Author: Jonathan & Erik Bernstein

Google nails its latest crisis management effort

Although Google has been at the center of several controversies, the notoriously tight-lipped search behemoth has the advantage of being a public favorite, which means that it has already banked a good amount of reputation “credit” that can be renewed when the need for crisis management arises. Furthering that credit is the lengths Google goes to in order to nurture and maintain the dialogue between company and consumer, demonstrated in the wake of a disturbing cyber-stalking case that brought a loophole in its search algorithms to light. This particular loophole actually resulted in some businesses purposely seeking out negative responses from customers in order to improve search engine positioning; not what Google had intended, to say the least. Immediately after catching wind of the case, Google leapt into action, redesigning its search algorithms to eliminate results generated by this shady method and publishing a post on its official blog which included this quote:

We can’t say for sure that no one will ever find a loophole in our ranking algorithms in the future. We know that people will keep trying: attempts to game Google’s ranking, like the ones mentioned in the article, go on 24 hours a day, every single day. That’s why we cannot reveal the details of our solution—the underlying signals, data sources, and how we combined them to improve our rankings—beyond what we’ve already said. We can say with reasonable confidence that being bad to customers is bad for business on Google. And we will continue to work hard towards a better search.

By having an established positive Web presence, Google is able to distribute messages like this quickly and with ease. There is no need for costly press releases or opportunities for reporters to distort the message being delivered, because stakeholders know they can look to Google’s own blog for answers. You don’t need to be a mammoth organization to do this very same thing, all it takes is a dedication to open communication and a free blog page, so what are you waiting for?

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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 Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

Crisis management continues after the problems are over

It seems counter-intuitive to some, but crises can present amazing opportunities to grow and learn. In a post on his Harvard Business Review blog, expert business consultant Ron Ashkenas explains the shift that occurs during crises, and gives some excellent advice on how to stretch it as far as possible:

People jump to respond to floods and snowstorms, urgent customer problems, financial challenges, or competitive moves. Levels of collaboration and creativity rise; a sense of urgency pervades the workplace; and everyone pitches in to resolve the problem or achieve the goal. But when the crisis passes, things revert to normal. The crisis becomes a part of the company’s folklore rather than a step towards lasting performance.

…You can capture the spirit and energy of a crisis and use it not only to achieve the immediate goal, but also to build new patterns of achievement over time. If you and your team have recently experienced a surge of performance due to a crisis, special deadline, or extraordinary challenge, consider taking the following steps:

1) Organize a post-crisis learning clinic. Include the key people w ho were involved — from your team, other parts of your organization, and even outside parties. Take stock of what you learned: What was done differently? What new patterns or innovations were sparked by the crisis? And most importantly, what new ways of working — individually or collectively — should be continued?

2) Identify a critical initiative that you want to accelerate. Carve out a stretch goal that will demonstrate progress in 100 days or less — and then consciously apply one or more of the new patterns to it. Use the next 100 days as a real-time experiment to build the new innovations into your team’s muscle memory, while also generating additional learning from the 100-day challenge.

Every time you face a challenge it is an opportunity to improve, but the vast majority of organizations are sorely lacking in this type of thinking. By taking the steps that Ashkenas recommends, you can take advantage of of the energy and creativity that is born during a crisis to strengthen yourself against the next.

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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 Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

How you communicate is just as important as what’s actually said

Many business execs think of written statements as powerful tools, tools that satisfy reporters and the public while quelling any questioning or doubt. The rest of the world…not so much. In an article for his website, Mr. Media Training, Brad Phillips composed a solid list of reasons why you should not use written statements as your primary communication method:

1. They Don’t Make You the “Go-To” Source: One of the most important things in the early hours of a crisis is to establish your company or organization as the primary source for information. If reporters believe they can get the relevant facts of the story directly from you in a timely and transparent manner, they will have less incentive to seek out alternative sources.

2. They Make You Look Guilty: A written statement too often looks like the Fifth Amendment – an obstruction guilty parties hide behind when they want to avoid saying something self-incriminating. Sources that communicate openly are usually treated better by reporters than those who refuse to talk or speak only through the written word.

3. Reporters Hate Them: Reporters want the opportunity to ask questions, clarify points, and pursue their own angles. Sources that don’t speak to reporters often suffer more hostile coverage.

These are three HUGE negatives that combine to make battling a crisis much harder than it would be had you simply spoken in person with reporters. Throwing a new wrench in this theory is the ongoing infatuation with social media. Are these new media platforms responsive and pervasive enough to act as a primary communication tools, or should they be relegated to the role of support? What do you think?

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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 Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

BBB in crisis management mode after being caught taking cash for ratings

Over the years, Bernstein Crisis Management has often had the challenge of protecting businesses from the abuses of the Better Business Bureau (BBB), the less-than-honest organization whose mission is supposedly to protect the public from bad business practices, so when I spotted an ABC News story calling out the service, my only thought was, “about time!” A quote:

The Better Business Bureau, one of the country’s best known consumer watchdog groups, is being accused by business owners of running a “pay for play” scheme in which A plus ratings are awarded to those who pay membership fees, and F ratings used to punish those who don’t.

