Top 3 Things not to Say—Email, Text or Tweet—During a Crisis
Amid a crisis, journalists don’t just listen for comments from the CEO, business owner or spokesperson; they also dig into the social media circuit to find digital comments that may make headlines.
Social media has become the newest way for executive leaders to proverbially stick their feet in their mouths. Take BP’s Twitter missteps for example (as referenced in Fast Company, “Not So Slick,” October 2010). BP’s Tweets made them look as if they were more committed to preserving their brand than actually helping those in the Gulf.
Proven time and time again, crisis communication in a media environment is one of the most important factors in maintaining a company's corporate image. Part of the overall perception of a company and its leadership’s credibility is how well the CEO, owner or spokesperson can internally and externally communicate a message.
Accordingly, there are definitely comments employees and stakeholders should refrain from making public during a crisis—they could be misconstrued by the media and turn one crisis into yet another.
What not to Say:
1. “No Comment”
Classically, this is a no-no. This comes across to stakeholders, the media and the audience as unprepared or even arrogant. It says that you are choosing to give no account, no information, and take no responsibility for a crisis. It tells the world you feel you are entitled to privacy, while anyone knows that high-profile business people and spokespersons do not have that privilege.
What to say:
“As details of this situation unfold, we renew our commitment to this brand, its mission and you, our customers.” This way, you acknowledge the crisis to the media, but show the world that at such a critical time, you’re keeping a cool head and making considerations for the most important things: a commitment to your company’s standards and customers.
2. “We were unaware of the situation.”
A statement such as this causes leadership to look uninformed and out of the loop. People will question: How can a CEO or business owner not know what’s going on in his or her own company? What type of leader does that indicate? It says the company isn’t taking responsibility.
What to say: “We are aggressively gathering information and looking into this situation,” is a more in-control response, without giving the media details about what you do and do not know.
3. “The media misrepresented the situation.”
Blaming the media is a copout and reactive rather than proactive. While the media does sometimes get their facts wrong, trying to play the hurt sheep only makes your corporation look like a whining child. As well, it may be your company’s lack of clear communication to the media in the first place that caused misinformation to be published. Besides, even if the facts are incorrect, the audience will likely believe what is reported.
What to Say:
“We are willfully working with media outlets to clarify and correct misinformation regarding this situation.” This type of open communication shows you are proactively managing the media instead of them managing you. It also says you are directing them in the way that will best protect your brand and actively shaping the stories that will go mainstream.
In summary, a solid crisis communication plan is like insurance for your business. Will you be covered when the media comes calling with hard questions?
Monday, September 27, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Positioning Your Brand to Win
How Managing Your Brand Today Helps Gain Market Share, Avoiding a Crisis Tomorrow
Have you ever wondered why some companies are so successful when others fail? Some live, grow and prosper, and are enormously successful, e.g. Coca-Cola (Coke) or Disney, while some barely make it off the ground and slowly wither away. Then there are others, such as General Motors, that enjoy years of success, but it all comes crashing down one day, and no one is really surprised except for them.
So why is it when you think of Coke, you think of a refreshingly delicious beverage that satisfies your thirst? It’s readily available, and the little red can is easily identified because it has the one and only Coke logo. No matter where you are or when you purchase it, when you pop the top and hear (and feel) the familiar fizz burst into the air, you know you have the real thing. You didn’t purchase a brown, syrupy, carbonated liquid in an aluminum can. You bought a Coke! It’s the same product that has consistently delivered a refreshing experience to its loyalists for more than a century.
Ditto for megabrands Disney and BMW. There is a brand and a brand promise. You fondly recall the experience of a family trip to Disney World. You chose Disney for the fun of an imaginary world, the Magic Kingdom. You expected to see the cast of Disney characters—Snow White, Goofy, Mickey and Minnie—and you did. You anticipated riding the monorail. You experienced Pirates of the Caribbean, the Swiss Family Robinson tree house, and more. It was all there, just as promised.
And then there is BMW, The Ultimate Driving Machine. This is not just any car. BMW is the ultimate car. It’s amazingly designed and stylishly appointed, but every detail circles back to one thing: performance.
