One day, a company (also random) discovers it’s being targeted by an unusually high number of complaints from customers, users, or consumers, whether on social media, specialized services and portals, or government agencies.
The red alert goes off: it’s necessary to alleviate the discomfort, find ways to work around the situation, solve the problems, and (or) often just try to hush the case to prevent it from escalating and reaching, say, a high-audience Sunday TV show as a negative example of evil corporate actions.
A crisis like this falls into that category of harmful events with a high chance of damage. It’s not the only one, of course. Risk management areas can focus on issues ranging from executive kidnappings to large-scale fires, hacker attacks, and even increasingly common climate disasters. All of this goes through assessments, insurance analyses, and the like.
Reputation is built brick by brick
In this scenario, reputation takes center stage. But the thing is, suddenly trying to appear as the good guy out of nowhere doesn’t work.
Reputation isn’t something that appears overnight. It’s built slowly and steadily, brick by brick, with attention to details often overlooked in daily life. Imagine a company whose receptionist is in a bad mood and treats customers with rudeness or indifference. Even if it’s, in most cases, an outsourced professional, the damage is already done. A mistreated customer at the service center, a delayed delivery (or payment), clumsy technical support… every small point of contact can turn into a benefit or detriment to reputation.
Here at Percepta, one of our partners recounts that years ago, they had a problem with the car rental company Localiza. ‘I was upset, period,’ they say. But this year, they needed to use a rental car and were directed by the insurance company exactly to Localiza.
‘Never mind the details, another problem occurred. Instead of Complain Here, I went to the branch where I picked up the car, explained the issue, and the lady assisted me wonderfully well. More: I needed the response to my query to be sent by email. I contacted Localiza, explained this need, and once again, I was surprised by the quality of service,’ they recount.
This is one of the best examples of how small things have the power to change an evaluation.
When it becomes even more necessary, during a crisis, it’s this ‘balance’ (or ‘debt’) of reputation that will play in favor of conflict resolution, whatever it may be (or not, in the case of ‘debt’). Without better leveraging this favorable capital, management is already at a loss, forced to build overnight what should have been sown daily, requiring teams to perform virtual acrobatics to get everything back on track.
To make a crude comparison, it’s like literally trying to put a band-aid on a broken leg. Of course, there are professional teams with enough experience to replace the band-aid with orthopedic surgery, but the cost is high. The time required is long, the results come much later, but by then, the damage is already done. Hence, old but valid sayings apply here: with reputation, it’s also little by little that the chicken fills its crop, and slow and steady wins the race.
5 fundamental points, among many others that can be explored to avoid a crisis:
One day, a company (also random) discovers it’s being targeted by an unusually high number of complaints from customers, users, or consumers, whether on social media, specialized services and portals, or government agencies.
The red alert goes off: it’s necessary to alleviate the discomfort, find ways to work around the situation, solve the problems, and (or) often just try to hush the case to prevent it from escalating and reaching, say, a high-audience Sunday TV show as a negative example of evil corporate actions.
A crisis like this falls into that category of harmful events with a high chance of damage. It’s not the only one, of course. Risk management areas can focus on issues ranging from executive kidnappings to large-scale fires, hacker attacks, and even increasingly common climate disasters. All of this goes through assessments, insurance analyses, and the like.
Reputation is built brick by brick
In this scenario, reputation takes center stage. But the thing is, suddenly trying to appear as the good guy out of nowhere doesn’t work.
Reputation isn’t something that appears overnight. It’s built slowly and steadily, brick by brick, with attention to details often overlooked in daily life. Imagine a company whose receptionist is in a bad mood and treats customers with rudeness or indifference. Even if it’s, in most cases, an outsourced professional, the damage is already done. A mistreated customer at the service center, a delayed delivery (or payment), clumsy technical support… every small point of contact can turn into a benefit or detriment to reputation.
Here at Percepta, one of our partners recounts that years ago, they had a problem with the car rental company Localiza. ‘I was upset, period,’ they say. But this year, they needed to use a rental car and were directed by the insurance company exactly to Localiza.
‘Never mind the details, another problem occurred. Instead of Complain Here, I went to the branch where I picked up the car, explained the issue, and the lady assisted me wonderfully well. More: I needed the response to my query to be sent by email. I contacted Localiza, explained this need, and once again, I was surprised by the quality of service,’ they recount.
This is one of the best examples of how small things have the power to change an evaluation.
When it becomes even more necessary, during a crisis, it’s this ‘balance’ (or ‘debt’) of reputation that will play in favor of conflict resolution, whatever it may be (or not, in the case of ‘debt’). Without better leveraging this favorable capital, management is already at a loss, forced to build overnight what should have been sown daily, requiring teams to perform virtual acrobatics to get everything back on track.
To make a crude comparison, it’s like literally trying to put a band-aid on a broken leg. Of course, there are professional teams with enough experience to replace the band-aid with orthopedic surgery, but the cost is high. The time required is long, the results come much later, but by then, the damage is already done. Hence, old but valid sayings apply here: with reputation, it’s also little by little that the chicken fills its crop, and slow and steady wins the race.
5 fundamental points, among many others that can be explored to avoid a crisis:
- Be the strategic guardian of your brand: monitor your brand’s health over time, track what’s being said about the company on social media, in the press, by your business partners, and on review sites:
- Proactively manage customer and employee feedback: it’s no use encouraging customers and employees to give feedback if the response to complaints isn’t quick and problem resolution isn’t timely;
- Communicate directly with each of your stakeholders, personalize your message: ensure the company’s communication is clear, honest, and transparent with all stakeholders, including customers, partners, and employees. Avoid promises that can’t be kept;
- Employee training and value alignment: ensure all employees are aligned with the company’s narrative and prepared to represent the brand appropriately. Employee behavior has a significant impact on external perception;
- Take care of your ESG Narrative: develop actions that synergize with the company’s values and are maintained according to the brand’s purposes and audience expectations.
