Crisis situations are stressful and often unpredictable. A company’s reputation can be severely damaged during a crisis if the situation is not handled well. Therefore, businesses must have an effective strategy in place for managing crises. Here are some best examples of crisis management that you can learn from. Further, we will also tell you about the importance of hiring the right Crisis Management Firms.
Tylenol Recall
In 1982, people died after taking Extra Strength Tylenol pills that had been laced with cyanide. Johnson & Johnson demonstrated swift and decisive action by recalling all product bottles and halting its production until they came up with tamper-proof packaging technology. The company went one step further by keeping customers updated throughout the process through press conferences, meetings with government officials, and informative advertisements. This allowed Johnson & Johnson to regain consumer trust, which has helped them emerge as market leaders today.
United Airlines’ Public Relations Nightmare
In April 2017, a disturbing incident involving United Airlines made headlines around the world. Dr. Dao was violently removed from an overbooked flight after he refused to leave voluntarily due to past medical records. That made him afraid of traveling alone. Initially, United Airlines attempted to downplay the incident and evade responsibility; however, in response to widespread outrage on social media, they were forced into acknowledging their errors.
United Airlines embarked on a series of damage control strategies aimed at restoring public trust. The company issued numerous apologies across various platforms like Ellen DeGeneres’ show ‘Ellen,’ Facebook Live streams where CEO Oscar Munoz answered viewers’ questions about how they can improve service going forward and more. They also created community outreach initiatives centered on kindness as a positive message amid the tragedy. These moves eventually helped restore some degree of faith among consumers who came back to air travel post-pandemic-inspired panic outbreaks.
Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner Ad Fiasco
The global community left in outrage after Kendall Jenner appeared in a Pepsi advertisement video in April 2017. The commercial belittled the issue of police brutality against African Americans by depicting protesters being easily placated with cans of soda, handed out by Jenner to police officers who suddenly became jovial and amicable. This insensitive portrayal resulted in a significant backlash from audiences worldwide. While Pepsi eventually removed the ad, the damage had already been done as it caused widespread condemnation and even boycotts of their products. It’s imperative for brands to think carefully about their messaging and not diminish serious social issues through marketing tactics that may perceive as tone-deaf or offensive.
Netflix’s Response to the House of Cards Scandal:
In 2017, allegations of sexual misconduct were rais against House of Cards actor Kevin Spacey. These accusations surfaced after five seasons into this top-performing show on Netflix. However, instead of trying to bury everything or pretend like nothing happened once news broke about an internal investigation regarding Spacey’s behavior off-set being underway. Netflix opted for transparency by quickly canceling any sponsorship ties and announcing that a new final Season 6 would go forward without him in terms of bringing minimal conflict towards their image if replacing his buzz ones had gone sour. These responses prevented further exploitation/pursuit by the press, which may have otherwise caused additional harm to the company’s reputation.
Chipotle Food Safety Issues
Between year-end May through August 2015, Chipotle Mexican Grill experienced E.Coli crisis leading many customers to become sick nationwide. The restaurant chain responded quickly by hiring industry-beating food safety experts such as James Marsden and Andy Strenge. They institute strict prohibitory measures on suppliers/advertising campaigns to better monitor sourcing channels while engaging crisis communication firms that heal customer goodwill sentiment towards them again. Chipotle ended up regaining consumer trust with its fast/high-level-of accountability approach, thus recovering lost revenue-associated issues attributed from there.
Crisis Management: Hire The Right crisis communication firm
Handling a crisis could mean restoring a business’ reputation or losing it entirely. Most of the time, customer sentiments are influence not only because you manage crises effectively. But also by how empathetic companies appear when challenged. When facing various types of crises, it is necessary for a company to enlist the services of reputable crisis communication firms. You can check out Seraphim Communication– a reliable crisis communication firm in the PR industry that can provide effective solutions for your business’s communication needs during times of trouble.