Communication is critical for crisis management The heat is still on following the massive data breach at Sony, but the company has pulled things together, and last week somewhere in the area of 100 million users were officially notified via mail that their data had been compromised. With a weak …
Let ‘Em Know
Don’t duck your head during a crisis It may seem redundant to say so, but the key to a successful crisis communications plan is to focus on communication. There is often an instinct to withdraw from the public eye during times of crisis. However, during a crisis, people seek strong …
Social Synergy
What’s the relationship between customer service and social media? Social Customer Relationship Management and Crisis Management are more than buzz words for getting the word out about your online business. When it comes to CRM and social media, the buzz word relates to the way your customers spread the word …
Rewarding Failure
Thoughtless communication brings negative attention Remember the big oil spill last year in the Gulf of Mexico? I’m guessing your answer is yes. And, because our collective answer to that question is yes, Transocean Ltd. created a PR problem for itself when it claimed in an SEC filing last week …
No Social Assets
Still not involved with social media? It’s rare to hear of a crisis now that did not involve social media in any capacity, and fact is the majority involve it a great deal. When someone hears a nasty rumor about your company they don’t pick up the phone and call …
Restaurants Clean Up Their Acts
Applebees and Olive Garden must take thorough steps to clean up reputations Two of the juiciest stories of the past couple weeks have involved Applebees and Olive Garden serving alcohol to small children. For Applebees, the incident was especially damaging to its reputation because a similar incident just last year. …
Just Admit It
Own your mistakes or risk a crisis If a blogger or reporter publishes genuinely libelous statements and refuses to retract them, then pursuing legal action can force the issue in your favor. If you’ve done wrong though, then you have no choice but to own up and make it right, …
Major Mistake at Applebees
Crisis management lax following incident This past Friday, Applebees restaurants encountered a world of trouble when employees at one of its Detroit area locations allegedly served tequila mixed with apple juice to a 15-month-old child in, and this is the kicker, the child’s own sippy cup! While it’s very possible …
Edano Aces Media Relations
Savvy crisis communication wins trust of the people Japanese Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has been doing crisis management for the country starting mere hours after the brutal earthquake of March 11. Edano has put on a clinic since then, exemplifying the ideal spokesman through what was surely extreme stress, as …
Chrysler’s Social Media Crisis Management
Strong crisis communication prevents trouble for automaker As social media opens up new communication and crisis management avenues, it also presents new dangers. One of the most common types of trouble that comes to companies using social media is inappropriate postings by employees. Auto giant Chrysler found this out first …
The Extra Step
Nothing beats a personal touch It’s been a long time since merely issuing a press release was considered adequate communication. These days, taking only that meager measure is almost inviting crisis, as criticism is bound to follow. BCM President Jonathan Bernstein recently addressed this issue in a Fox Sports article …
Be The Source
Take charge of communication You always want to be the primary source of information in a crisis. The best way to do this in today’s climate of near-instantaneous communication is to answer stakeholders’ questions before they’re ever asked, a crisis management tactic described here in a quote from a Mashable …
Google Does Crisis Management Right
Simple communication pays off Google has received even more attention than usual (if that’s possible for a page that welcomes millions of users daily) due to a series of articles investigating flaws in its ranking system. While theories abound as to who is behind this sudden influx of attention, it …
Crisis Communication
Give the people want they want While communication will fall flat on its face without actions to back it up, in the immediate aftermath of a crisis the first thing the public wants is information. In a recent post on the LawFirmsPR blog, my colleague, crisis communication expert Rich Klein, …
The Right Message
Everyone needs to be on the same page when it comes to crisis communication It’s not always possible to limit crisis communications responsibilities to one person, which can create damaging situations if everyone isn’t on message. This was evidenced after White House staffers gave varied responses to questions regarding the …