Keep It Simple: Crisis Management

The fact is today we live in a digital world. Therefore, companies need to adjust their pre-crisis communications plans to conform to social media. Essential planning is critical in this day and age. The quicker a company can implement a pre-crisis communications plan the better. Below I take a look at a case that occurred at Domino’s in 2009 that involved two employees who posted a video on YouTube showing crude acts being done to food for customer.

There is no doubt that the situation involving the two employees was wrong. It is common knowledge that posting something disgusting about a food establishment is not appropriate behavior. What is even more apparent is Domino’s lack of a pre-crises communications plan to deal with the situation. The first indication that a plan was not in place was when the spokesperson for Domino’s responded to the situations with the below quote:

“We got blindsided by two idiots with a video camera and an awful idea”. “Even people who’ve been with us as loyal customers for 10, 15, 20 years, people are second-guessing their relationship with Domino’s and that’s not fair”.

There are a lot of problems with that quote. I would highly suggest not calling former employees idiots. Also, he takes the stance that the customer is not being fair to Domino’s. A much simpler approach would have been to simply say “I’m Sorry” as opposed to being defensive (Kerpen, 2011). Also, having the highest ranked official make the apology would have put a human face to the situation which is what the public wants today, they don’t want propaganda (Kerpen, 2011). Here is a link to a great article about simply saying sorry:

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/d67e4408-3d7d-11e3-9928-00144feab7de.html#axzz3SiMkRBsU

The lack of planning led to a crisis of great proportions. Attacking the employees and playing catch up during a crisis is the worst case scenario. The response comes off as slow. Today the response time needs to be fast (Kerpen, 2011). Hence, the emphasis on proper pre-crisis planning.  

Having a plan to launch a YouTube interview with the CEO of Domino’s apologizing for the situation would have been a good first step. Furthermore, already having active social media channels as communications tools would be a big help during a crisis situation. It doesn’t stop with I’m sorry (Kerpen, 2011). Consistent updates via Twitter, FB and YouTube would be helpful steps in order to stem the tide of negative publicity and reduce the damage of the Dominos brand.

Another good read to further clarify my point: http://www.instituteforpr.org/crisis-management-communications/

Finally, companies want their employees on social media. The proper planning, guidelines and training is needed in order for your employees to understand the power of positive communications and also make them feel comfortable talking about the brand in a public forum. Both of these elements are needed in order to lay the foundation for a solid social media engagement strategy and reduce the risk of disasters occurring in the media and on social media.

Reference List:

Kerpen, D. (2011). Likeable social media: How to delight your customer, create and irresistible brand, and be generally amazing on Facebook. New York: McGraw-Hill

Barbasol: A Social Media Success Story

Barbasol is a 94 year old shaving cream brand. It is a product that is still made in the USA. The brand takes great pride in the fact that it is still one of the few personal hygiene products manufactured in the USA. After many years with little to no social media influence, Barbasol has started a very impressive social media campaign in order to build brand awareness and capture additional market share.

In order to build brand awareness and gain additional market share, Barbasol rolled out a social media campaign with the concept of “Shave Like a Man” (Lacy, 2013). The idea is to bring back a time when being manly was the way to go. The challenge for Barbasol like many other brands around the world is how to integrate their social media channels effectively (Scott, pg. 72). The demographic that Barbasol is targeting in their social media campaign is the 18-25 year old young adult (Lacy, 2013).

In order to be a brand that is relevant today social media is a must. Therefore, Barbasol launched a new website, rolled out a series of YouTube videos and integrated it all with an active Twitter account. Barbasol has done a fantastic job at listening and communicating with their customers and potential customers via FB and Twitter. As I now know , on the web, customers, stakeholders, and the media can immediately see what’s on people’s minds (Scott, pg. 64). Barbasol’s consistent monitoring and response time has indicated the brand cares about what customers think.

https://twitter.com/barbasolshave/status/297126643003170816

The newly launched Barbasol.com website is clean and crisp. The website flows well with the rest of the company’s social media campaign. It is clear that the content is written by someone who is passionate about the topic of shaving cream and the barbershop culture (Scott, pg. 53). Just have a look at their shaving tips section.

http://www.barbasol.com/#shaving-tips

 

Barbasol’s social media campaign is a really interesting case study of a centuries old brand emerging in the 21^st century. One area I would improve on is the promotion of their YouTube videos. The content is awesome. Although, the average view rate of their videos is low. It is an indication that Barbasol is having a tough time promoting their content. They are doing a solid job at listening. Now I think it is time for them to start letting the world know about their products and the exciting video that goes along with a revitalized Barbasol brand. Have a look at the video below. Great content just lacking in views. My suggestion, utilize all third party endorsers to push the YouTube videos using other forms of social media, such as Twitter and FB.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nafIXyacLJ8

 

Reference List:

Scott, David Meerman. (2013). The New Rules of Marketing and PR (4th ed.). New York: McGrawHill

Lacy, Lisa. (February 4, 2013). Barbasol Looks to Previous Generations In Shave Like a Man Promo. Retrieved on February 12, 2015 from http://www.clickz.com/clickz/news/2239960/barbasol-looks-to-previous-generations-in-shave-like-a-man-promo

Social Web: Listen and Learn

Listening:

Listening is a critical component of any communications campaign. Some organizations employ entire teams dedicated to monitoring the real time chatter taking place on social media about their products or services. In fact, listening is considered to be 50 percent of the communications process.

Please read the following scenario and respond:

Scenario: You are the social media head of a new men’s razor that was launched 2 weeks ago all around the USA. The Vice President of Communication noticed several negative comments on the social Web as well as dozens of unanswered positive comments throughout the social Web but specifically when typing in Google the word Razor or new men’s products. The VP realizes that action is required in order to better listen and respond to customers who bought or are planning on buying the new razor.

Post: Develop a plan and system to formally or informally listen to customers on a regular basis through the social Web and determine ways that your organization (men’s razor) can benefit from the insight, both positive and negative insight.

Additional suggested reading:

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/4-steps-to-create-a-social-listening-strategy/

http://tcbdevito.blogspot.sg/2011/05/communication-strategies-listening.html

Reference:

Kerpin, Dave. (2011). Likeable Social Media. 1, p. 14-23.