Whether a business is a massive corporation or a small start up, crises can occur at any given time and, when they do, they’re almost always serious. Businesses can experience a crisis through anything from a negative press event or unhappy customer to financial problems or issues with a product or service. Nowadays, especially in the age of social media, news is circulated instantly, making a good reputation and knowing how to handle a crisis all the more important for every business.

A company’s reputation has an enormous effect on its relationships with its customers and other stakeholders, as well as influencing the sales, partnerships and longevity of a business. Handling a crisis efficiently can help protect a company’s reputation and can even result in the creation of a greater customer loyalty, whereas failing to do so can have damaging, long-lasting effects on a business. Crisis management must, therefore, form a central part of any business’s strategy, along with quick action and clear communication, being prepared, being transparent and being honest.

Understanding Business Reputation

The reputation of a business is how people (customers, employees, stakeholders, the public) feel about the business as a whole. This reputation is usually gained through positive, authentic dealings between customers and businesses, a focus on quality customer service, being good at what you do and acting in a ethical and transparent way. If and when a crisis happens public trust will rapidly shift depending on how a business responds; because customer trust will easily waver if it’s lost, reputation management should always be one of the highest priorities on any businesses’ to-do list.

Types of Business Crisis

Any business may run into different crises:

• Product or service failure
• Customer complaint
• Backlash on social media
• Data breach or cyber security attack
• Financial problems
• Employee misconduct
• Legal disputes
• Problems with a company’s supply chain
• Public relations problems

Each crisis should be handled in a different way, however the ultimate aim is the same, to rebuild any lost trust and remain a reliable source.

Respond Quickly and Professionally

Probably the biggest mistake a business can make in a crisis is leaving things too long and being too slow to respond; often this creates more worry and fuels gossip about what the business has/hasn’t done. Businesses need to reassure customers and to keep them updated of what’s happening. In this situation, being quick is one of the most effective ways to regain customer confidence and show concern for them. Businesses need to acknowledge the situation, provide reliable information and not react aggressively or defensively when stating their view on it; customers would much rather be kept informed with a calm response rather than dealing with a situation where they aren’t aware of what’s happening.

Be Transparent and Honest

Honesty is the best policy when it comes to business and when a crisis happens; any attempt to hide what has occurred, or to mislead customers, can have a detrimental affect on your reputation. You should clearly state exactly what has happened, what effect this has on customers, and what you are going to do to prevent it from happening again or to resolve the current issue; it is even important to communicate regularly updates as the information you can relay grows. People often have much more faith in a business that admits when they’ve done something wrong and that takes responsibility, than one that ignores problems.

Create a Crisis Communication Plan

Any business can, and should, have a prepared Crisis Communication Plan in place before a crisis does happen, and it helps a business have the knowledge and authority when needed. These plans ensure that when a business experiences a crisis they react with efficient professionalism; a plan should involve, communication directives, a nominated communication team, spokespeople, social media reaction guidelines, and the ability to keep all customers updated. If all of this is in place beforehand, confusion can be avoided and clear communication delivered to everyone.

Monitor Social Media and Online Discussions

This is key to dealing with crises efficiently. People will be discussing what is happening on various social media platforms such as; Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Businesses need to constantly keep their ear to the ground to monitor conversations on social media; not doing this can only make the situation worse. You can respond to concerns on social media but in a professional manner; avoid negative confrontation.

Prioritize Customer Support

Customers often have questions, or issues that require dealing with when a business experiences a crisis and support must be prioritized. Customer service has to become your focus; solve problems as efficiently and professionally as possible and try to provide reassurance to customers during tough times. Provide solutions where possible and explain what the company is doing to assist with customer concerns, this will maintain customer confidence, even when the news is not good.

Protect Employee Communication

Employees are also integral to a business’s reputation; they are the main point of contact with customers and other parties. It’s important to give them a direct update on what has happened and a few lines that they can use to assist the public with enquiries they may have. Ensuring that your employees are in the know keeps them informed, confident, and more likely to uphold the positive image of the business in what is a difficult time; prevent them from public disputes regarding the crisis.

Work with Media Carefully

Media is one of the biggest forms of communication during a crisis and can determine whether you emerge from the situation stronger or weaker than you entered. Your communication should be clear and consistent when dealing with any journalists or news providers. You will usually find that most businesses have a media spokes person who is responsible for dealing with the media; they will do their utmost to portray the business positively and prevent anything negative or emotional being relayed to the outside world.

Learn from the Crisis

Any crisis that a business may experience gives it the chance to look at what occurred. After it’s all finished, it’s important to take a good, long look at the events and ask some questions such as:

• Why did this happen?
• Did you respond appropriately?
• What do your customers think?
• What would you do differently next time?

Learning from the crisis is important as it allows businesses to put in place policies or systems so that, should something happen again, it can be dealt with differently.

Rebuild Trust after the Crisis

After a crisis it will take time for a business to regain the public’s trust and confidence. The business still needs to provide transparency and reassure its customers that it remains committed to delivering an excellent service or product; improve products or services if this was part of the issue, provide news of the company’s improvements, enhance customer relationships and offer community support. It’s about being consistent and showing you care.

The Importance of Reputation Management

The reputation of a business is its biggest asset. If you’re a business that’s people trust and, in times of trouble you deliver an efficient and professional service, then customers are more likely to remain loyal to your brand. They are likely to trust you more than competitors and a business that has experienced a crisis is even more likely to win people over again if it deals with the issue the right way.

Final Thoughts

By always being prepared for a crisis situation and managing your reputation professionally, it is possible for any business, great or small, to overcome difficulties. Honesty and transparency are extremely important when crisis manage, especially within the digital age we live in. There are a variety of challenges a business might face but all can be dealt with in an appropriate way if businesses act quickly and decisively, and that’s not only good for their reputation but for their business too.