Leaders' Priorities 2025
You have probably already asked yourself what is decisive when choosing a particular brand of product or service.
My experience in sales, in a highly competitive area, tells me that the answer lies less in marketing, with immediate gains, and more in an intangible asset that is reflected in tangible and lasting results: reputation. That is why I am not surprised to see “Reputation and brand” as the fourth most cited front among “Senior leadership priorities for 2025” in the ANK Reputation survey, and the second among CEOs.
“Love is not imposed, it is earned with consistency, with dedication, with non-negotiable values, with a history of continuous improvement that people recognize and value. This is achieved with the full commitment of the entire team, of every person who wears the company shirt.”
A challenging year demands a solid reputation that generates admiration and brings long-term results. The brand must be memorable, to stir emotions in the moments when it makes a difference. It must build customer loyalty through perceived value. Building this involves multifactorial aspects, always aligned with people's expectations.
You can have a great portfolio, but if your service fails, trust evaporates. You can have impeccable distribution, but if your purpose is weak, no one will connect. You can have the best product, the biggest investment in marketing, but if your story doesn't move, that product is doomed to be perceived as just another one, very similar to all the others, and it doesn't matter.
I have the privilege of working in Brazil with a global brand closely associated with meetings and celebrations, which does not seek to be the best-selling brand, but rather the most loved. And love cannot be imposed, it must be earned. It is earned through consistency, dedication, non-negotiable values, and a history of continuous improvement that people recognize and value. And this is achieved through the full commitment of the entire team, of every person who wears the company's shirt.
When we come together with this goal, we can choose where we want to be: competing on price, fighting for volume or building a brand that people defend without anyone having to ask, because it is unique. In our specific case, by valuing the origin, independence and preserving the artisanal essence for five generations, even though we produce in large volumes today.
There is no magic, easy and definitive formula for building an impeccable reputation that has an impact on business. There is ongoing work, which consists of maintaining a focus on the customer, investing in quality, communicating transparently, cultivating lasting relationships, and the constant actions that transformations require and that time teaches us.
The brand, after all, is the commitment that the company makes to the customer. Reputation is the guarantee that this agreement will be fulfilled. This is what explains the consumer's choice for a particular brand and is what helps to understand the attention of leaders to the issue, demonstrated by the survey.
Thiago Coelho is the general director of Estrella Brewery Galicia Brazil
The signed articles reflect the opinion of the authors