To prove the point, a group of Los Angeles business owners paid $425 to the Better Business Bureau and were able to obtain an A minus grade for a non-existent company called Hamas, named after the Middle Eastern terror group.

“Right now, this rating system is really unworthy of consumer trust or confidence,” said Connecticut attorney general Richard Blumenthal in an interview to be broadcast as part of an ABC News investigation…”

Additionally, in my experience, the BBB does not consider a complaint resolved until the COMPLAINANT considers it resolved — no matter how wacko or vengeful the latter person is.

Although the BBB vehemently denies that it is possible to buy higher ratings, claiming the example cited was due to a salesperson’s error, the ABC investigation actually managed to capture video footage of business owners being told that their grades could be raised if they paid hundreds of dollars in membership fees. With such damning evidence being thrust into the court of public opinion, the shoe is now on the other foot, as the group that has put unfair pressure on so many business owners is forced into crisis management mode in an attempt to protect both revenue and reputation.

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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 Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

Crisis management and social media are like PB&J

Ruh roh. A new survey from German consultancy Gartner Communications found that while nearly 85% of companies worldwide have general crisis plans in place (yea!), only 20.7% have social media crisis plans set (boo!). Moreover, while 71% of in-house communicators think social media will become even more important in crisis communications going forward, a staggering 78.6% said they were pretty unprepared or so-so when it comes to social media crises.

This quote, from a post on B2C Marketing Insider, illuminates a serious problem that continues to affect businesses on a daily basis. It’s astonishing that, even after seeing major global companies go down in e-flames because of their poorly planned or nonexistent social media planning, nearly 80% of communicators are not ready to respond to a social media crisis.

It’s very simple…when your stakeholders want information, they don’t want to call in and sit on hold, or listen to a droning recorded message; these days they turn directly to social media, specifically Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. Being an active participant on these platforms means that when a crisis breaks, you have the perfect means to make public the fact that you are fielding stakeholder concerns while at the same time communicating your message exactly as intended. In other words, the ideal situation for crisis management.

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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 Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

Airline ignores opportunity to communicate and connect via social media

You don’t have to look hard to see the prominent role Twitter is playing in major crises. When engine problems forced a Qantas Airbus A380 to make an emergency landing in Singapore last week, passengers were tweeting pictures of the damage as their plane sat on the tarmac.

In the hours after, Qantas was in a scramble, trying to combat inaccurate media reports on several fronts, including several that claimed the plane had actually crashed, and being made to look somewhat foolish as they denied any wreckage being found on a nearby island while a photo from that very island showing locals holding a large piece of debris circulated around Twitter with the hashtag #QF32.

With the story already on its way to exploding on Twitter, one would think Qantas would go to where its stakeholders were discussing things, but instead its main account, @QantasUSA, remained strangely silent on the issue, and visitors seeking information saw only earlier messages, including one that became somewhat inappropriate given the situation. Image from Tnooz.com:

Finally, late on September 4th, the airline managed to get a link to its initial statement posted on the Twitter feed. The following day, though, Qantas suffered yet another engine scare, this time with a Boeing 747, and for three days now the page has stood without a posting as the rest of Twitter is abuzz with rumor and assumption about the two incidents.

While Qantas did an excellent job ensuring the safety of its customers, its communication was sub-par at best. With such a large company, especially as a member of an industry known to hold inherent dangers, there is no excuse to not have at least one person assigned to handle Twitter postings and replies around the clock.

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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 Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

Popular drink maker’s poor crisis communications could be its downfall

You would think one of the nation’s largest independent PR firms would know better than to argue with a reporter, but when Edelman PR, which represents Phusion Projects, makers of the controversial caffeinated alcoholic drink Four Loko, contacted the writers of a Seattle Weekly blog asking them to change the wording of a post, they only provided fodder for another damaging post. Here’s the full exchange, from the Seattle Weekly:

The flack took issue with Caleb’s statement that Four Loko “has the alcoholic equivalent of five or six caffeinated beers.” (No objection was made to his describing the drink as tasting like “Thor’s piss.”) Said Edelman:

This statement is not correct…Please remove this error from the online version of your story and please use the correct information from the materials we provided.

We looked at the materials provided, which said a can of Four Loko is 12 percent alcohol by volume. Well, that’s almost three times the abv of a can of PBR. And a can of Four Loko, at 23 ounces, is roughly twice the size. So that works out to five or six beers’ worth of alcohol per can.

But hey, we’re always open to a second check of our math. OK, we replied, How many beers would you say a can of Four Loko is equal to?

It depends on the beer–domestics or the high-end crafts or imports.

How about an “average beer”?

What’s an average beer? A Bud or a craft /Euro beer with considerably higher alcohol content by volume?