All these products have an image or a product personality, otherwise known as a brand. The brand promises you something and delivers on that promise consistently, maintaining or gaining market share. When brands fail to deliver what its customers want and expect, they lose market share. When you as a brand owner don’t aggressively define your brand, others will do it for you. A great brand does not happen by accident.
When GM quit listening to its customer, it lost market share and eventually found itself upside down in an automotive market that had literally passed it by.
Positioning a winning brand takes introspective thinking about who/what you are and who/what you want to be. It requires a thorough understanding of your customer and their wants and needs. It requires a brand promise and managing your message. Positioning your brand to win requires consistency: making a promise and delivering upon the expectation, time and time again.
You don’t have to be a megabrand to have a successful company. Whether your business is the practice of law or delivering translation or background screening services to a customer, positioning a winning brand can be applied to all businesses striving for excellence. You can position your brand to win. These brands did.
Have you ever wondered why some companies are so successful when others fail? Some live, grow and prosper, and are enormously successful, e.g. Coca-Cola (Coke) or Disney, while some barely make it off the ground and slowly wither away. Then there are others, such as General Motors, that enjoy years of success, but it all comes crashing down one day, and no one is really surprised except for them.
So why is it when you think of Coke, you think of a refreshingly delicious beverage that satisfies your thirst? It’s readily available, and the little red can is easily identified because it has the one and only Coke logo. No matter where you are or when you purchase it, when you pop the top and hear (and feel) the familiar fizz burst into the air, you know you have the real thing. You didn’t purchase a brown, syrupy, carbonated liquid in an aluminum can. You bought a Coke! It’s the same product that has consistently delivered a refreshing experience to its loyalists for more than a century.
Ditto for megabrands Disney and BMW. There is a brand and a brand promise. You fondly recall the experience of a family trip to Disney World. You chose Disney for the fun of an imaginary world, the Magic Kingdom. You expected to see the cast of Disney characters—Snow White, Goofy, Mickey and Minnie—and you did. You anticipated riding the monorail. You experienced Pirates of the Caribbean, the Swiss Family Robinson tree house, and more. It was all there, just as promised.
And then there is BMW, The Ultimate Driving Machine. This is not just any car. BMW is the ultimate car. It’s amazingly designed and stylishly appointed, but every detail circles back to one thing: performance.
All these products have an image or a product personality, otherwise known as a brand. The brand promises you something and delivers on that promise consistently, maintaining or gaining market share. When brands fail to deliver what its customers want and expect, they lose market share. When you as a brand owner don’t aggressively define your brand, others will do it for you. A great brand does not happen by accident.
When GM quit listening to its customer, it lost market share and eventually found itself upside down in an automotive market that had literally passed it by.
Positioning a winning brand takes introspective thinking about who/what you are and who/what you want to be. It requires a thorough understanding of your customer and their wants and needs. It requires a brand promise and managing your message. Positioning your brand to win requires consistency: making a promise and delivering upon the expectation, time and time again.
You don’t have to be a megabrand to have a successful company. Whether your business is the practice of law or delivering translation or background screening services to a customer, positioning a winning brand can be applied to all businesses striving for excellence. You can position your brand to win. These brands did.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Will You Be In The Clouds When Crisis Strikes?
A True Story
She was the public relations manager for a multi-state technology company and had just settled into her seat on the airplane for a quiet flight back to home base. She had cleared all her voicemail messages before boarding and felt all was well.
When she landed four hours later and turned on her cell phone, her voicemail had blown up while in flight. The CEO’s secretary left three messages. There was a message from a federal agency media affairs staffer. A message from a client’s public relations manager on the opposite coast. A desperate plea from a PR colleague who often assisted with media matters. And five media calls, including one from an Associated Press bureau chief and one from a major U.S. daily newspaper.
By the time she triaged those calls from an airport phone booth during a 40-minute layover, the story of the company’s unfortunate event was being filed by the Associated Press and had traveled around the globe in less than an hour. For three solid months, she did nothing else but manage the crisis communications for this event. It took her company more than a year to get back to normal and cost the company many hundreds of thousands of dollars in man hours, legal fees and fines.
