At VerriBerri, we are a multi-award winning London crisis management agency with 12 years of experience in protecting brand images. Reputation is easily one of the most vital components of any business’s long-term survival. If customers negatively perceive your brand or any associated activities, it can severely damage their overall interest in your business. The drawbacks of this are relatively self-explanatory. If nobody wants to buy from you because of your poor image, what chance of success do you have?
In order to successfully subvert the impact of a crisis, it must be managed. At VerriBerri, we are experts in mitigating the risk of negative news stories. Additionally, we’ll also help you to minimise the fallout should you run into any issues. Whether these emerge from internal or external factors, the premise remains the same.
The truth is, all companies are vulnerable to bad press. No matter the size of your business, crisis can come to the surface at any moment. With social media allowing customers to release negative opinions to millions, a small issue can become a substantial one without warning. Also, whilst journalists can do wonders for your reputation, they can also severely damage it. If you’re looking to protect your business as best you can, it’s time to speak to a crisis management specialist.
Types of crisis
There are plenty of issues that may occur throughout the lifespan of your business, many of which are unavoidable. As a brand, you’re forced to put a lot of trust in both your staff, and the general public. Some of the most common crises that we see brands run into include…
- Product defects
- Negative reviews
- Security or data protection breaches
- Harmful news stories
- Campaign controversy
As you can see, the above issues really can occur for any brand. With this in mind, it’s always best to have a contingency plan in place.
Why you need to avoid a crisis
During our extensive experience as a London crisis management agency, we have seen lots of businesses in hot water. Without the sufficient management of these situations, many of these could definitely have had the power to cause complete closure.
As we mentioned earlier, these crises may have occurred without warning, or maybe they’ve been prompted due to prior actions. No matter how you’ve found yourself in this rabbit hole, bad press could be extremely challenging to come back from. This has been evident in for large conglomerates such as Primark and SeaWorld. Both companies have been branded as exploitative to their staff and animals respectively and have retained this detrimental characteristic to this day. Given how much of an impact this has had on their consumers, the importance of crisis management is massively highlighted.
Additionally, bad press can also undo all the effort and resources you have put into enhancing your brand image or strategy. Say your organisation had invested heavily in a new PR campaign, for example. Whilst on one hand you look to portray your brand positively, negative news stories work against you.
Within the current climate, crisis management may seem like an unnecessary additional cost. In actual fact, this is a necessity. Hiring a London crisis management agency allows you to focus on your daily activities without worrying about any negative consequences.
How to avoid future crises
By now, you’re hopefully beginning to see the importance of crisis management and bringing a team onboard. This being said, you’re probably wondering what you yourself can do to protect your brand image.
Below are a few of our tips for avoiding crisis…
Identify and gaps or weaknesses
People love to look for negativity in everything. No matter what you are doing, there is likely to be someone out there who disagrees. When developing any new marketing campaign, it’s important that you monitor these carefully, looking for any potential weaknesses. As a professional crisis management agency, we can help you to identify any fragilities and patch these up before they become an issue.
Avoid speaking on anything controversial
This one may sound a little basic, but you’d be surprised at how many business owners struggle to resist the urge to comment on controversial news stories.
Of course, it’s important that you speak on those things that are topical and relevant to your brand. This being said, where it is possible to avoid this, it’s vital that you do. Unless something directly affects you and your business, it’s often best to stay out of it.
Prepare for the future
One of the most important ways to avoiding future crises is putting a reliable contingency plan in place. If you only react to a crisis when it happens, the damage is already half done. To effectively limit any negative impacts, you must have a plan in place for when something does happen. It often helps to bring onboard a team of professionals if you’re not quite sure where to start.
Developing a public apology
Through the years, our London crisis management agency have written many a public apology on behalf of brands. Believe it or not, there is actually quite a science to this process. You don’t want to speak too early, or your statement doesn’t seem very considered. On the other hand, you don’t want to speak too late, or your audience might question your sincerity.
In addition to the above, you also need to be careful with your wording. It’s important that you’re able to show that you’re taking accountability for your actions, in addition to providing a solution. Avoid playing the blame game at all costs. If you aren’t careful, you could end up doing more harm than good.
Contact Us
Looking for external help from a team of specialists? As an award-winning London crisis management agency, VerriBerri are here to help!
Whether you need assistance in managing an ongoing crisis or preventing a future one, our teams are fully prepared. To find out more about the services we offer or to get the ball rolling, click here. Alternatively, call us today on 01376 386 850.