By Tim Shier on 2009/09/21
Let’s face it - everybody makes mistakes, it’s part of our very make up. The reality is that because of this simple fact, companies (and individuals) may find themselves in a situation where sound crisis communication principles will save their hides. With the recent updates to the King III report which now includes a full chapter on managing the reputation with your stakeholders (read: consumers, suppliers, partners, staff and the greater community). The critical role of ongoing reputation management is highlighted as a core pillar of good corporate governance.
Following the Correct Steps
The good news is that no matter what medium you are engaging in, the principles underpinning crisis communication are much the same. When faced with a crisis situation, the response typically flows along a set path - realising that the situation has arisen, fighting the gut-wrenching fear which makes you want to run for the hills, informing relevant internal stakeholders, making a decision about putting it into action, executing on said action, measuring and maximising the outcomes and finally making changes to the business to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
Unfortunately, not all brands get this right and more often than not, companies fall short because they don’t have enough information (or don’t take the time) to make an informed decision on how to respond. This ultimately exacerbates the situation – something which companies such as BrandsEye look to resolve.
According to the American Center of Decease Control, while talking about the N1H1 virus, they noted 6 principles which provide an excellent basis from which to decide on and evaluate your chosen action.
1 – Be First
2 – Be Right
Consumers are people too (believe it or not), and it’s increasingly acceptable to provide information to the public as it becomes available to you. This is a typical problem in industries where communication is restricted for various legal reasons. Pfizer has taken a transparent approach to this problem and accepted that they are learning on the fly. Being honest and acknowledging the areas where you don’t know all the facts can be tremendously powerful. This in itself drives credibility and trust - which are critical if your communication is to be believed and therefore be of any value.
3 – Be Credible
Rumours are vicious and when spread online, they can be even more so. Consumers trust people like themselves more than any other source of content (Edelman Trust Barometer 2007) and for this reason misinformation is immensely powerful. Building credibility and being ultra-transparent ensures consumers trust your communication ahead of the rampant rumours which often follow. As a general rule of thumb, the most senior person should be called on when responding to a crisis.When Domino’s Pizza found themselves in a crisis situation, their president, Patrick Doyle, quickly responded with a response video on YouTube which instantly provided their credibility for Domino’s to respond on a level footing. It’s a branding exercise, as much as it’s a communications exercise - each engagement needs to be seen as either improving or diminishing the brand perception and therefore, planned and measured accordingly.
4 – Be Empathetic
Handling a crisis is a delicate business. Your stakeholders are already on edge and a misguided action can have disastrous consequences. In the recent United Airlines crisis (which cost them $180 million in market capital), a simple empathetic response upfront would have nullified the entire situation. Try to understand the crisis from your stakeholder’s perspective – they are upset for a reason and relating to this problem in your communication with them is critical. Sure, it’s painful to do but it’s verydifficult to be angry with a brand which is genuinely empathetic and looking to resolve the problem.
5 – Promote Action
Stakeholders are stakeholders because they have some social, emotional, psychological or financial investment in the brand. For this reason, they will go to incredible lengths to protect their investment – consider the MyBarrackObama campaign as a perfect example. Providing those who are loyal to the cause with something which they can do shifts the responsibility and, provided you have a good handle on it, can mean your stakeholders are empowered to represent you from an informed perspective.
6 – Show Respect
Remember that your stakeholders don’t want to be patronised in any way. Companies no longer have the power in the stakeholder-company relationship. The fact that consumers are so incredibly connected (both online and off), empowers them to make decisions based on peer review. This means that disrespectful actions to the community at large can have disastrous consequences for the brand. Habitat (who abused Twitter hashtags), Quality Vacation Club (who sued a blogger) and Kanye West (who caused quite a stir when he interrupted Taylor Swift during the VMAs) learnt this the hard way – be respectful to your stakeholders. They are without a doubt your most important asset.
Ultimately, crisis communication is about considering and understanding the reasons your stakeholders are kicking up a fuss and finding ways to resolve them. Approaching the problem on a level footing and demonstrating true humility are key to ensuring your communication is effective in resolving the crisis which may have befallen you.
As a final note your crisis communication strategy shouldn’t end with a well executed response. It’s a process of dissecting the problem and providing real business changes to firstly resolve the problem and secondly to ensure that your stakeholders never experience the same problem again (and then to communicate this with your public).
Keen to monitor the conversation taking place about your brand online? Contact the BrandsEye team of Online Reputation Management specialists today.