The Bad News: Regardless of size, no business is immune to a crisis.
What’s your plan?
She was the public relations manager for a multi-state technology company and had just settled into her seat on the airplane for a quiet flight back to home base. She had cleared all her voicemail messages before boarding and felt all was well.
When she landed four hours later and turned on her cell phone, her voicemail had blown up while in flight. The CEO’s secretary left three messages. There was a message from a federal agency media affairs staffer. A message from a client’s public relations manager on the opposite coast. A desperate plea from a PR colleague who often assisted with media matters. And five media calls, including one from an Associated Press bureau chief and one from a major U.S. daily newspaper.
By the time she triaged those calls from an airport phone booth during a 40-minute layover, the story of the company’s unfortunate event was being filed by the Associated Press and had traveled around the globe in less than an hour. For three solid months, she did nothing else but manage the crisis communications for this event. It took her company more than a year to get back to normal and cost the company many hundreds of thousands of dollars in man hours, legal fees and fines.
The Bad News: Regardless of size, no business is immune to a crisis.
What’s your plan?
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Retaliatory Workplace Violence
Can it happen on your watch?
As a CEO, violence in the workplace is something we hope to never, ever face. However, here’s the fact: Retaliatory Workplace Violence (RWV) is on the rise and no industry is immune.
Retaliatory Workplace Violence can happen in any workplace. It can happen in factory settings, administrative offices or parking lots. And sadly, it can happen in schools and on college campuses, just as it did on Friday, January 12, on the campus of the University of Alabama Huntsville when professor Amy Bishop walked into a staff meeting and began firing.
While at first this may have seemed like a random occurrence, the story quickly unfolded to prove otherwise. Bishop was unhappy that she’d been denied tenure. She had a sad and very unfortunate background with offenses dating back at least 24 years. Unfortunate, because apparently a lot of people saw the warning signs and just let it go.
Can it happen on your watch? The answer is, yes, it can.
So what can you do to prevent this? For the answer, we turned to our client, American Behavioral Benefits Managers, www.americanbehavioral.com, and their expert in Critical Issue Stress Management (CSIM), Sandy Capps, MA.
Capps’ recommendation: Watch for the small stuff. Attendance, performance and conduct is a good place to start, as is noting one who constantly touts education and intelligence… click here to read the entire article by reporter Patricia C. McCarter, for The Huntsville Times.
Watch Panorama Crisis 911 for more on this subject soon.
As a CEO, violence in the workplace is something we hope to never, ever face. However, here’s the fact: Retaliatory Workplace Violence (RWV) is on the rise and no industry is immune.
Retaliatory Workplace Violence can happen in any workplace. It can happen in factory settings, administrative offices or parking lots. And sadly, it can happen in schools and on college campuses, just as it did on Friday, January 12, on the campus of the University of Alabama Huntsville when professor Amy Bishop walked into a staff meeting and began firing.
While at first this may have seemed like a random occurrence, the story quickly unfolded to prove otherwise. Bishop was unhappy that she’d been denied tenure. She had a sad and very unfortunate background with offenses dating back at least 24 years. Unfortunate, because apparently a lot of people saw the warning signs and just let it go.
Can it happen on your watch? The answer is, yes, it can.
So what can you do to prevent this? For the answer, we turned to our client, American Behavioral Benefits Managers, www.americanbehavioral.com, and their expert in Critical Issue Stress Management (CSIM), Sandy Capps, MA.
Capps’ recommendation: Watch for the small stuff. Attendance, performance and conduct is a good place to start, as is noting one who constantly touts education and intelligence… click here to read the entire article by reporter Patricia C. McCarter, for The Huntsville Times.
Watch Panorama Crisis 911 for more on this subject soon.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
When Great Brands are Represented by Bad People
Have you ever been involved in a business transaction where you said to yourself, “if this is how this company operates I would never do business here?”
I loved my BMW X5 SUV and hated when my lease time was over. It was a fabulous vehicle and my second BMW in five years. I loved the panoramic moon roof and not just because the name of our company is Panorama—although, I must admit it was one of the “seal the deal” thoughts I had just before I told my salesman that it was THE ONE.
