Category Business Reputation

What not to do in a brand reputation crisis

No company is safe from a brand reputation crisis: at any time a small error in production, a misinterpreted communication, or a dissatisfied customer can unleash a corporate image problem. It is something that companies know and that users “tolerate” to the extent that the brand is capable of responding.

It is for this last reason that as well as avoiding a crisis, it is very important how we manage it and, above all, what that first direct response from the company is like, how it addresses its users, and how it proposes solutions/responses to the cause. that has caused this brand reputation crisis.

Customers know that in this 2.0 universe, the brand value lies not only in what they do but also in how they react and how they listen. What mistakes in this regard should they never make in order not to worsen a reputation crisis?

The Top 5 mistakes made in a brand reputation crisis

Not acting on time:

A reputation crisis is similar to when paint can fall from a table: if you pick it up the moment it falls over, all you have to do is clean up the stain and return everything to its correct place. But if, on the other hand, you wait for a better moment to clean it, you don’t realize what has happened or you ignore it, thinking that someone else will pick it up for you, you may find that the paint has spread in its entirety, spattering everything, that it has dried and you will have to scratch, that others have dispersed it… In other words, everything has become more complicated than it should be.

For this reason, we must not only have a pre-designed action plan (type responses, have a reputation crisis resolution team, determine who is in charge of what, etc.), but we must also have the capacity and means to implement it. March to the minute, without further delay.

Do not explain:

Giving silence as an answer is the same as affirming that there is a problem and that there are no means to solve it or that something has certainly been done wrong and there is no reasonable explanation for the behavior of which we are accused.

At the moment in which the reputation crisis occurs, the public (both the affected and the “curious”) expect a convincing response from the parties involved. At these times, corporate accounts, the website, and company representatives are in the spotlight. For this reason, we cannot and should not simply wait for the storm to pass, because if we do not give the appropriate explanations, others will give them for us…

Not taking care of the messages issued:

That not giving explanations is a mistake does not mean that giving them is simply the right thing to do. We insist: as the reputational crisis increases, eyes are increasingly fixed on our communication channels, so every message issued must be agreed upon, with meaning, within a detailed action plan, and, of course, without lies. nor excuses that can further fuel the case.

If at the time of the brand reputation crisis, we still do not have the necessary information to know what caused the error and why it occurred, the message to convey about it is that work is being done to offer effective solutions and that We do not ignore what happened. In this situation, comments such as: “From Crisis, we are investigating the reasons that have led us to the current situation in order to give the appropriate explanations. As soon as we can clarify the facts we will inform you. Thank you”, they help at least to give a transparent image of our management.

Not admitting mistakes

To err is human, and the public understands and understands that in certain situations, they fall into logical failures in an organization.

What the public does not tolerate is arrogance: denying the obvious or blaming a situation on third parties is arrogant, an unattractive quality for a brand. For this reason, if we are accused of a failure, be it our fault directly or indirectly, we must position ourselves from the client’s perspective and satisfy their demand for information: either by offering them the data that refutes it, the reasons for what has happened or by apologizing. at the same time we offer alternatives so that it does not happen again.

Not repairing your own organization

A brand reputation crisis not only affects public opinion: your workers, your organization, investors, suppliers… are also affected by the reputation problem.

These themselves are ambassadors of your brand both voluntarily and involuntarily: they are the ones who recommend it to family and friends, who, in a situation of a good work environment, transmit it on a day-to-day basis, even outside the office. If they do not know everything that is done to solve a critical situation or worse, they do not believe that there is a solution, and none of the messages that come out of our company will have enough credibility to be able to fix what happened.

In short, how we do not act is just as important as how we act in the face of a brand reputation crisis. Free yourself from critical eyes and regain the trust of your audience with Removal Media.

How to solve a brand crisis in 4 steps?

Maintaining a company is something very expensive: we are not referring only to economic issues, but all the work, all effort that is required to support a profitable structure day after day. For this reason, we must build the brand based on very strong pillars that prevent any incident from ruining so much dedication.

This is the case when a brand crisis occurs: when an event beyond (or not so beyond) our control affects our reputation and how our clients value the fruit of our efforts.

