Recently a few dealerships were in the news for some undesirable reasons. One dealers was arrested for not completing work or refunding the deposit on a woman’s garage. In another instance, an angry homeowner wrote to a newspaper about a local dealer charging him much more than he thought was fair.
In both these cases, we only get one side of the story. And more often than not, there is no follow-up. Even if both dealers in the aforementioned cases were completely in the right or it was a simple misunderstanding, the damage to their reputation has been done. But if you find yourself in a similar situation, you don’t have to sit by and do nothing.
When the integrity and image of your dealership is at risk, executing a calculated and rehearsed crisis management plan can lessen or dodge potential damage. It is pertinent to have an established crisis management team, a designated spokesperson armed with key message points and a precise plan.
Preparation is Key
First, realize that this could happen to you; remove the notion that crises do not affect your industry or that your organization is immune. Build a comprehensive plan to prevent a crisis from developing into a catastrophe.
Create a work environment where problem areas are identified, solutions are implemented and communication is fostered between employees and senior management. Preparedness will reduce the amount of damage your organization may endure during the time of a crisis.
Each dilemma will have its own specific set of obstacles. Have a team in place to respond to a crisis when it arises. Comprise the team of senior management, your public relations firm (if you have one) and legal counsel. Designate one of the members of this team as the primary spokesperson so that messaging is concise and consistent.
Now that the crisis team has been formed, put it to the test. All levels of employees, from senior management to the operations staff, will need to know what to do in a crisis. Conduct a yearly analysis to determine what areas of your organization are vulnerable to crises. Then, put into action crisis scenarios to gauge the effectiveness of your team and reinforce weaknesses in the plans where needed.
Get Your Side of the Story Out
With a crisis at hand, you will benefit from your groundwork. Gather as much information as swiftly as you can and identify who in the public is affected. These steps are crucial to establish the key speaking points for the designated company spokesperson.
Once your key messaging is established, it is enormously imperative to respond in a timely fashion to a crisis. Acting quickly and delivering a small number of core messages highlights your organization as being in control of the situation.
Contact the same medium where the problem was revealed. If the story originated with a newspaper, the reporter should have contacted you for comment on the accusation. Do not avoid this conversation. Seek out the advice of your crisis management team for the correct response.
You can also turn to social media to get your message out. Your instinct may to ignore the situation and hope it blows over, and to avoid drawing more attention to the problem. But this could backfire. The best possible tactic is to get the full story out.
The Domino’s Dilemma
Take the online video that plagued Domino’s Pizza in 2009 for example. The video featured two Domino’s employees violating food, and was uploaded to YouTube. The video became viral and was seen by millions in just a little over a day before being pulled.
Domino’s Pizza exemplified effective crisis management. The employees were, without delay, fired and warrants were issued for their arrests. Instant action was taken showing that Domino’s Pizza was in control and actively seeking out solutions.
The next day, Domino’s utilized the same medium as the damaging video. In this new video, Patrick Doyle, the president of Domino’s USA, apologized for the incident and thanked the public for bringing the issue to their immediate attention. Doyle also assured that the store where the food violations were filmed is being completely sanitized.
The quick and calculated actions taken by Domino’s demonstrates how preparation, swift action, concise messaging from designated spokespeople and executing a solution can lessen the harm a crisis can do.
For more information, coaching, or if your organization anticipates a crisis, contact Walt Denny Inc. at 630.323.0555, e-mail walt@waltdenny.com or visit www.waltdenny.com.
Since its founding in 1989, Walt Denny Inc., a full service public relations and advertising agency, has been The Home Products Agency, working with a national client base and building each organization’s positive brand awareness through bold results and individualized strategies. Client experience includes industry-leading organizations such as Whirlpool, KitchenAid, HomeCrest Cabinetry, Royal Outdoor Products, The Tapco Group, Johnson Hardware, Amerock, a division of Newell-Rubbermaid and Leaders Bank.