Bad Publicity: How To Learn The Lessons Of A Negative Experience

We can all think of one or more business examples that have seen serious damage done to their reputations or even caused the demise of an organization in what seems to be the blink of an eye. A misplaced tweet or Facebook post, a lawsuit, a scathing editorial published in a national newspaper or magazine, or negative reviews on Yelp or Home Advisor can cause significant problems for a company despite how well established it may be. When your business is never more than a single controversy away from disproving the old adage “there’s no such thing as bad publicity”, it’s worth treading carefully.

With that said, there is always the possibility that, despite your best efforts, things will go wrong or issues will materialize anyway. Events often move so fast that you can find yourself in the eye of a storm you didn’t even realize was developing. Sometimes, the bad moment will happen and you’re going to need to accept the consequences. Then you’ll need to build the brand back better and stronger than before. The only way you can do this is to learn the lessons of bad publicity—and that means doing the following.

Accept the flack that is coming your way and be sure to handle it effectively

Whether it’s a result of a data breach that has exposed your clients’ information shared by hackers, a negative review in the New York Times or Wall Street Journal, or a poorly-handled interaction with a good customer/client, bad publicity and word-of-mouth experiences spread fast in today’s well-connected society. Social media and blogs as well as the 24-hour news cycle provide an opportunity for stories to move faster than ever before.

For you and your business, trying to fire-fight among all of this is only going to make things worse. Even if the bad press is way beyond what the original error merits, you’re going to have to admit to the mistake and promise to make it better.

Humility goes a long way and admitting to the problem as soon as possible will mitigate any further reputational harm. So taking action and providing a statement during The Golden Hour (the first hour the crisis or issue happens) is the best way forward. Consumers and other stakeholders will be much more forgiving if you admit to the problem or wrongdoing as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the worse the issue will be. It’s that simple.

Work on a way to repair the trust with all stakeholders

If you want your business to come out on the other side of a scandal or wrongdoing, then you’ll need more than a speech, hold a press conference, or issue a press release. Consumers and other stakeholders will judge you and your business by your actions, and so it is essential to work on a way to reconcile the issue as soon as you can.

This can be as simple as asking the injured party what you can do to help or by asking the angry customer to remove the negative review. If it gets to the point of pursuing legal action, an experienced professional or mediator such as Tully Rinckey can help diffuse and rectify the issue so both parties are satisfied. No problem ever resolved itself because it was ignored; swift action is your friend in this situation.

Assess what went wrong to prevent it from happening in the future

Apologizing for an error or wrongdoing right out of the gate is essential; compensating those hurt is equally important, but perhaps the most vital step is ensuring that the mistake or wrongdoing doesn’t happen again. That means learning why an error happened in the first place. An accident or mistake is forgivable if it takes you by surprise, but making the same mistake again means it’s a pattern and it’s time to evaluate why this issue keeps reoccurring.

If your business makes the same mistake over again, the reputational damage can be irreparable, so make sure any inquiry is thorough and its findings are actioned. All actions taken should then be communicated to any involved party or person—this includes those who were wronged in the first place.

No-one enjoys being the subject of bad publicity or being sued for wrongdoing. If we learn lessons from our previous negative experiences, we can use them to make our business better.