No one is safe from being triggered by a brand crisis at any time, by an event, or by a dissatisfied customer, but we can (and must) have action protocols that make the crisis situation reversible or calm it down until it can be resolved. to have under control. How can we manage a brand crisis effectively?

4 Steps to Solve a brand crisis immediately

#1: Document every possible case in a guide

What makes us classify a situation as a crisis is that it has been unpredictable and, therefore, we do not know how to deal with it. For this reason, whenever it is in our hands, we must reduce this degree of uncertainty to the maximum so that we can act as soon as possible but firmly and safely.

To do this, we must design specific action protocols and documents that contemplate the most exact steps possible to follow in the event of an event that, although undesirable, could happen.

“Brand crises are fires that you have to know how to put out as quickly as possible but without the risk of spreading or further damaging your reputation”

This is an example of fire protocols: nobody wants to and nobody is 100% prepared for a fire that can get out of control, but it is mandatory to have emergency exits marked and drills carried out so that in the event of such an event, the damage is minimal. and you can act firmly and quickly.

In a company, these “fires” are represented in hurtful comments about our products on social networks, defective batches that go on the market, geopolitical events that affect our production line, etc. The better signposted the “emergency exit” is in each case, the sooner we can save the situation.

#2: leave nothing to chance

Although the speed with which we act will be vital so that the crisis does not spread, calm and research before acting are essential when managing a brand crisis. Many of the mistakes we make after a risky situation for the company is wanting to end it as soon as possible, through rapid and uncontrolled actions that can further fuel the cause of discredit.

It happens when we react to a negative comment by eliminating it or “throwing balls out” blaming other people or the client himself. When a case that endangers our reputation occurs, the course of action must go through the following phases:

• Identify the problem: what exactly is happening, what is the protocol to follow?
• Identify the damage: where the consequences of the problem are becoming evident, where we must act.
• Identify the causes: why this situation has come to be, and what we must do to avoid it in the future.

Once we have all this information, we can already apply the protocols contemplated in the first step or determine the guidelines to follow in the event that we have not contemplated it in its entirety, but as long as we have the necessary knowledge of the consequences and how to reverse them.

#3: Work as a team

Those who work every day to maintain a brand reputation, to offer the best of their experience to their customers, often become passionate and faithful defenders of their products. This is not a negative factor at all, but it can turn against us when, when defending all this work, we do not show ourselves to be objective.

For this reason, letting third parties, even external to the company, manage the crisis should not sound like evidencing the case or delegating work that should be their own, since other people who are not directly involved can offer that degree of objectivity and temperance necessary to apply the relevant action protocols.

On the other hand, your own team must also be involved, even if it is managing the necessary information contemplated in the action plan and so that it is not further fueled by acting independently and without adequate control.

#4: Communicate each step

When we have a problem with X brand, we want solutions. As much as the concept “hater” (whose literal translation would be “haters”: people who are dedicated to launching negative comments in order to damage the image without prior foundation), has spread through the network, in the vast majority of the In some cases, negative comments are made waiting for them to have an encouraging effect (it will not happen again) or reactive (they will solve the problem for me or I will ensure that other users do not suffer from it).

For this reason, remaining silent as an answer or waiting for the brand crisis to be resolved by falling into oblivion should never be considered as options. If at the time it occurs you still do not have the information or the means to alleviate the crisis, send messages that serve to indicate that you are working on it and that you are looking for solutions, such as: “We are investigating the cause of this reaction. As soon as we have the necessary information, we will contact you to offer you a satisfactory answer. Meanwhile, sorry for the inconvenience, and thank you for your attention”

“If you don’t communicate, others will do it for you. Try to control the information that reaches your customers at all times”

These kinds and encouraging messages, in addition to saving us valuable time, are appreciated by the public, still oblivious to the crisis, as messages from a company that is concerned about its customers and that is not going to let any circumstance affect them. Something very positive when it comes to facing situations and not hiding them.

The ability to react positively, calmly, and with the organization are the three pillars that support any action protocol in the face of a brand crisis. If you are missing any of these three keys or do not know how to safely approach any of the steps described, do not worry: leave it in the hands of expert crisis management professionals. At RemovalMedia, we can help you thanks to having effective action plans for immediate application, carried out by experts in online marketing and executed through tools with professional legal support.