Effective Spin Turns Crisis into Opportunity

May 6, 2009 by ADMIN

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By Heather Bourgoin, Strategic Alliance Coordinator for Integralis

I was recently reading one of my favorite bloggers, Stanley Bing – a regular contributor for CNNMoney.com and Fortune.com, and I happened upon his hysterically funny but frighteningly true monologue Great Panics I Have Known.

Once I recovered from my fit of laughter, I came to my senses and realized that during these troubled times, business could use some pointers on how to deal with a crisis.

No business is immune to crisis.

The stock market will crash, an employee could be killed or seriously injured on the job, a food-related crisis such as a salmonella outbreak or a serious product recall are just a few examples.

In recent months, been two major food-related crises, Chrysler’s recently announced bankruptcy, and the collapse of Wall Street. Every crisis communication team in America (and many abroad) are working overtime.

With tomorrow’s much awaited announcement of the bank stress test results, I would bet the farm that armies of executives, marketing and PR staff are locked behind conference room doors planning their responses to the results.

Responding to a crisis requires confident and decisive action – there isn’t time to crunch numbers or analyze data. Decisions must be made quickly - but not without taking care to ensure that the right message – one that is consistent with the messaging delivered during the normal course of doing business – is conveyed.

What you say and do in the hours and days following a crisis speak volumes about your business. There are a few best practices that will help your organization to emerge from a crisis with their brand, not only intact, but stronger.

“If you can find a better car, buy it” – that was Lee Iacocca’s message to the American public as he brought Chrysler from the brinks of demise into decades of sustained profitability.

Iacocca’s effective handling of business issues along with his extensive work re-inventing Chrysler’s image in the eyes of Americans contributed to Chrysler’s turnaround in the 1980s.

Under Iacocca’s direction, Chrysler managed to introduce new cars and the minivan all while paying back the government loans which got Chrysler back on its feet seven years earlier than expected.

In these uncertain times, every organization needs to have a crisis communication plan. This plan must include the names and emergency contact details for all stakeholders in the plan.

You should also have a list of potential media spokespeople who will appear at press conferences and handle media calls.

Forward thinking organizations maintain relationships with media avenues during calm times – this increases chances for having an opportunity to give your spin on the issue at hand.

In the throes of a crisis, it’s easy to issue a quick 30 second media sound byte and retreat to the board room to figure out what to do next.

This can be a fatal mistake - the time lapse between communiqués is time that your customers are left in the dark – and left to devise their own assessment of your situation.

In our world of Internet savvy customers blogging and tweeting away, a situation can easily be blown out of proportion. This is also a perfect opportunity for your competitors to take advantage of your situation.

A crisis is definitely one instance where silence is NOT golden.

Case in point – does anyone know if it is safe to buy products that contain pistachios from Setton Pistachio yet? The FDA issued a consumer alert of March 30, 2009 warning Americans of the contamination of pistachios produced by Setton.

The company issued a press release on March 31 stating:

“Setton Pistachio is committed to quality products and consumer safety, and is taking aggressive action to prevent the need for any future recalls of its products.”

It’s been over a month and we haven’t heard anything – is it safe to eat pistachios again?

How did this happen?

What is being done to ensure that it doesn’t happen again so that I, the consumer, can buy pistachios again without fearing they’ll make me sick. And what about the Peanut Company of America?

Frequent, concise and proactive communication will play a leading role in emerging from a crisis. Company executives, public relations teams and marketing teams should all be involved in the crisis response team – this ensures that the messages delivered in response to a crisis follow the same messaging and style that are utilized during business as usual.

Effective crisis management strategies are by no means a substitute for earning the public trust through safe and reliable operations, the production and provision of quality products and services and ethical business practices which are the cornerstone of every successful business.

About the Author: Heather Bourgoin joined Integralis in April 2006 managing the company’s marketing and vendor relations. As part of a recent expansion of marketing efforts, Ms. Bourgoin transitioned to a role focused on the growth and development of Integralis’ global channel partners. She is currently responsible for directing partners and vendors in the development and implementation of strategic marketing plans and initiatives.

Ms. Bourgoin is an active member of Integralis’ Services Product Marketing Team and the Inter-global Marketing Team. Her previous experience in public relations, corporate philanthropy and community development well-position her for her work with Integralis’ strategic partners. Ms. Bourgoin is a member of the American Marketing Association.

The Author gives permission to link, post, distribute, or reference this article for any lawful purpose, provided attribution is made to the author and to Information-Security-Resources.com

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