是效仿索尼(Sony)，打造一個沒有國別色彩的全球化品牌。

But there are risks here, too. Tata's brand is linked to its Indian identity. "To tell a story about Tata is to tell a story about India," says Peter Unsworth, chief executive of Tata Global Beverages. Cutting the links with its Indian identity could do the Tata brand much more harm than good.

　　但這種做法也有風險。塔塔的品牌與其印度身份是連在一起的。 “講述塔塔的故事就是在講述印度的故事，”塔塔全球飲品業務首席執行官皮特•昂斯沃斯(Peter Unsworth)表示。對於塔塔品牌而言，切斷與印度身份之間的聯繫，弊遠遠大於利。

How can companies avoid these problems? Prof Barwise advocates a "back to basics" approach. A key element in any successful brand, he says, is trust. Customers have to believe that a brand's values​​ are real, not just corporate communication-speak.

那麼企業如何才能避免這些問題呢?巴韋斯推荐一種“回歸根本”的做法。他說，任何成功品牌都有一個關鍵要素，那就是信任。顧客必須相信品牌的價值是真實的，而不只是企業的公關說辭。

The Tata brand in India has been built on this basis. Indian customers know that Tata products and services will always deliver what they promise. Maintaining trust is key to maintaining the brand. "Our brand represents a framework of fairness and equality," says Ratan Tata, leader of the Tata group.

塔塔在印度的品牌就建立在這個基礎之上。印度顧客知道塔塔的產品和服務總是能兌現承諾。維繫信任是維繫品牌的關鍵所在。 “我們的品牌是公平和平等準則的象徵，”塔塔集團董事長拉坦•塔塔(Ratan Tata)表示。

Corporate communications, such as advertising, play a relatively minor role in this process. It is what the company does, not what it says, that reinforces the brand in the minds of customers. Apple has superb corporate communications, says Prof Barwise, and it is "brilliant at the theatre of product launches". But the products themselves are what keep people buying Apple products. If they did not deliver on the promise made through corporate communications, Apple would not have a brand.

廣告之類的企業公關活動在這個過程中發揮的作用相對較小。鞏固品牌在顧客心目中的地位在於行，而不在於言。巴韋斯說，蘋果公司的企業公關做得超棒，而且“在新品推介的舞台上表現得才華橫溢”。但產品本身才是促使人們不斷購買蘋果產品的原因所在。如果沒有兌現通過企業公關活動作出的承諾，蘋果就不會擁有品牌了。

By contrast, BP's switch to an eco-themed logo in 2000 and a new slogan, "Beyond Petroleum", to highlight the company's apparent switch to more environmentally friendly energy, has not protected it from criticism in the wake of the Deepwater Horizo​​n disaster. If anything, as with Google in China, it has become a stick with which critics have been able to beat the company.

相比之下，英國石油在2000年轉而採用以生態為主題的新標識和“不僅貢獻石油”的新口號，來突顯公司向更環保性能源的明顯轉型，但這未能使其在“深水地平線”(Deepwater Horizo​​n)鑽井平台的災難之後免受指責。要說有什麼的話，就和谷歌在中國的遭遇一樣，新公關戰略變成了批評人士用來抨擊該公司的大棒。

"Brands have to understand that they are service providers," says Prof Deshpandé. "They no longer shape people's ideas."

“各大品牌必須明白自己是服務提供商，”德什潘德表示。 “他們不再能左右人們的想法。”

Instead, people engage in what Jonathan Schroeder, a professor ​​at University of Exeter Business School, calls "brand co-creation". Customers do not just communicate with the company, he says. Increasingly, they also communicate with each other, and it is the stories they share that shape the brand. Companies that recognise ​​this accordingly spend more time listening to customers than talking to them. "It is the stories that consumers tell each other, the experiences and values​​ they share, that really shape the brand," he says.

相反，人們會參與到埃克賽特大學商學院(University of Exeter Business School)教授喬納森•施羅德(Jonathan Schroeder)所說的“品牌共建”活動中。他說，顧客不僅與公司溝通，他們彼此之間的溝通也越來越多，而正是他們口口相傳的故事塑造了品牌。那些意識到這一點的公司會相應地花更多時間傾聽顧客的需求，而不是對他們發表長篇大論。 “真正塑造品牌的是顧客們口口相傳的故事和互相分享的體驗和價值觀，”他表示。

The rise of social media has only amplified this. Reinier Evers, founder of Trendwatching.com, says the rise of Twitter, the microblogging website, enables companies to monitor what people are saying about them but also help them to engage actively with consumers.

社會媒體的崛起只會放大這一效應。 Trendwatching.com網站的創始人雷尼耶•埃弗斯(Reinier Evers)表示，微博網站Twitter的興起，讓企業得以監控人們對它們的評論，但也幫助他們與消費者積極展開互動。

"Many companies say they can't afford two people to monitor and engage with comments, but this is what companies need to do," he says. "They need to be engaged in a constant conversation so that massive surprises don't occur. "

“許多公司說，他們負擔不起讓兩個人專門監控和參與網絡評論，但這正是企業們需要做的，”他說道。 “他們需要堅持參與對話，這樣才不會發生重大意外。”

Above all, brands need a chief executive to be their champion. "Experience shows that if the leader is not involved, the chance of success is greatly reduced," says Mr Roll. At Apple, for example, Steve Jobs defines and champions the brand .

最重要的是，品牌需要一位首席執行官來擔任捍衛者。 “經驗顯示，如果領導者不親身參與，成功的機率會大大降低，”羅爾表示。比如在蘋果，史蒂夫•喬布斯(Steve Jobs)就是品牌的界定者和捍衛者。

Will Google's reputation survive the assaults on its image? It is taking steps to remedy perceptions of the company. More important, the warning signs are clear: Google, and other global companies, cannot rely forever on past goodwill to keep them going.

谷歌的聲望能否經受住對其形象的攻擊?要修復人們對公司的認知，需要一步步的努力。更重要的是，警告信號明確無誤：谷歌及其他全球性企業不能永遠依賴過去的商譽作為前進的動力。

As Markham Erickson, executive director of the Open Internet Coalition, an industry trade group of which Google is a member, puts it: "When you're big, you're not cute any more."

正如開放互聯網聯盟(Open Internet Coalition)——谷歌是這家行業貿易組織的成員——執行董事馬卡姆•埃里克森(Markham Erickson)所言：“當你變大時，就不再可愛了。”