1. Nobody’s Unpredictable © 2011 Ipsos  Canadian Public Affairs Advisory All rights reserved. Contains Ipsos' Confidential and Proprietary information and may not be disclosed or reproduced without the prior written consent of Ipsos. Receivable Management Association Reputation and Public Perception November 2011 Mike Colledge President Ipsos Reid Public Affairs

2. © 2011 Ipsos 2 Reputation and Public Perception Reputation vs. Brand Spending your reputation vs. Saving your reputation. Your reputation influences your ability to achieve your objectives. A strong, positive reputation improves:  your lobbying efforts  your marketing  your earned media and crisis communications  your staff recruitment Your reputation isn’t static, you can grow it and change it to suit your needs. If you don’t control your reputation – others will.

3. © 2011 Ipsos 3 Tools for understanding and building reputation The challenge is fitting the pieces of your reputation together Marketing Efficiency Communications Key Stakeholders Operational Environment Building Reputation Reputation Drivers

4. © 2011 Ipsos 4 Without awareness there is no reputation Familiarity is the bedrock of reputation In general, familiarity breeds favourability Trust is built by consistently delivering on your promises Advocates endorse your reputation and help to pull others up the reputation pyramid Building a strong reputation helps an organization create and protect value by establishing a reservoir of goodwill to draw upon when challenges and difficulties arise Trust NET on trustworthiness Favourability Net “on how favourable or unfavourable is your overall opinion or impression of. Familiarity percentage “very well”, or “fair amount” on how well you feel you know. Awareness Percentage “heard of”, “just a little bit”, “fair amount”, or “very well” on how well you feel you know <company. Advocacy Net score Steps to building a strong reputation

5. © 2011 Ipsos 5 Identifying the drivers of reputation tells you  which levers to pull in order to lift your reputation  Identify what issues move stakeholders up the reputation pyramid Drivers of reputation include elements of what a company does (product quality, innovation) as well as what it stands for (business acumen, ethics, corporate social responsibility) What drives your reputation?

6. © 2011 Ipsos 6 Reputation is not static and can be improved through effective communications Ipsos has developed a methodology for testing initiatives specifically aimed at improving reputation These initiatives can be existing initiatives or prospective initiatives  Source credibility  Message awareness and/or credibility  Message impact/importance  Ranking of messages to guide investment  Ability of messages to move opinions Communication planning identifies the best way to communicate with consumers/stakeholders

7. © 2011 Ipsos 7 Reputation influences the willingness of stakeholders to advocate, invest and regulate in favour of your company Elite stakeholders lead consumers opinions Key Stakeholders Having stakeholders on your side is key

8. © 2011 Ipsos 8 A negative news cycle is the enemy of good reputation management. Companies need to understand the news environment in which they operate. We measure both the perceptions of the news cycle AND can link media content analysis to reputation Companies must understand the industry environment in which they operate: We can measure demand side/regulatory risk, industry constraints and financial performance  News impact  Demand side/regulatory risk  Industry factors  Financial performance  Social context Reputation is influenced by the environment in which you operate

9. © 2011 Ipsos 9 Improving marketing efficiency through a strong reputation Building strong relationships with the people who matter Measuring the impact of the organisational environment Building Reputation Maximising the impact of communications Pressing the right buttons It’s about understanding how your reputation fits together and taking steps to manage it successfully

10. © 2011 Ipsos 10 Your sector’s reputation today Mostly neutral but among those who have developed an opinion its 2 to 1 negative. Majority recognize that accounts receivable is a necessary part of every business. Contact matters, with those people you have contacted holding a more negative view.

11. © 2011 Ipsos 11 % Favourable (Very/Somewhat)20062007200820092010 Food and Beverage64- 6260 Electronic Goods6360615857 Retail5963585456 Information Technology-56595755 Manufacturing---4847 Shipping/Courier49--4645 Household Cleaning Products48- 4745 Confectionary--3637 Automotive44434244 Personal and Beauty Products43-4139 Breweries---4138 Banking (** financial services in 2006)49**46494846 Telecommunications-53-4344 Alcohol and Spirits-44--38 Quick Service Restaurants---4039 Pharmaceuticals-49484342 Airlines-44--37 Soft Drinks-45-3634 Mining and Metals-31-3029 Crown Corporations-----25 Insurance-25-31 Mortgage Lenders--282624 Credit Card---28 Oil and Gas-33272827 The Federal Government---332925 The Provincial Government-322723 Reputation of sectors by years