And under normal conditions, when I returned it in December, I would have turned right back around and leased or purchased another. But I couldn’t. My business partner threatened me with mutiny if I even considered it, and frankly I couldn’t have agreed with her more.
Why? Because our firm worked with this particular dealership on a RTW, or as we know it a “Register to Win,” and the general manager with whom we dealt was totally unprofessional. I could not morally turn around and add value to his bottom line after the behavior he exhibited during the time of the RTW negotiation and program.
As I’d sit across the table listening to this guy rant and rave, I’d think to myself—he knows I’m a customer. He must know that how he behaves in front of customers and prospects is directly related to this dealership’s reputation and whether they purchase a vehicle from him. I’d taken my best client to BMW for a win-win business deal because I loved the brand and wanted to bring it recognition and more business. That didn’t happen.
To make matters worse, the VP of the well-known retailer we were working for was new to the area, could have easily purchased any vehicle in his showroom and actually made a comment to that effect—at first. Her tune had changed by the time the deal was done.
Personally, I didn’t care if I ever stepped back into his place of business—beloved BMW or not. I wasn’t going to reward that sort of behavior.
My point is this: companies spend millions upon millions of dollars to build brand equity and awareness to capture market share. They strive to create stellar images of products and services to compete in the marketplace and that fill the needs and desires of the consumer, carefully crafting messages and managing minute details of every aspect.
But one never knows how much business is lost because of the one-on-one human factor where transactions must occur in a professional manner.
Companies, ours included, depend on our employees and contractors to represent us in a manner that reflects the positive nature of our companies, helping us protect our brand.
The general manager of the BMW dealership not only acted out, he put it in writing. Nearing the close of the deal, I guess he just couldn’t take it any longer. He sent an email to our client and copied everyone imaginable, ranting and raving.
By that point, we were all past ready for that project to be over.
When I turned in my X5, my salesman at BMW begged me (I may have seen tears) to send the email to the corporate office, and I probably should have. I have a feeling that BMW USA would have been terribly disappointed in a person that they had put enormous trust in to represent it. And come to think of it, I’d probably still be driving a BMW.
I loved my BMW X5 SUV and hated when my lease time was over. It was a fabulous vehicle and my second BMW in five years. I loved the panoramic moon roof and not just because the name of our company is Panorama—although, I must admit it was one of the “seal the deal” thoughts I had just before I told my salesman that it was THE ONE.
And under normal conditions, when I returned it in December, I would have turned right back around and leased or purchased another. But I couldn’t. My business partner threatened me with mutiny if I even considered it, and frankly I couldn’t have agreed with her more.
Why? Because our firm worked with this particular dealership on a RTW, or as we know it a “Register to Win,” and the general manager with whom we dealt was totally unprofessional. I could not morally turn around and add value to his bottom line after the behavior he exhibited during the time of the RTW negotiation and program.
As I’d sit across the table listening to this guy rant and rave, I’d think to myself—he knows I’m a customer. He must know that how he behaves in front of customers and prospects is directly related to this dealership’s reputation and whether they purchase a vehicle from him. I’d taken my best client to BMW for a win-win business deal because I loved the brand and wanted to bring it recognition and more business. That didn’t happen.
To make matters worse, the VP of the well-known retailer we were working for was new to the area, could have easily purchased any vehicle in his showroom and actually made a comment to that effect—at first. Her tune had changed by the time the deal was done.
Personally, I didn’t care if I ever stepped back into his place of business—beloved BMW or not. I wasn’t going to reward that sort of behavior.
My point is this: companies spend millions upon millions of dollars to build brand equity and awareness to capture market share. They strive to create stellar images of products and services to compete in the marketplace and that fill the needs and desires of the consumer, carefully crafting messages and managing minute details of every aspect.
But one never knows how much business is lost because of the one-on-one human factor where transactions must occur in a professional manner.
Companies, ours included, depend on our employees and contractors to represent us in a manner that reflects the positive nature of our companies, helping us protect our brand.
The general manager of the BMW dealership not only acted out, he put it in writing. Nearing the close of the deal, I guess he just couldn’t take it any longer. He sent an email to our client and copied everyone imaginable, ranting and raving.
