The Internet may have opened worlds for businesses and consumers, but it has also created a public relations nightmare for businesses. Forums, opinion Web sites, blogs, and anything that is publishable can smear a company's name in moments.
Remember, "Yours Is a Very Bad Hotel" presentation that described one customer's bad experience with a hotel chain? Hotels are run by humans. Humans make mistakes. It's how you handle the mistakes that can make the difference in customer service. Since the hotel's employees didn't try to help the customer overcome a bad situation, the customer lashed back and bloggers blogged it.
If the hotel is on top of its game, it would unleash its crisis management (also known as reputation management) team to salvage its reputation while it can. It's possible for a company to overcome bad PR and come out ahead as in the case of PG&E (California's Pacific Gas and Electric company).
Another strategy is to use Internet monitoring to monitor online articles regarding a company's activities to prepare for negative publicity. Some go further and monitor chat rooms, newsgroups, and online discussion forums.
It's like the story of the town gossip who spread false stories about its people. One day, he felt terrible and went to the chaplain [Rabbi, pastor, priest, or other - take your pick] to ask for forgiveness. The chaplain said,"I will forgive you, but you must do something first."
"Take a feather pillow, cut it open, and scatter the feathers to the winds." The man thought this was a strange request, but it was a simple enough task, and he did it gladly. When he returned to tell the chaplain that he had done it, the chaplain said, "Now, go and gather the feathers. Because you can no more make amends for the damage your words have done than you can recollect the feathers."
The same can happen to a company without a crisis management plan in place. It's possible to survive the crisis and thrive as PG&E did. Don't expect Worldcom to pull out of its Enron-like mess. Fraud is not excusable. And Martha Stewart? She has hired a public relations strategist firm in an effort to do damage control. It'll be worth watching to see what happens in her case and how the PR firm attempts to save her reputation. Did you know there is a recall on one of her products? Adds fuel to the fire, doesn't it?
meryl k. evans is the Content Maven behind meryl k. evans, meryl k. evans. She is also a PC Today columnist and a tour guide at InformIT. She is geared to tackle your editing, writing, content, and process needs. The native Texan resides in Plano, Texas, a heartbeat north of Dallas, and doesn't wear a 10-gallon hat or cowboy boots.
Culver prom limo ..Anything that lets managers achieve their managerial objectives is a... Read More
You worked hard to get a story on your business... Read More
NOTE: Brad Phillips was a Producer for CNN's The Capital... Read More
How cool is this? You're a business, non-profit or association... Read More
Everyone has an opinion on something, and you can leverage... Read More
Writing an effective press release is a way to draw... Read More
Imagine that you are a radio producer. You have to... Read More
One portion of your marketing plan that you probably don't... Read More
I address this article to businesses, associations, non-profits and public... Read More
Commit this to memory, please: To get in the media,... Read More
It behooves you to know and remember the names of... Read More
To get someone's name in the newspaper or a product... Read More
You may remember Forrest Gump's Vietnam pal ? the one... Read More
It's not unusual for clients of service providers to insist... Read More
To survive in business, you've got to focus your attention... Read More
Have you ever gotten one of those letters from your... Read More
?2004 Jeffrey DobkinSixty dollars doesn't go a long way in... Read More
Many of our clients are in service businesses, such as... Read More
It took me a while to see just HOW crucial... Read More
Think for a moment! If you were to do a... Read More
When times are tough, it's no time to ignore those... Read More
The power of public relations is its ability to alter... Read More
Sometimes a phone call isn't intimate or long enough to... Read More
Let's start out with a caution for business, non-profit and... Read More
As a business, non-profit or association manager, occasions will arise... Read More
Wood Dale limo ..Business, non-profit and association managers are in a stronger position... Read More
Publicity seekers know that Christmas can provide a bonanza of... Read More
Think for a moment! If you were to do a... Read More
Everyone is talking about the Ps of successful marketing, so... Read More
When a group of outsiders behaves in a way that... Read More
Public Relations (or P.R.) is a wonderful, yet often overlooked... Read More
They'd hate to admit it, but the media is pretty... Read More
The world has woken up to ethical issues in corporate... Read More
Can you honestly say that your business, non-profit or association's... Read More
There's good news for public relations execs, marketing professionals and... Read More
Better check out the public relations fundamental premise, then take... Read More
Your public relations people are busy. The buzz is all... Read More
Business to Business relationships come to expect a certain level... Read More
Next to white papers, case studies are the most popular... Read More
Etymology is the study of the origins of words.As languages... Read More
Does the thought of knowing your verbs from your adjective... Read More
The words are pop culture heroes.Movies such as "The Insider,"... Read More
When properly applied by business, non-profit and association managers, public... Read More
One of the primary tools still used by PR professionals... Read More
In the 'Age of Scepticism' gaining media coverage is one... Read More
So many restaurants spend money on publicity and then practically... Read More
While scoring anice story in BusinessWeek or USA Today is... Read More
The Today show? The New York Times? Vanity Fair? What's... Read More
What is the one thing that all of the best... Read More
Before meeting my soon-to-be-wife for the first time, I "Googled"... Read More
Public Relations |