12. © 2011 Ipsos 12 Age Education Gender I think the accounts receivable industry is a necessary part of every business because there will always be people who are late making payments. Q3_2. Please indicate if you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. Please respond by indicating either strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree or strongly disagree. Base: All respondents (n=1015) Accounts receivable is a necessary part of every business

13. © 2011 Ipsos 13 Age Education Gender Q1. Almost every business has an accounts receivable unit or hires an outside agency to contact people when they are behind in making loan repayments or to collect debts when people have failed to pay for services and products that they have already received. When you think about the accounts receivable industry would you say that your views are generally positive, for the most part neutral or generally negative? Base: All respondents (n=1015) Majority have a “neutral perception” of accounts receivable

14. © 2011 Ipsos 14 A necessary activity, people doing their job Customer’s responsibility to pay Lack of experience / contact Positive experience / contact What drives positive - negative perceptions? Neutral Positive Negative 15% 55% 30% Lack of experience / contact A necessary activity, people doing their job More likely to have been contacted by accounts receivable Reputation – aggressive, abusive, rude, persistent, unhelpful, unfriendly Q2. Why do you say that your views are ?

15. © 2011 Ipsos 15 Q2. Why do you say that your views are positive? Base: All respondents (n=148) Why do you (15%) say your views are positive? 25 - No personal experience 16 - A positive reputation/experience 18 - Customers’ responsibility 23 - A necessary activity

16. © 2011 Ipsos 16 Q2. Why do you say that your views are neutral? Base: All respondents (n=543) Why do you (55%) say that your views are neutral? 44 - No personal experience 6 - A negative reputation/experience 17 - A necessary activity

17. © 2011 Ipsos 17 Q2. Why do you say that your views are negative? Base: All respondents (n=324) Why do you (30%) say that your views are negative?

18. © 2011 Ipsos 18 Age Education Gender Q3_1. Please indicate if you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. Please respond by indicating either strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree or strongly disagree. Base: All respondents (n=1015) I would have a more positive impression of the accounts receivable industry if I knew the industry had national standards and practices and people employed in the industry were trained and certified to ensure compliance with these national standards. Impact of national standards and practices

19. © 2011 Ipsos 19 Age Gender Q4. Have you personally ever been contacted by a company you deal with or by an outside collection agency and asked to make payments because you were behind in paying for a service or repaying a loan? Base: All respondents (n=1015) Contacted by debt collection agency/company

20. © 2011 Ipsos 20 Q4. Have you personally ever been contacted by a company you deal with or by an outside collection agency and asked to make payments because you were behind in paying for a service or repaying a loan? Base: All respondents (n=1015) Income Education Contacted by debt collection agency/company

21. © 2011 Ipsos 21 Region Q4. Have you personally ever been contacted by a company you deal with or by an outside collection agency and asked to make payments because you were behind in paying for a service or repaying a loan? Base: All respondents (n=1015) Contacted by debt collection agency/company

22. © 2011 Ipsos 22 Impact of having been contacted by accounts receivable I would have a more positive impression of the accounts receivable industry if I knew the industry had national standards and practices and people employed in the industry were trained and certified to ensure compliance with these national standards. When you think about the accounts receivable industry would you say that your views are generally positive, for the most part neutral or generally negative? Have /have not been contacted by account receivable

23. © 2011 Ipsos 23 Final Thoughts You can’t determine a strategy or way forward based on a few questions. Right now the sector’s perception is mostly neutral. A blank slate, an opportunity for you to shape your reputation to suit your needs. First step is determining what you want your reputation to be and if changing it/improving it is a priority. Second is looking at your environment (Are there events on the horizon that could negatively impact on your reputation? Are there objectives that you want to accomplish that would benefit from a stronger, more positive reputation?) Third is looking at current public perceptions to develop a strategy and plan. Lots of possibilities:  Standards, professionalism, privacy (protecting / serving consumers)  Face of accounts receivable (ordinary people)  An important part of every business (adding value)

24. Nobody’s Unpredictable © 2011 Ipsos  Canadian Public Affairs Advisory All rights reserved. Contains Ipsos' Confidential and Proprietary information and may not be disclosed or reproduced without the prior written consent of Ipsos. Receivable Management Association Reputation and Public Perception November 2011 Mike Colledge President Ipsos Reid Public Affairs