Author: Jonathan & Erik Bernstein

You can’t cover up, so just come clean

Crisis management can be like presidential politics: If you don’t set the record straight immediately and honestly, you can be out of the running in a flash. Perception quickly becomes reality and the negative consequences snowball. Case in point: Herman Cain.

By failing to address allegations of sexual harassment in a straightforward manner with integrity, the story dogged him until he finally dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination. The list of personal and political situations that morphed from damage control to total disaster because of poor management is long and infamous: from world famous professional golfers to congressmen.

This quote, from a SeaCoast Online article by Stefanie Guzikowski, is a perfect example of why covering up mistakes is never a wise choice.

Let’s face it, when we hear “no comment,” we immediately think, “guilty.”

What’s the reason for this?

Well, it’s mostly true.

With the way that crisis management has evolved, companies or individuals that clam up when facing scrutiny attract even more of that which they are trying to avoid. While the public has been proven more than willing to forget the mistakes of those who accept responsibility for their shortcomings, denial and cover ups are exposed with a ruthless efficiency, with the reputation of anyone caught in that trap taking a serious, sometimes permanently damaging, beating.

So, when crisis comes your way, suck it up, admit you messed up, and tell people how you’re going to fix it. It sounds overly simple, but by sticking to that basic procedure you can navigate even the most difficult of crisis situations.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Does the evolution of tech and communication mean our methods must drastically change?

Social media has already changed how we do customer service, and the rise of prominent posters, or powerful groups (who hasn’t heard of the mommy bloggers?) continues to affect the ways we handle issues.

With infamous moves ranging from the sensational, like famed Morton’s Steakhouse having a dinner hand-delivered to a Twitter celeb at the airport after he posted a joking Tweet from in-flight, to the incredibly weak, such as when Pizza Hut ignored one customer’s complaint to the point where he plastered pictures of the bloodied bandage he had allegedly found in his pizza all over the Web.

In a post on his blog, Shatterbox, crisis communications expert Jay Pinkert gave this list of “mildly facetious” questions for companies to consider when handling customer service:

1. Is it now the responsibility of front line customer service reps at large consumer goods companies to escalate every call from someone claiming to have a million Twitter followers? Is that a “red flag,” automatic escalation, or do they have to verify it first? Or is that up to the first line supervisor? Second line?
2. What’s the cutoff for special treatment/escalations? 1 million followers? Ranges (e.g. 250,000-499,999 followers gets a free replacement, 500,000+ gets a freebie plus donation to the charity of their choice)?
3. If customer service reps are now expected to have the skills of online community managers, are they being trained enough? Paid enough?
4. Should IT departments incorporate a social media ranking look-up as a desktop app for customer-facing personnel?
5. Is not responding to/escalating all Twitter complaints now considered poor customer service?

Honestly, we wouldn’t be surprised at all to see an integrated tool in the near future that searches for and displays a customer’s potential influence level while they’re on the line with customer service.

While every customer has a right to expect timely and helpful service, extending yourself further to improve your reputation where you know it will have an impact is just smart business.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Counter rumors with fact

You can’t assume that everything you read on the internet is true (duh!). If you’re the victim of such disinformation, you need to act quickly to counter it with solid facts. Once the horse has left the barn, it’s difficult to catch!

This quote, from a Canton on Emergency Management blog post, is evidenced in most crises we see today. In much the same way hearsay that came from someone’s uncle’s brother’s friend should be taken with a grain of salt, so should unsourced, unverified posts on the Web.

Unfortunately, the average person is more inclined to not only believe what they read, but there’s a good probability they’ll pass it on to others via social media, who then have the potential to re-Tweet, share, or Like the situation into something bigger than it is.

The best way to get ahead of rumor and innuendo is to quickly release some type of statement, even if it’s simply asking for a bit more time to figure things out before you share the full story. If you’re already behind the curve, then get your best, brightest, and most comprehensively trained communicators out there working with reporters, both amateur and professional, to get the real facts published.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is a writer, publicist and SEO associate for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Answer these simple questions to find out

Find yourself stopping blooming Facebook crises in their tracks (with a single bound!) and coming out bearing Likes from everyone involved? Are you the person the C-suite comes to when the proverbial bleep hits the fan in the office? Well then, you just might be a crisis manager!

In his latest article, hosted on the Bernstein Crisis Management blog, Jonathan Bernstein finishes the statement, “You Might Be a Crisis Manager If…”

Feel free to submit your own “You Might Be a Crisis Manager If…,” reader responses will be featured in an upcoming issue of our Crisis Manager newsletter!

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is a writer, publicist and SEO associate for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

The following guest article, by crisis consultant Tony Jacques, puts some hard figures behind the constant warnings us crisis managers give to plan for and protect against reputation damage.

When Share Price Puts a Value on Brand Reputation

Share price might not be everything – but for many organizations there is nothing but daylight way back to whatever is coming second.

