Media is the vein of business in today’s age, an age where most things are veiled by the digital traction and everything has two phases, the real and the digital. The line oftentimes is blurred and this is most evident when an organization is in a crisis of sorts, and the way you manage this crisis will either make or break the company or the brand. And mostly these predicaments are the results of a mishap that at times is social in nature and the social coupled with the digital climate is unforgiving although forgetful but the mishap in itself has repercussions that reflect on the future of the company throughout.
Here are a few ways to address any issues that may arise.
A well-informed marketer knows what to do when a crisis arises. They have a strategy in place even when they are not facing an actual situation, and this approach can take you places. Now let’s imagine there is one, an issue usually propels itself through social media platforms, an unregulated tweet, an ad that misses the mark or an unhappy customer. And since everyone has a platform to voice out their grievances, they do and these situations can quickly turn iffy if you do not have a strategy, a damage control, a crisis management plan, and this can lead to dwindling sales numbers, a tarnished or a damaged brand reputation and general loss of goodwill.
The first and foremost thing one ought to do is to act quick. Address the issues at hand and provide swift solutions to simmer down the damage. An agency doesn’t really has to go through a crisis to learn, but rather prioritize a well-documented and a thought out social media crisis management strategy.
As you do this make sure you have taken into consideration all possible outlets you could rectify this through. Go to the source of the problem, the scape where it originated from and list the problems you ought to combat, post which take each step as you go about deducing first, then combatting the issue at hand. This will keep your team in check too and make sure everyone is on board with the strategy employed.
Whether the trigger is negative comments coming in or a serious incident gone viral, make sure you clearly define each scenario and evaluate the impact they might have on your overall brand reputation, and thereby implement the right strategy and be on board with the response plan. If legal issues arise, having an in-house legal assistance team can do wonders for they know the ground reality and how to put a quick stop to it and keep it from escalating further.
A crisis management strategy will always come in handy and like established previously, the digital age we live in and the role of digital natives we ought to come up with a responsible plan that makes sure you reach out to all outlets and use any and every media platform at your expanse and address all the concerns and grievances. You could also go a direct e-mail way that takes care of the said concerns and let the audience know that there is a plan in action and has been implemented. This helps foster faith and regain the lost goodwill.
And one last thing, make sure it is all regulated and reviewed thrice before you put it out there. Consistency and appropriate reasoning in the preferred medium chosen.
One last key, once you have rectified and solved the issue, make sure you learn from it, and if need be, revisit it, the takeaway this time however, will be different and make all the difference. Revamp your communication strategy and employ active social listening and use it to fortify new and better reasoning.
One ought to consider the repercussions, think far and beyond, go as farfetched as you possible can and deduce a plan for every possible outcome there could be. If you are met with a setback that reflects upon you in a bad manner, go public, hold thy leash, go public once you have a set plan in motion, tone it down a little yet honesty ought to prevail. Reveal the grievance and also reveal the crisis management plan you have to combat this alongside.