Homegrown Hustle

SUMMARY: In this deep-dive episode of Homegrown Hustle, host Matt Eickman sits down with Dr. Mike Porter, Clinical Professor of Marketing at the University of St. Thomas, to unpack the real mechanics of reputation management—beyond buzzwords and surface-level branding. Drawing from decades of experience in public relations, marketing strategy, and MBA education, Dr. Porter explains why reputation is not what you say—it’s what stakeholders believe, and how businesses of all sizes must strategically manage perceptions across customers, employees, media, competitors, and even regulators. This episode explores the PESO Model (Paid, Earned, Shared, Owned media), the difference between brand and reputation, how word-of-mouth actually works, why targeting everyone is a losing strategy, and how reputation directly translates into financial goodwill and long-term business value. Essential listening for founders, executives, marketers, and anyone building something that needs trust to scale. KEY TAKEAWAYS: Reputation is the management of stakeholder perceptions, not marketing slogans Brand is what you want people to believe; reputation is what they actually believe Every employee influences reputation—not just customer-facing roles The PESO Model explains how paid, earned, shared, and owned media must work together Word-of-mouth must be earned, engineered, and supported by strategy Targeting everyone weakens reputation—focus on high-value stakeholders Earned media and third-party credibility outperform self-promotion Reputation directly impacts business valuation and goodwill Buying a business means inheriting its reputation—good or bad Personal reputation compounds over time, especially in tight business ecosystems CHAPTERS: 00:00 – Welcome to Homegrown Hustle 00:41 – Meet Dr. Mike Porter & His Background 01:22 – What Is Reputation Management? 02:41 – Defining Stakeholders (It’s More Than Customers) 04:12 – The PESO Model Explained (Paid, Earned, Shared, Owned) 06:17 – Employees, Culture, and Internal Reputation 07:02 – Why Word-of-Mouth Is Not a Strategy by Itself 08:16 – Strategy vs. Tactics in Marketing Communication 10:15 – Reputation for New Businesses: You Never Start at Zero 12:24 – Why You Shouldn’t Try to Influence Everyone 13:19 – Traditional PR vs. Influencers and Social Media 15:00 – Credibility, Earned Media, and Third-Party Trust 17:01 – Driving Traffic to Owned Media for Conversion 18:21 – Creating an Environment That Enables Sales 19:52 – Scaling Marketing as Businesses Grow 21:34 – Reputation, Relationships, and Market Dynamics 23:39 – Personal Reputation in Business Communities 25:04 – Buying a Business and Inheriting Reputation 26:15 – Goodwill, Valuation, and Reputation as an Asset 27:19 – Learning From Lost Customers 28:26 – Prioritizing the Stakeholders That Matter Most 29:43 – Brand vs. Reputation (Mic Drop Moment) 30:03 – Closing Thoughts & What’s Next GUEST RESOURCES: Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-mike-porter-apr-fellow-prsa-he-him-2a033/ Website: https://researchonline.stthomas.edu/esploro/profile/mike_porter/overview