Yet new research shows decision makers at many companies don’t seem to be focused on branding issues and threats, and the impact those threats can have on reputation and share value.

Polling conducted with more than 1,100 executives around the USA by Deloitte revealed that a scant 24% of the companies formally measure and report on brand value. Moreover, fewer than 22% thought it was likely that negative information about their brand would show up on social media such as Twitter, Facebook or YouTube in the coming year. (Some hope!)

At the same time, a fresh study has reinforced the impact of a crisis on share price and reputation. Statistical analysis of ten corporate crises in South Africa* found that the greater the speed and number of positive steps taken in the two weeks after a crisis, the less the company share price fell. It also found that the more the company share price increased six months after the crisis, the greater the perception of its corporate reputation and brand strength.

Cause and effect is sometimes hard to assess when it comes to the share market, but the cost of mismanagement can be brutal. For example, Google has long been one of the world’s most valuable brands (ranked fourth in the latest Interbrand rankings), and earlier this year new CEO Larry Page was expected to explain to an analyst’s conference why quarterly revenue was well under forecast. Instead the CEO spoke less than 400 words of general optimism, then signed off. Wall Street hammered the stock, wiping $US15 billion off the value of Google in a single day.

Plenty of other high profile company brands have also suffered the awful impact of real world events on the slightly unreal world of stock market value.

• After an adverse review of iPhone 4, Apple shares lost $US5.08 bn in one day
• Following failure to cap its Gulf of Mexico oil well, BP shares lost £12 bn in one day
• When Goldman Sachs was accused of fraud, its shares lost $US12.4 bn in just one afternoon and $US20 bn in a week
• After Toyota announced a major vehicle recall, the carmaker’s shares on Tokyo Exchange fell $US30 bn over four weeks
• UBS disclosed a $2.3 billion rogue trading scandal in September and their shares fell about $4 bn in one day and the Chairman resigned a week later

As the Deloitte report concluded, very few companies proactively manage the link between reputation risk and company strategy, and it’s a role which should be led by senior executive management, not delegated to public relations or marketing. Share price might not be everything, but raw numbers such as shown here are a stark reminder that proactive risk management for crisis prevention and reputation protection isn’t a cost – it’s an investment in the future.

FOOTNOTE: Late in 2010, Business Insider graphed the share impact of 12 PR crises, some contemporary, some classic. The results are very sobering.

*Source: Coldwell and Joosub, African Journal of Business Management. 5(24), 14 October, 2011

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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Tony Jacques is Director of Issue Outcomes, a full-service crisis management firm.

Know your plan and play your role

Every company has a organizational chart – a ladder of power, but how this structure functions during a crisis must be clarified with all the stakeholders in the company; particularly the communications department. A crisis can hit at any time, and the company needs to determine secondary command structures in case key decision-makers are unavailable at the time.

Not only is it important for those to know who need to spring to action (and how those people are contacted) – it is equally important that everyone else in the organization knows they can not speak on behalf of the company or to the press.

Not cementing the items discussed in this quote, from the NetResults PR blog, is the prime reason why many crisis management campaigns experience a dangerously sluggish start. With the lightning fast news cycle we now experience, there just isn’t time to review the facts, gather your leadership, and create a plan. In the case of a serious crisis, the conversation will likely have spiraled far out of your control, and even in minor situations you’ll have the peanut gallery gladly filling in the gaps with rumor and innuendo.

With the amateur E-Reporter firmly cemented as a legitimate information source, it’s doubly important to remember the second part of the quote – people need to know who can talk and who can’t, and those who can, MUST know exactly what to say and how to say it.

You can’t “wing it” against a trained reporter any more than you’d “wing it” in a bullfight. In both cases you’ll come out beaten, bloodied, and full of holes.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is a writer, publicist and SEO associate for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

High marks for the automaker’s crisis management

Late last month, General Motors sparked comparisons to Toyota’s recent troubles when it announced that small electrical fires had occurred in some Chevy Volts during the course of testing. Unlike Toyota, however, GM quickly got out in front of the story, as described in this quote from an LA Times article by Jerry Hirsch:

As federal safety officials began investigating the cause of fires that followed test crashes of its Chevrolet Volt electric vehicles, GM shifted into communications overdrive, trotting out senior executives and engineers to talk about the issue and launching a customer-care initiative.

Analysts say the Detroit automaker wants to be sure it is not seen as sitting on its hands and downplaying a safety issue — a trap Toyota fell into after a deadly 2009 car crash killed four people and set off fears of sudden uncontrolled acceleration in Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

Although the fires were found only in test vehicles that had been partially destroyed, GM’s crisis management strategy included not only a comprehensive communications plan that gave members of the media access to company insiders, but also extended an offer to Volt owners that entitled them to a free GM loaner vehicle until the problem was located and resolved.