Given that your typical Phusion Projects customer isn’t likely to be choosing between Four Loko and a Grolsch, this response seemed evasive to the point of silliness.

Indeed, the Edelman representative insisted that wine was the better analogy, as if the Four Loko customer might opt for a light Pinot instead.

A can of Four Loko is equal to about 2 glasses of wine.

But even that’s complete horseshit. Yes, Four Loko has about the same alcohol by volume as your average wine. But your typical serving of wine is about 5 ounces. Which means there’s actually close to five glasses of wine in a can of Four Loko.

Behavior like that of the Edelman representative is what earned PR professionals the unsavory nickname, “spin doctors.” At this point, Phusion Projects is facing criticism of its drink purely for its physical dangers, but by attempting to muddy the facts about their client’s products, Edelman is actually laying the foundation for another crisis. With several high-visibility hospitalizations in the past weeks being attributed to Four Loko, Phusion Projects would be better off acknowledging the possible problems and publicly working with officials to find a solution.

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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 Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

One interview gone wrong can cause a crisis management nightmare for your organization.

Bad interviews have been responsible for igniting countless crises. A few errant words, and what would have otherwise gone largely unnoticed is suddenly an international sensation. The latest example of this is the case of UK nuclear sub commander Andy Coles, who ran his £1.2 billion ship aground late last week. A quote, from a Herald Scotland article by Helen McArdle:

In a previously unpublished interview with a newspaper before the incident, Commander Coles reportedly admits previously ignoring advice not to sail the high-tech vessel in bad weather and says it has proved difficult to manoeuvre.

He also says he believes he is getting too old for the job. “When I leave her next May I probably won’t go to sea on a submarine again,” he said. “I’m 47 now and I think it’s time for someone younger.”

Cdr Coles, who is nicknamed Stumpy because he lost one of his fingers as a child, complains that the advanced nature of Astute’s periscope means that even minor mistakes by him can instantly be witnessed by crew members when the information flashes up on the submarine’s high-definition television screens.

He said: “In the old days you could spin round, see you’d had a close shave and think to yourself ‘I’ve got away with it.’ Now everyone knows.”

Scary statements from the man responsible for the well being of the UK’s most powerful attack submarine and her crew. Both the interview and the Commander’s actions have made the Royal Navy, which was seemingly unaware of the interview, appear weak and foolish in the public eye, creating a rough crisis management scenario. One advantage the Navy holds is a strong foundation of trust and good will with the people, which will help to direct blame towards Coles and prevent any significant reputation damage.

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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 Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

Although crisis management continues after the crisis is over, its focus must shift

During a crisis, all focus is on the problem at hand. The problem that some encounter, though, is that they continue to dwell on the situation after it has ended, rather than strengthening themselves, shoring up holes, and moving on. In a recent interview for Black Enterprise Magazine, Dawn Angelique Roberts, managing partner of KD Communications Group, gave some advice on how to do just that:

“Have a plan for when the crisis is over,” says Roberts. “Talk about what you/the company is doing now, what positive things you’re working on and have planned for the future. [If applicable,] talk about what you’re going to do to fix the incident or situation after the fact. Don’t concentrate on what just happened.”

Remember, crisis management, if done right, can actually result in organizations or individuals coming out stronger than they were before they landed in hot water. By taking the opportunity to not only apologize, but show stakeholders how you are ensuring there will not be such a crisis again, you build trust and a start a rapport that will ultimately strengthen your reputation.

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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 Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]

The latest trend in attacks presents new crisis management challenges

You’ve probably already heard of the fake Chevron PR campaign, an elaborate and temporarily effective attack by activists. For those that missed it, the elaborate prank, whose aim was to draw attention to questionable environmental practices, involved not only a fake website, but an entire series of false documents, including press releases featuring made up quotes from Chevron officials, and even a spoofed Ad Age Web page reporting on the story. This type of attack is becoming more and more common, and is likely to continue growing in popularity as more are successful. Here is one expert’s view of the future, from an AdAge.com article about the incident:

“It’s an increasingly troubling issue,” said Gene Grabowski, senior VP, Levick Strategic Communications. “We live in a time when some of the most trusted names in news are satire shows like ‘The Daily Show,’ ‘The Onion’ and ‘The Colbert Report.’ We live in an era where satire is now the news source for people. And recently Mr. Colbert testified before congress, so increasingly consumers don’t know the difference between satire, comedy and news, so it’s only natural that individuals and organizations who want to take advantage of that would launch mock PR campaigns.”

Mr. Grabowski said companies will have an uphill battle trying to combat these pranks. “It’s like a thumb trap, the more the company tries to defend itself, the more it becomes part of the story and that makes it more interesting. The company being attacked can’t effectively fight back itself and that’s why these tactics are so effective.”

These types of attacks present a serious crisis management concern, as even when consumers recognize that they are fake, they are usually presented in such a slick and entertaining manner that they are shared among peers, and, with the vast majority of that sharing happening online, they have a dangerous propensity for going viral.

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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 Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training.]