Here’s an amazing statistic: a full 57% of marketing executives recently responded with the following answer to the question if their firm has a crisis response communication plan: NO. What makes it more amazing is that in the same survey, 53% said that their business had experienced a crisis in the past…one that resulted in a loss in sales, a reduction in profits, or negative press. A majority of that 53% say that the recovery period took a year a more. Only one-half have trained spokespeople. And it shouldn’t go unnoticed that there’s an overlap of 4% here of companies that have suffered a crisis in the recent past but have yet to install a plan to address future crises.
The survey, put together by B2B Magazine and Eric Mower and Associates, was taken of 251 marketing executives this September. The results are telling.
They’re telling because, well, I’ll let Peter Kapcio of Eric Mower say it…
“If companies choose not to be prepared for a crisis, they and shareholders will pay the price, because crises have a way of twisting and turning till they do serious bottom-line damage… It’s downright professionally irresponsible when b-to-b marcomm people allow their companies to operate unprepared. What if your brand new corporate headquarters building burned down, and it was discovered later that your facilities manager had `neglected’ to buy fire insurance? It’s the same thing when b-to-b companies invest millions in building their brand or company reputation, and then do nothing while it’s all at risk from the next potential crisis.”
A crisis doesn’t necessarily mean your product just exploded and killed a mother of five. It could mean that a series of a company’s key suppliers have disasters of their own. A fire at a factory, a crippling strike, trouble brews with the government of the country where the third supplier exists. Suddenly, your company won’t be able to release the next version of its signature product. That’s a crisis. It affects your bottom line, it effects your relationship with your customers, your vendors, your employees and your stockholders. Wall Street notices and isn’t impressed. That’s a crisis. That’s why a company needs a seasoned team who understands the types of scenarios that can develop.
This is becoming all the more increasingly true as we move deeper and deeper into the digital age. Sure, sometimes the effect of online chatter can be overrated. But often it is not. It lasts and lasts and lasts. And it can reach like minded people and suddenly you’ve got a small movement against you.
But put aside the crisis that may start online and think about the company whose suppliers bug out. It’s not just Wall Street murmuring, its customers talking to one another online. And they’re pissed. Because the last edition was late in delivery by a couple of months. And these customers have blogs that reach 5000. Most of whom are your customers as well. They read product reviews, they participate in forums, they have their own blogs. Your bad news spreads fast. You’ve got a crisis.
So develop a plan. And start off by reading this.
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