Given the almost-nonexistent negative impact, combined with the good PR gained from a solid response, this is one crisis I would label a success.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is a writer, publicist and SEO associate for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

What NOT to do

Just as with businesses, it’s smart for prominent individuals to set up regular searches for mentions of their name on the web. While Kansas Governor Sam Brownback’s got this part right, assigning communication director Sherriene Jones-Sontag to monitor negative commentary on social media, more than a few things were lacking in their latest crisis management effort.

The whole incident was kicked off by an 18-year-old Kansas high schooler’s joking tweet following a Youth in Government field trip to the state’s capitol, “Just made mean comments at gov. brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot.” The following quote, from a CNN article by Dean Obeidallah, explains the rest:

Jones-Sontag, finding this 73-character tweet by a high school student a threat to the good name of the governor, bolted into action. She contacted the Youth in Government organizers and expressed her outrage over the tweet. In turn, the event administrators, no doubt concerned that the governor’s director of communication had taken the time to contact them, informed Sullivan’s high school principal.

Sullivan soon found herself in her principal’s office being scolded for nearly an hour. Bottom line: The principal has mandated the student write a letter of apology to the governor that is due Monday.

Sullivan, who says she was making a political comment on Brownback’s conservative policies that she disagrees with, announced her refusal to apologize for criticizing the governor.

When negative commentary pops up, you’ve got to ask yourself, “is this even worth responding to?”

Yes, it’s important to acknowledge concerns and respond to complaints, but in this case the post was clearly a one-off that would reach a bare minimum of eyes.

By responding in the matter it did, Brownback’s office not only gave a ton of publicity to a disparaging comment that would have otherwise gone unnoticed, but also made the Governor look like a bully in the process.

Bad marks Brownback.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is a writer, publicist and SEO associate for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

Say you’re sorry like you mean it

It’s common to make mistakes. What’s far less common is an organization that knows how give a serious and genuine apology. Thankfully for these clueless companies, tech-based business consultant Anne Weiskopf published her “Six Keys to an Apology in Crisis Management” in a SpinSucks article:

1. Address the issue quickly.
   • “Silence is not an option in social media” – C.C. Chapman
2. Even if it is not directly your fault, apologize for it anyway.
   • “No, you no longer control your brand and yes, you’re still 100% responsible for its success” – Duane Primozich
3. Intent matters; people are more likely to forgive an honest mistake.
   • Apologize, don’t justify.
4. Identify the steps that are being (or will be) taken to fix the problem.
5. Pick the right medium for you to be most effective. A well written apology trumps a badly delivered video message.
6. Continuously monitor all social and non-social channels so you can continue to address the issue further if needed.

Step number one is, as it should be, the most important part of the entire apology. While insisting you’ll do things differently may buy some time, the fall will be all the worse later if you don’t actually fix the root of the problem.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is a writer, publicist and SEO associate for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

How a dose of negativity can help your organization

The natural reaction for most people when they start seeing negative sentiment about their organization arise is panic. Do I respond? Do I duck and hide? And most of all…how bad is this going to hurt?

Truth is, the more devoted your stakeholders are, the more flak you will take when you mess up, or at least are perceived to. In a PRDaily article, marketing expert and Georgetown U professor Rohit Bhargava shared his thoughts about how haters can help your business:

1. Haters expose vulnerability. No business is perfect and haters sometimes have valid points. It requires an open mind to focus on the heart of a complaint and ignore the emotionally charged aspects. Doing so will hone in on the things you really need to fix and make your business stronger.

2. Haters can be converted. There are many types of haters who may cross your path. The most frequent type isn’t the one who will passionately hate your business forever, but rather someone who has had a negative experience of some kind. If you can find a way to fix that experience and make it right, that same person can be transformed into your biggest advocate.

3. Haters bring attention. Although I don’t believe “any publicity is good publicity,” the fact is that when you have people actively talking about how bad or pathetic your business is, it can add visibility. If you can find the right ways to counter the negativity, that attention can actually become a good thing.

4. Haters publicize frequently asked questions. If you have a FAQ page on your website, you will realize the power that answering frequently asked questions can have for giving potential customers an idea not just of what you do … but also what you don’t do.

 

 

 

 

5. Haters validate social media efforts. If you have been actively using social media, the goodwill that you may have built up with your fans and friends comes in handy when haters appear. The people you have invested time in building relationships with will often stick up for your brand and fight on your side.

Just as we commonly say about crisis situations, strong organizations can actually turn negative attention into positive. Of course, all of this goes out the window if you aren’t actively moving to fix the problems that are bringing the hate in the first place. The overall reason that negative attention can be beneficial is that it gives you a way to demonstrate how much you care about your stakeholders. If you can’t convince them of that, you’re in trouble.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. , an international crisis management consultancy, and author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is a writer, publicist and SEO associate for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]