Effective crisis handling in the post-pandemic times
Crisis keeps happening at any point of time and it can rapidly tarnish the reputation of the brand in today’s digital world. Few days back India’s formost airline Indigo went on a protest against the pay cuts that were implemented during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. We then had the Maggie Noodle crisis which disrupted the entire operations for Nestle and it took quite some time for them to bounce back. Paytm was very heavily trolled when investors had high expectations and but the stocks kept sliding. Such incidents, off late is happening more frequently especially with service brands and are causing serious impact on the company’s brand value and creating a negative perception in the market place with the consumers.
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The digital era has brought in a major paradigm shift in how we plan communications. Today, crises are more likely to go viral with especially with the deep digital penetrationwhich is reaching to the smallest of the town due to the widespread presence of the internet. Earlier, when a crisis arose, it was restricted to only the traditional media. But with the rapid digital transformation the landscape of media has changedand has become faster and more dynamic. Brands take a lot of efforts and pain to build their brands but it could just take a few social media rants and troll by consumers or some ad campaign gone drastically wrong for it to turn into a major crisis where even CEO of the company has to intervene to douse the fire.
Brand crisis management can hit any brands at any time and it is totally unpredictable. Brandsdo follow certain processes to fight crisis and works on well documented crisis management document so that they are not caught off guard. But with the dynamics of the media today brands need to stand on their feet and plan hurriedly. Any crisis management strategy will always be helpful for brands because the world is erratic and today consumers don’t have any patience and they are very impulsive when it comes to trolling for any poor service and or dissatisfaction from any brands that they purchase.
Companies that invest time and money in planning a crisis and will able to salvage the situation and to some extent surmount the crisis when it hits them. But in today’s digital world a crisis can hit any brand any time and quickly damage one’s reputation. So, the preparedness plan should always be in place when the crisis happens and this should be done with speed and agility. If there is no plan then addressing it from the roots will only delay the process and damage the brand reputation. It is also important that during the crisis the brand needs to stay connected with their employees internally as they are the trusted brand ambassadors for the brand. Continuous communication should happen with the external stakeholders of the company on how the brand is resolving the crisis and what steps are being take to protect the reputation of the brand.
PR agencies and consultants have a lot to do when crisis hits. Right at the beginning when the brand and PR agency plan their annual communication plan crisis management situation should be built in the overall plan. This overall plan should have the right strategic approach in the event of a crisis. What’s more importantis that the crisis topic has to be discussed at every quarterly meeting keeping in mind some likely scenarios and also closely monitor what kind of crisis has happened with any other brands or competition in the market place. The agency has to be proactive and absorb some of the lessons and learningshere, which can help in the future in the event of a crisis.
Presenting her views, Pooja Garg Khan, Head Corporate Communications, Panasonic India, said that crises is something every organisation faces at one time or another and it comes in many forms. From consumer issues, employee matters, factory related to policy issues, it can take many forms. In over two decades, I think I would have handled all possible types of communication crises. In my opinion, a well-managed crises makes the brand even stronger by rebuilding consumer confidence and public has a short memory. When a crisis strikes, communication is critical to protecting the organisation’s reputation and ability to fulfil its mission. A swift and effective response can prevent a challenging situation from escalating into a full-blown crisis with far-reaching negative implications. And the key to responding well in a crisis is preparation.
Continuing further, she remarked, another very important aspect of crises management is tone of voice and consistency in messaging when communicating. “We need to be sincere, honest in our statements and give media and public at large the confidence in our ability to handle the matter at hand or refute in case of wrong allegations with proper facts. Ideally only one person from senior management along with the communications lead should be prepped to handle media queries to ensure consistency and authenticity of messaging. Else it can lead to a cacophony of voices creating further doubt in the minds of the target audience. I believe, every communications team should invest in a crises management workshop to put together a comprehensive crisiscommunication framework. This becomes a ready reckoner for the management to be more organised and efficient in times of crises.”
The role of PR has evolved from message control & dissemination to a strategic management function. Sharing her views, Bhavna Imran, Regional Communications Leader – South Asia, Corteva Agriscience India, said, “While we continue to identify better ways to anticipate and mitigate such crisis situations – PR can help build a high level of transparency for the brand, forge stronger relationship between the brand and its stakeholders, whether employees, suppliers, customers, investors, or partners, to help mitigate operational and reputational risks. At the core of this relationship is trust, credibility, and mutual interdependence.”
She further remarked that, as we focus on product quality, employee satisfaction and streamline functional complexities, it is important to ensure continuous monitoring of stakeholder sentiment to analyse and threats to the long-term sustainability of the organisation. Building the sense of belongingness and association within the external and internal stakeholders can help in putting the organisation in a much better position to counter any potential fallout or even avert the escalation of a crisis. As we focus on post-crisis analysis and proactive communication, we must showcase a new inspired leadership who is focused on rebuilding an organisation that is even better than it was before the crisis.”
Instances of crises that hits brands are not new, but the response to these instances has certainly evolved. According to Suhas Tadas, Vice President, The Practice, in a hyper-connected world, every development is commented on, further scrutinised and bitter public discourse is enacted. Amidst all this social cacophony, Brands today are saddled with more pressure to succeed than ever before.
“In this deadly cocktail of shrill social media commentary and shrinking space to grow the ‘right’ way, brands must adhere to the age-old Public Relations mantra that calls for mirroring of Image and Identity for strong reputation. Simply put, the lesser the gap between what Brands claim (image) and how the Public sees them (identity), the stronger is their Brand reputation. When reputation is good, Brands develop higher resilience to temporary turbulence. Thus, deploying Public Relations to harmonise the aspects of image and identity can go a long way in creating stronger brand equity be it in the B2B or B2C segment,” Tadas added.
Asif Upadhye, Director, SPRD, pointed out that a brand’s worst nightmare is probably a PR crisis. “And from what we have seen over the years, household names are no exception.” Citing an interesting example, Upadhye illustrated about the popular fast-food chain – Chipotle – who suffered a massive drop in their stock price and sales when 60 cases of E Coli poisoning were reported in 14 different US states. Chipotle initially responded in a defensive manner, but quickly developed a concrete plan to solve the problem. Through press releases, detailed infographics containing updates, a public apology from Steve Ells, their founder and a comprehensive food-safety program, the brand really put in the work to restore their reputation. What’s important to note here is that, apart from social media monitoring and responding to their audience directly, they pulled out all the stops to educate and build awareness about foodborne illnesses, despite being in the midst of a crisis themselves.
He further added that crisis management examples of what to do and what not to do are actually great starting points when it comes to putting together a crisis management for your brand. Forming a crisis team, assigning a spokesperson, being truthful at all costs, knowing when to stay silent and keeping your customers looped in every step of the way is crisis management 101! Having a plan of action establishes control in more ways than one. So, rather than continuously ‘fighting fires’, take a moment to understand its root cause before jumping right in to put out the flames.