“The crisis you have to worry about most is the one you don’t see coming,” – Mike Mansfield, Former Senate Majority Leader, 1961-1977
Whether sudden or slow developing, a corporate crisis is the last thing a company wants to encounter. Yet most often it’s not the event itself—but how it’s managed—that will determine whether there will be any lasting repercussions.
“That’s when outside perspective can be extremely powerful,” explains Olivia Walker, CEO and Founder of Evolved PR . “The majority of companies I work with do not have plans in place, and they have no idea what to do.”
Walker is the right call at the right time. A former National Communications Liaison for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Public Affairs Manager for the U.S. Forest Service, Walker has built a thriving career developing and deploying crisis communications strategies for companies ranging from start-ups to multinational corporations. She uses her crisis management expertise to navigate her clients through the crisis and beyond—often leveraging the event to help companies strengthen the bonds they’ve established with their customers.
“We’ve achieved our goal if we get to the other side of a crisis and see people supporting the company and saying positive things about them,” Walker says. “Success doesn’t necessarily mean that the public agrees with you, they simply need to understand why you did what you did, or why the situation occurred.”
The first step in ensuring a positive outcome is to identify the depth of crisis communication planning needed. For Walker, this often involves a thorough assessment of the event or situation, a baseline measurement of social chatter and media coverage, and an analysis of customer sentiment. Event timing also can play a factor.
“If a company has waited days, weeks or even months to address a situation, it increases the potential for longer-lasting damage to their brand,” advises Walker. “It’s always best if to be proactive, and that starts with a conversation to determine if the situation at hand has the potential to become a crisis.”
For example, while a high-profile executive departure or a company acquisition may not seem to be on the same crisis scale as a factory fire, if not properly addressed, it has the potential to result in negative sentiment or company backlash.
“I like it when companies proactively call me ahead of this type of announcement, because if, for example, this could result in people being worried they might lose their jobs, there’s a potential situation,” says Walker.
For companies that are resistant to bringing in outside crisis communication support, Walker contrasts the costs to mitigate the issue against the potential costs associated with loss of brand reputation or brand loyalty.
“The cost of a crisis communications plan and a strategic response are usually significantly less than going it alone and potentially damaging your brand,” Walker advises.
Walker points to last year’s Bud Light boycott as an example of how the wrong messaging—and poor timing—can work against a brand. In April 2023, Bud Light enlisted the support of a transgender influencer as part of one if its social media campaigns. The integration sparked outrage from several prominent conservates, which resulted in significant media coverage as well as a call to boycott the brand.
In its initial response, Bud Light neither supported nor disavowed the campaign. Weeks later, in an effort to quell continued negative chatter, the brand issued a follow-up statement advising that it had put the campaign’s managers on leave. However, rather than reducing the chatter, the second message simply prolonged the negative media coverage, resulting in yet another black eye for the brand.
“They lost their audience and it’s going to take them years to regain brand loyalty,” Walker adds.
Crisis communications professionals like Walker can help companies navigate all elements of a crisis and, most important, advise what messaging should be shared, when.
“The first thing you say to the public is going to be what people are going to run with, so you want to make sure it’s good,” advises Walker. “Once that statement has been released, you can’t take it back.”
She points to the NFL as an example of great crisis communications response, with the League consistently delivering well-prepared statements across a variety of scenarios.
“I follow the NFL because I love a well-crafted statement,” shares Walker. “But the NFL doesn’t rush to get something out. They may say ‘we’re going to come out with something soon’ and it’s okay to say that, but they’re not going to release something until they have the time to craft something that is good and impactful.”
Walker follows a similar strategy, balancing speed to market (or microphone) with the weight of the message needed.
“Companies of all sizes experience growing pains, and things happen,” Walker explains. “Customers appreciate it when a company admits that they’ve made a mistake, and that transparency helps the public gain a bit of confidence in you and help re-establish a new level of trust.”
For example, when one of Walker’s clients was inundated with bad company reviews, she stepped in to assess the best approach to take the company forward.
“As we worked with the client, it was clear that the reviews were legitimate,” recalls Walker. “In this situation, the best course of action was to thank their customers for bringing this to their attention and admitting that, as a company, they needed to do better.”
Walker helped the company draft messaging that explained how, thanks to customer feedback, the company was changing its policies and procedures. As a result, customer sentiment quickly transitioned from negative to positive.
For another client, a swift avalanche of heavily detailed emails and alerts did little to reduce customer frustration following a failed product launch. While the company felt they were being transparent and supportive, customers, inundated with the volume of information, were left puzzled by what the company was trying to communicate. Using sentiment analysis, Walker was able to right-side the situation, counseling the client to craft short, direct email blasts that focused on resolutions to specific product issues. The recommendation quickly abated concerns and resulted in an uptick in positive customer reactions.
“It’s great that they wanted to share so much information,” explains Walker. “But if you give out too much, or don’t provide it in a way that customers want to hear it, there’s a good chance that your message could get lost. In this case it wasn’t a matter of telling them not to share the information, but more about shifting how they share it.”
There is no one-size-fits-all approach that will work for most crisis situations. What may work well for one company or situation may not for another. As Walker shares, her approach balances the company’s unique needs and goals with how the public wants to receive the company’s messaging.
“It’s one thing to have a plan, and another to have an efficient one. Knowing what the potential for the crisis is, who your team of responders should be, who should speak and in what tone, and how to share that message in a way that resonates with the public can be a challenge for many companies,” she adds.
Additionally, crisis planning extends beyond the crisis itself—with much of the work often occurring after the initial responses have been made. It is in this phase that Walker’s talents really shine.
“Once the chatter has died down and people understand a bit more about your perspective, you have an opportunity to rebuild trust and brand loyalty and make it stronger than ever before,” she adds. “This could take a few months or more, depending on the severity of the issue.”
Going back to the earlier Bud Light example, sales declines for the brand persisted for months after the event, with the brand’s sales still down 32 percent in Q4 2023. The event also resulted in the brand losing shelf space at retailers and tap handles at bars, further contributing to longer-term sales declines.
Having an experienced crisis communications partner can be of tremendous value during the recovery phase, with Walker advising that her goal is ensure that she leaves companies a little better than she found them and providing a positive impact on their bottom line.
“When I see that people are saying positive things about the brand and media coverage is favorable, then I know we’ve really flipped the switch, we’ve taken this all the way to the other side,” says Walker. “I live for those moments.”
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