Building Your Cooperative’s Image
This is an excellent time to be associated with a cooperative business. Cooperative’s
generally avoided the excesses and failures of the investor-owned firms that precipitated the
financial melt down. This is a fertile time to build your firm’s image. Unfortunately, that doesn’t
mean that your members have automatically increased their appreciation for their cooperative.
Cooperatives, like all firms, have to continue to tell their story. An old saying in public relations
is that impression is immediate but perception takes time. Here are some simple suggestions for
building your cooperative’s positive image.
Publicize your cooperative’s strong points. Sure you know what your cooperative excels in, but
how well do you communicate those points to members? Identify your key strengths and push
those topics in your newsletters, member communication and signage. You can also take
advantage of the cooperative brand by reminding members of the advantages of operating under
cooperative principles.
Another good strategy is to talk about future plans. Your members always want to know about
the future of their cooperative. Despite the challenges that Mother Nature throws your way,
your company has a game plan for the next few years. Discussing future plans will reflect vision,
direction and inspire hope in a company. Decide what your key messages should be and how you
can best deliver them.
Don’t forget about internal communication. Employees play a major role in convincing the
outside audience what your organization is really like. Progressive cooperatives realize that
employee morale, confidence, perceptions and expectations have to be nurtured.