How to Handle a Brand Crisis
Recently the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation had a brand crisis front and center in the media and we were all witness to it unfolding and watched as every consumer and corporate action came together in response. Only time will tell the damage that was done, and how quickly they’ll recover, but we have a lot of lessons to learn from them.
I think to some degree we’ve all experienced a brand in crisis, and even have been the victim of the inconsistencies of executing a brand promise or legal right. A few other examples that come to mind: the Jet Blue flight attendant that opened the chute after a flight and exited the plane; Kyla Ebbert, the passenger deemed “too sexy to fly” when she was asked off the plane because her (gulp) skirt was too short; and the most recent radio rant by Charlie sheen, criticizing his producers and causing CBS and Warner Brothers to halt production of “Two and a Half Men” for the rest of the season.
Your employees, your customers and your decisions are at the forefront of a brand crisis. When just one of these key influencers goes against your brand values, a crisis is either in the making or fully thrust. Since you can’t control what any person will do at any particular time, it’s best to have a plan in place in managing a crisis if it should happen to you.
In short, a brand crisis happens when the favorable perception of your brand has an event that causes tremendous and rapid decline. The perception could be public perception, media perception, stockholder perception, or a combination of them all. Services and value are the main drivers for brand success, and an inconsistent execution of either starts the crisis process.
So how do you safeguard, as best you can, a brand crisis, and how do you repair one? Let’s use the examples above and outline a few steps that you can take, or have prepared, should you need them.
1) You MUST have brand guidelines? Without them, the employees that you hire, the materials you create for marketing and the promises you make to your customers is unclear and hard to manage.
2) Be prepared to respond quickly. Time is critical when a crisis strikes. Though you don’t want to respond before you have all the facts it’s important that you be ready, and have an open mind while reviewing all the FACTS.
3) Claim fault when you’re at fault. The public responds favorably to a company when they admit their wrong. Take the Domino’s pizza “send us your photo” campaign, or the Southwest Airlines “Mini-skirt” fare in response to Kelly Ebbert’s situation, as example.
4) Remain connected and transparent. In order to make sure the case against you doesn’t build and grow unfairly it’s important for you to stay approachable and not disappear. The moment you do, your credibility goes with you.
5) Try to lighten the load, while taking things seriously. People know that companies are ran by people. Connect to human emotions, and humor (when appropriate) and let them know that every measure is taken to create a better situation. Whether the crisis was your fault, the fault of your employee or the fault of the customer, improvement and future prevention is the best remedy.
Every crisis has a time stamp. Time does heal all wounds. Since you can’t determine the time, the best thing to do is treat the wound and try to restore health to your brand as delicately and quickly as possible! The next time you encounter a brand in crisis keep them on your radar, take note of how they handle it and consider their solutions for your own brand crisis plan.
Not sure what your values are and how they’ll stand the test of a brand crisis? Need someone to help you figure it out? Schedule a quick chat and we’ll see how we can help.
If you have questions call me at 888-YOU-BRAND