How to protect business reputation, legal advice

The success of a company is largely determined by its business reputation. And, unfortunately, it is often under threat. For example, if rumors begin to spread about a company in the media that are not true. How to proceed in such a case? Listen to advice from S&P Agency.

What is goodwill?

There is such a thing as goodwill. It means not intangible assets, the assets of a certain enterprise that were acquired and accumulated by it in the course of its vigorous activity. Such assets include its name, reputation, professional connections, trademarks.

Goodwin has its value. As a rule, it is calculated by subtracting their book value from the market price of the assets of the relevant company. Many Ukrainian enterprises avoid mentioning the buzzer in their accounting documents. However, if a merger of two companies is planned, or a takeover of one company by another, then goodwill is suddenly remembered. After all, if you correctly justify the market value of a particular business, you can get a better price for it or demand more favorable terms of cooperation from potential partners.

In other words, the better the business reputation, the more capital it can be transformed one day.

Business reputation is protected by law, and therefore no one has the right to harm it. However, this happens quite often. And here comes another complication — how to determine the amount of damage that was caused to business reputation? After all, it is an intangible asset. The only solution — initiation by the injured party of various examinations. It is easier to prove the loss of goodwill than the extent of the decrease in that intangible asset. But on the basis of the size of this decrease the court recognizes the degree of harm caused to the company.

What has a negative impact on reputation?

There are many ways to damage a reputation. For example:

1) placing negative reviews on the Internet;

2) publishing information that is false and untrue.

Attention is paid to the smallest details. A few bad reviews may not necessarily affect the attitude towards the company. But if opinion leaders spread false information, then this can create big problems. And sometimes a real PR campaign can be deployed against a certain enterprise, which includes articles in the press, reviews, comments, and more.

In the digital age, any information is distributed instantly. The image of a particular brand can be ruined in a matter of minutes. As a result, the demand for the company’s products will fall, investors will disappear, funding will disappear.

But there is also negative information about the company, which is not aimed at harming its reputation. This information includes:

• Expressing an evaluative opinion about the company’s activities.
• Filing a complaint with the relevant authorities regarding violations committed by the company and requesting an audit of its activities.

Consequences of damaged reputation

What is goodwill? This is:

1. the ability to distinguish your business from competitors;
2. A direct consequence of your positive qualities as a leader, the use of the best technologies, the right selection of personnel and not only;
3. Determinant of a company’s value

If the reputation has been damaged, it will lead to the disappearance of existing customers.

At the same time, new clients will also not appear. Profits will disappear, the business will become unprofitable, its value will fall. How to prevent all this from happening? You must promptly perform the following actions:

1) find competent PR people who will start raising your reputation;

2) find good lawyers who will help you file your claim.

How can you protect your reputation?

First you need to file a claim with the court, and then check the following points:

1. losses must be compensated;
2. The media that wrote false information refute it;
3. Any information that discredits the company is removed from the network, and a ban is imposed on its re-distribution.

Unfortunately, it is possible to achieve compensation for damages or other impact on the defendant only if the right strategy was built and the interests of the injured party were represented in court by experienced lawyers. Just to prove the fact that false information was spread about the company is not enough.

As a rule, in court they seek to prove all the factors listed below in their totality:

1. The resulting company could boast of a high reputation. The proof of this is the high turnover, well-known partners and clients in their circles, positive reviews on independent resources.
2. The reason for the deterioration of the reputation was not a decrease in the quality of products or services provided, but the actions of other people specifically aimed at this.
3. All the negative information spread about the company is not true.
4. The result of the publication of false information was that the trust of partners and customers was lost, sales fell and more.

All cases involving intangible assets require experience and relevant knowledge. Therefore, as a rule, they cannot do without the support of a good lawyer.

Who can help with this issue?

It is best to contact lawyers with relevant specializations. In most cases, they can take part in court proceedings while being geographically in another city. Remote participation does not diminish their participation in any way and does not affect the result. If you need really competent specialists, then you will find them at S&P Agency.

Conclusions

The key to the development of any business is its business reputation. But she is extremely sensitive to any impact, and therefore harm can easily be done to her. In order to minimize its impact, it is important to respond in a timely and urgent manner. After all, this is the only way you can be sure that you will receive the satisfaction.