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
Hi Loren - Great post! I think you're right that Domino's lacked a pre-crisis communications plan when this incident occurred in 2009, which is surprising given the company’s size. Considering the incident occurred via social media, you’d think Domino’s would have engaged in scenario planning to map out responses should a crisis arise. You also make a great point that quick response time is essential when trying to mitigate a crisis situation. The interesting thing about the Domino’s incident is the employees acted completely on their own accord. In other words, the employees were posting from their own personal accounts, not from the Domino’s brand social media accounts. This is scary for any company because they could be completely blindsided even if controls were in place. If you were the head of social media at Domino's, how would specifically amend your social media policy to ensure this situation doesn’t happen again? Would you provide guidance about use on personal vs. corporate sites? Would you put more emphasis on training employees?
ReplyDeleteMary, Thanks for the feedback. I've found that many companies don't have a pre-crises plan in place. Look at the BP Gulf Oil spill a few years back. BP is an enormous company and it was clear there was no pre-crises plan at any level in the entire company.
ReplyDeleteI would absolutely put a plan in place that offered protection for the employees and the company. The guidelines would need to be simple and clear. Employees need to know what a company would expect today in regards to personal and professional public comments in the social media landscape. It is a tricky situation when it comes to privacy. Although, the correct training would go a long way in avoiding situations similar to Domino's.
HI Loren – You bring up a great point about the BP oil crisis as a case study in how NOT to handle a crisis situation. In fact, BP was exceptionally slow to respond on social media, further exacerbating the crisis. When analyzing the Domino’s scandal, we know they issued an apology on their YouTube channel featuring the CEO. Kerpen says this “humanized the brand and connected it to customers at a time when it was most needed” (Kerpen, 2011, p. 194). Besides this YouTube tactic, how else would you mitigate the crisis in the short-term and long-term via social media channels? Would you launch a new campaign? Work with an endorser? Showcase customer testimonials?
DeleteReferences:
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
Mary, I think the issue for the oil industry is severe. The industry is tainted for various macro reasons. The biggest problem is their double standards with the environment. On one hand a company such as BP or Chevron will invest a significant amount of money in clean energy. At the same time they will triple their investment in hydraulic tracking which is enermy number one for most environmentalists.
DeleteFrom a social media perspective an oil companies best bet is to continue to harp on clean energy investment. Put a human face to the investment and show the public how they are contributing to the environment.
Thanks for your comment, Loren. When thinking about Domino's, do you think this situation had any long-term repercussions on the brand? Have you found any evidence that Domino's has implemented stronger social media policies with its employees?
DeleteHi Loren – great post! I enjoyed the article about saying sorry. More companies should abide by this when trying to resolve crisis and mitigate conflicts. I think that all companies should impose upon their employees a part of their training program that includes social media; how they share pertinent company info, act when discussing the company, and their behavior when wearing the company uniform in and out of work. It is a good thing to have employees on social media promoting their company, as long as they’re doing so within company guidelines. Do you think the guidelines for employees’ use of social media should differ by industry, i.e. food vs. clothing? Do you have any evidence that Domino’s competitors used this to their advantage? Did you find anything about the competitors creating guidelines or taking appropriate actions to prepare in case something like this happened to them?
ReplyDeleteHi Andrew, I think in general the guidelines for social media should be very similar across industries. The biggest concern for companies should be not to place to many restrictions on employees. Make your employees feel comfortable and protected when engaging on social media. If employees don't feel protected they won't want to interact in a realistic and productive way.
ReplyDeleteI do think that Domino's competitors likely used this to their advantage. It seems that in this day and age people forget fast. Therefore, I believe Domino's will recover. They need to implement guidelines and embrace social media. They should focus on their history, service and amazing pizza. Also, the company should double down on social media engagement and continue to build a loyal customer base.
Loren,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post this week. You make a great observation on how Dominos management attacked the employees involved in the incident rather than issuing an apology. To also point out the apparent lack of a plan led to some less then professional responses. Apologizing is defiantly an appropriate response but I think that needs to be followed with tangible actions that gain back the credibility of the business. As Kerpen (2011) puts it “it’s a huge turn off when people are ”fake””. Backing up the sentiment that is conveyed with the apology is the only way that a business can quickly recover and possibly turn a negative into a positive. What do you think are some actions that Dominos could have take as a next step to convey its sincerity and build back trust?
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