In a marketing crisis, should you make a statement before you have a good answer?
It’s impossible to avoid hearing about the latest crisis in corporate America. Mattel and other toy makers recalling Chinese-made toys tainted with lead paint. U.S. Airlines and other carriers frustrating travelers with record flight delays and cancellations. Patriots were caught cheating. Whole Foods’ CEO blogging under the disguise of an analyst, allegedly to drive down the stock price of its acquisition target, Wild Oats.
When do you think a company should respond to a crisis?
Upon the news of Mattel’s lead paint problems, if you also import products from China and think that many of your products might also be tainted, do you respond immediately or do you wait as long as it takes to be certain? As a marketer in charge of PR, how would you manage the messaging around a crisis? Let me know what you think!
December 11th, 2007 at 6:45 am
It’s better to answer than leave a ‘No Comments’ speculation going on in media. Later you may have a lot more questions to answer!!
Also, if I were importing from china, I would do a double check. And if it’s from the same vendor, I think it would definitely make sense to start looking out for a new supplier too! But this I don’t think needs to be informed to the media unless you find something wrong.
December 11th, 2007 at 6:50 am
The response depends on the nature of the crisis and whether a timely answer now would be more valuable than a “good” answer later. I’ve seen cases where a timely response eased a crisis. But I’ve also seen responses that, unfortunately, were followed by worse news later. A company is best situated when they have facts on hand and an emergency response plan. “We’re studying the situation” doesn’t help much. A statement such as “__% of our purchases originate in ____. While we have a stringent testing program to assure compliance with ______, we are doing additional testing to assure ourselves and our customers of the safety of our products.”
December 11th, 2007 at 6:50 am
Some excellent points. Thank you!
December 11th, 2007 at 7:35 am
If a crisis is discovered by a company, the company must react quickly with a sincerely apology and corrective action in order to preserve their reputation and minimize negative PR. If some or all of the facts are unknown, simply state that all measures are being explored to clarify and rectify the situation in the quickest manner possible. Multiple media outlets should be put into motion quickly.
I think of Southwest’s delayed response to the complaint by Kyla Ebbert over her travel attire being too revealing, and almost denied her travel to a Dr’s appointment. In fact the airline didn’t have a formal dress code policy. The lack of an official apology by the airline, to Miss Ebbert, gave reason for a build-up of publicity and her appearances on Today, Dr. Phil, and pictorial in Playboy. Surely the PR could have been mitigated with an apology.
If a company has suspicions of a potential crisis, it would seem to me that it may present an opportunity to create a positive PR spin. The goodwill mission could indicate it has researched potential hazards (inspected raw materials, work in progress, and established checkpoints throughout the supply stream to insure safety and compliance.
December 11th, 2007 at 7:38 am
There is no perfect crisis handling strategy, but a successfully response include the following
Step one:
A fast response there has the purpose of buying time. The definition of fast depends upon the situation. It could be a few hours, a few days or ?
The fast answer is to point out there is a problem, we are aware of it and we are trying to find out how bad the problem is. Until we have a solution will we do the following (market recall?, advisory notes to customers?, additional QA inspection activities, additional staff in customer service centers, encourage the public to call if they are aware of any not yet identified problems)
Step 2
Have follow up public information meetings where you tell people the truth (our investigation has identified the following problems, we are doing the following to prevent reoccurance …., we are doing the following to take care of the damage there has already happened)
December 11th, 2007 at 8:32 am
I have had to deal with a national crisis as a CMO although when such a crisis occurs it is neither marketing or PR who has to be the face of the company, it is the CEO. Provided that your company truly makes the the well-being and safety of the customer its top priority then there is no such thing as “before you have a good answer”. The good answer is the truth, and regular, honest updates will carry you through.
If your company puts ANYTHING ELSE above the wellbeing and safety of the customer, then this approach will not work, which isn’t really a problem as the company should not be in business in anyway.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:11 am
Hi webmaster!
September 15th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Hi webmaster!
December 13th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Myles, you need to respond immediately, even if the response is only to state, that you need to research the facts before giving an intelligent reply. The important issue here is to give people the sense that you are engaging the community and that you are revealing what you know when you know it.
A lack of response comes across as aloof and maybe even arrogance. Yet for a company nervous about responding, you have to know that you don’t have to have an opinion right away, just so long as you engage the community.
December 21st, 2008 at 7:16 am
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May 23rd, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Спасибо, хорошая статья. Подписался.
May 24th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Здравствуй! Спасибо за подаренные хорошие эмоции…
May 26th, 2009 at 2:23 am
Как хорошо что удалось отыскать такой замечательный блог, и тем более отлично, что есть такие автора толковые!
August 30th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
How long did it take you to write this blog.
September 9th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Основная задача Яндекса — давать ответы на вопросы пользователей!
September 21st, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Where’s the record department, please?
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October 24th, 2009 at 6:10 am
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