By that point, we were all past ready for that project to be over.
When I turned in my X5, my salesman at BMW begged me (I may have seen tears) to send the email to the corporate office, and I probably should have. I have a feeling that BMW USA would have been terribly disappointed in a person that they had put enormous trust in to represent it. And come to think of it, I’d probably still be driving a BMW.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Overwhelming obstacles? Look for the “Bright Spot”
In the PR world or at least that of my firm, Panorama Public Relations, when a client is faced with a difficult or seemingly insurmountable problem, assessing assets is always a part of the foundation for a strong communications strategy.
The list of assets we gather is often intangible, things like community goodwill garnered by being a good corporate citizen. Assets in this case aren’t necessarily the ones on the books - but that’s important too.
When an issue boils over to a crisis and a company stands to lose valuable brand equity, then as advisors we begin to look for the nuggets, the intrinsic value, or “bright spots” to build our strategy for minimizing damage and overcoming the obstacles.
I was excited to read an article in the February issue of Fast Company magazine about SWITCH, a new book due out February 16. SWITCH, by author’s Dan Heath and Chip Heath, talks about how we in business tend to seek solutions equal to the scale of the problem and not for “bright spots” or “what’s working and how can we do more of it?”
The authors’ philosophy is reflected in the book’s subtitles – “FIND A BRIGHT SPOT AND CLONE IT– How to Change Things When Change Is Hard.”
The Fast Company article provides several examples of seriously tough issues, showcasing the use of the “bright spot” philosophy, and how it can apply to businesses faced with tough times.
One such issue was widespread malnutrition in rural Vietnam and how Jerry Sternin, a staff member at Save the Children, was able to cause sweeping change in a village riddled with child malnourishment. Sternin was given a six-month timeline by the Vietnam government to solve malnutrition. Talk about an insurmountable problem!
Rather than being overwhelmed by analyzing a hugely complicated problem, Sternin quickly uncovered the “bright spots,” a group of children in the village who were healthier, yet ate basically the same amount of food the undernourished children ate. What he and his team of moms from the village discovered was that the mothers of the healthier children were feeding their children four times a day meals enriched with small shrimp and crabs collected from the rice paddies. In addition, the child and parent were actively engaged in the eating process, and the children were fed by hand if necessary.
Six months later 65% of the village kids were better nourished. Sternin’s solution didn’t require a huge capital investment, positioning papers and hoards of experts analyzing the problem. He just found the bright spot and cloned it.
The list of assets we gather is often intangible, things like community goodwill garnered by being a good corporate citizen. Assets in this case aren’t necessarily the ones on the books - but that’s important too.
When an issue boils over to a crisis and a company stands to lose valuable brand equity, then as advisors we begin to look for the nuggets, the intrinsic value, or “bright spots” to build our strategy for minimizing damage and overcoming the obstacles.
I was excited to read an article in the February issue of Fast Company magazine about SWITCH, a new book due out February 16. SWITCH, by author’s Dan Heath and Chip Heath, talks about how we in business tend to seek solutions equal to the scale of the problem and not for “bright spots” or “what’s working and how can we do more of it?”
The authors’ philosophy is reflected in the book’s subtitles – “FIND A BRIGHT SPOT AND CLONE IT– How to Change Things When Change Is Hard.”
The Fast Company article provides several examples of seriously tough issues, showcasing the use of the “bright spot” philosophy, and how it can apply to businesses faced with tough times.
One such issue was widespread malnutrition in rural Vietnam and how Jerry Sternin, a staff member at Save the Children, was able to cause sweeping change in a village riddled with child malnourishment. Sternin was given a six-month timeline by the Vietnam government to solve malnutrition. Talk about an insurmountable problem!
Rather than being overwhelmed by analyzing a hugely complicated problem, Sternin quickly uncovered the “bright spots,” a group of children in the village who were healthier, yet ate basically the same amount of food the undernourished children ate. What he and his team of moms from the village discovered was that the mothers of the healthier children were feeding their children four times a day meals enriched with small shrimp and crabs collected from the rice paddies. In addition, the child and parent were actively engaged in the eating process, and the children were fed by hand if necessary.
