Throughout the past few months there has been tremendous backlash against the Samsung brand due to the new Samsung Note 7 batteries exploding. Customers have been infuriated and airlines are even implementing rules against passengers taking these phones on board flights due to a fire risk. Tensions are high and Samsung has been feeling it, but they have yet to take the necessary steps to maintain complete transparency with the public and keep their stakeholders updated.
When facing a crisis it is important that the company assumes complete transparency with its consumers in order to maintain a good relationship through the tough times. There are several important steps which Samsung has failed to perform, and in result, is turning a crisis into a mega-crisis. According to an article from PR News, there are certain precautionary steps that must be taken by a company to resolve a crisis effectively:
- Be Prepared
A crisis can happen to any company, it is never expected but it is always important to be prepared. Your company should take time to identify the possible crises that could occur and come up with an action plan for each possible crisis.
- Establish the Facts, Apologize and Take Action
It is important to be honest about the facts of the issue right away. Holding anything back will cloud the stakeholders’ thoughts and judgements about your company. An apology should be voiced immediately to the public on behalf of your organization by the appointed spokesperson, then action to resolve the crisis should be taken right away.
- Appoint the Right Spokesperson
The face of a brand determines the public’s views and opinions of that company, especially in the midst of a crisis. It is detrimental that the right spokesperson is appointed to help with crisis management in order to diminish the effects of the crisis. However, the person who is leading the actions and response to the actual crisis should not be the appointed spokesperson who communicates with the media. The two jobs should be separate to ensure proper coverage of both.
- Listen and Monitor What People Are Saying
Having a social media monitoring application is extremely important in order to know what the public is saying at the time of the crisis and what their opinions are. The monitoring also allows the company to respond to the public through social media which is beneficial for maintaining transparency.
- Keep Communicating and Be Proactive
Along with the Social Media monitoring there needs to be constant communication with all stakeholders and the public. There is nothing worse than making vague statements, having the truth come out and your company getting stamped a liar. Constant communication across all platforms will help to keep the relationship and trust between the brand and consumers. Once the crisis has died down, it is important to maintain consistent communication with the public by updating them with business successes and other positive news in the company.
- Learn From Mistakes
As detrimental as the crisis may be to the company it is important to view it as a learning experience. The crisis will die down eventually and at that point the company and its stakeholders should talk about what worked and didn’t when dealing with the crisis to use it to better plan for any future crises that may occur.
Read more at: http://www.prnewsonline.com/samsung-maher
