Brands goof up.
All. The. Time.
This snafu by sleep-aid made me do a “palm to forehead.”
Feels a little 1950s to you too? Well, you’re not alone. I felt this way as did many of the brands followers. My personal fav:
And this one:
While ZzzQuil took the tweet down (but as you can see it’s clearly still out there) the brand never responded to anyone upset or offended.
Why do brands do this? Do they think the social community is ignorant? Do they think that by taking the offensive tweet, photo, or post, it never happened?
It did. And I really wish companies would own up to their mistakes. Not all mistakes are brand-breaking, but to continually exhibit bad customer service has got to stop. Brands should know by now that the technique of pretending something never happened useless. Consumers have a voice and they share their opinions with an audience … of audiences … of audiences.
Listen up, here are the five stages of crisis management in the Digital Age:
1. Prepare in Advance – Not all situations are full blown crisis. Even so, pay attention to the conversations happening on your social channels. Listen and respond.
2. Isolate the Origin – I’m betting your company is on more than one social network. If you are listening then you’ll know exactly where the mistake happened.
3. Evaluate the Impact – Is this a make or break situation heading toward a full blown crisis? If so, make a plan! Traditional crisis management may need to be implemented. If so, be prepared.
4. Mitigate the Crisis – The quicker a company responds the better chance they have that the situation will subside. Acting fast is paramount.
5. Learn from the Crisis – All situations, even the bad, are opportunities to learn. Meet with your team to discover what went well, what didn’t and how your company can improve next time.
Gina Luttrell 