Six months later 65% of the village kids were better nourished. Sternin’s solution didn’t require a huge capital investment, positioning papers and hoards of experts analyzing the problem. He just found the bright spot and cloned it.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Balloon Flies High, Turns Left: Hoaxes do no favors for media, newsmakers
Certainly by now everyone has heard about the balloon boy fiasco. On Oct. 15, the seemingly real-life drama of a boy stuck in a runaway balloon captured the attention of media and its viewers as well as the time of first-responders and military for the span of two hours and counties. When the balloon landed, no boy was to be found. Eventually, he was found to be hiding in his parent’s garage.
In the days that followed, an even more bizarre tale has unraveled – the whole fiasco was a premeditated publicity stunt. The Henne family, two-time participants on a prime-time reality show, hatched the plan to gain attention for a new reality show that they were pitching to networks, and now they face criminal (and possibly federal) charges.
Even as I write this, yet another example of “stupid PR tricks” has surfaced, as an activist organization posing as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce staged a fake news conference and issued a counterfeit news release that seemingly reversed the organization’s controversial stance on climate change policy. Their hoax was so convincing that major news outlets not only attended the conference but also ran reports based on the release!
As a communicator, I am bothered by the erosion of accuracy in reporting and honesty from newsmakers.
One of the side-effects of living in an era where information moves at the speed of 140 characters a second is that reporting is becoming more inaccurate, as media outlets rush to break each story. Instead of checking facts and vetting sources, reporters go with the quickest answer. From the other side of the desk, we always stress the importance of carefully reviewing and preparing responses to media inquiries to ensure accuracy. We should follow the advice of CNN's Wolf Blitzer, who commented with regards to the fake Chamber of Commerce event: "When a story sounds too good to be true, you've got to check, recheck and check again."
I have seen the label “PR stunt” used in conjunction with these farces. While no one will mistake the Henne family as PR professionals, they still violated one of the basic tenets of PR – always tell the truth! What does a fake news conference do to further the cause for climate change policy? The adage of “no publicity is bad publicity” is obsolete. In these days where audience feedback and participatory journalism permeates even traditional media, the prospect of a backlash is too great to risk on tricks or pranks. These hoaxes undermine the credibility of the individuals involved and the causes that they support.
If these types of events continue, we face the continued erosion of the credibility of the media/PR dynamic. What are your thoughts?
In the days that followed, an even more bizarre tale has unraveled – the whole fiasco was a premeditated publicity stunt. The Henne family, two-time participants on a prime-time reality show, hatched the plan to gain attention for a new reality show that they were pitching to networks, and now they face criminal (and possibly federal) charges.
Even as I write this, yet another example of “stupid PR tricks” has surfaced, as an activist organization posing as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce staged a fake news conference and issued a counterfeit news release that seemingly reversed the organization’s controversial stance on climate change policy. Their hoax was so convincing that major news outlets not only attended the conference but also ran reports based on the release!
As a communicator, I am bothered by the erosion of accuracy in reporting and honesty from newsmakers.
One of the side-effects of living in an era where information moves at the speed of 140 characters a second is that reporting is becoming more inaccurate, as media outlets rush to break each story. Instead of checking facts and vetting sources, reporters go with the quickest answer. From the other side of the desk, we always stress the importance of carefully reviewing and preparing responses to media inquiries to ensure accuracy. We should follow the advice of CNN's Wolf Blitzer, who commented with regards to the fake Chamber of Commerce event: "When a story sounds too good to be true, you've got to check, recheck and check again."
I have seen the label “PR stunt” used in conjunction with these farces. While no one will mistake the Henne family as PR professionals, they still violated one of the basic tenets of PR – always tell the truth! What does a fake news conference do to further the cause for climate change policy? The adage of “no publicity is bad publicity” is obsolete. In these days where audience feedback and participatory journalism permeates even traditional media, the prospect of a backlash is too great to risk on tricks or pranks. These hoaxes undermine the credibility of the individuals involved and the causes that they support.
If these types of events continue, we face the continued erosion of the credibility of the media/PR dynamic. What are your thoughts?
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