How to avoid "making things worse" in brand crisis public relations?

Introduction: "There is an important role in driving the crisis, called public sentiment, which is also the most easily overlooked part. Because most companies first think about how to protect their own interests, public sentiment is often ignored, but it is often the public sentiment that is most fatal."

Recently, Lenovo has once again been at the center of public opinion. After a netizen left a message on a social platform saying that after the United States banned Huawei, Lenovo was the first to stop providing equipment to Huawei. Lenovo’s official website urgently refuted the rumor in the early morning of the next day. Afterwards, the rumormonger also publicly apologized and admitted his behavior of spreading the rumor. However, netizens did not buy it and said they did not believe any statement made by Lenovo, and jokingly called it the "conscience of the American empire." Such one-sided public opinion is actually very rare. "Black Lenovo" seems to have turned into an online party. Any "whitewashing" remarks by Lenovo's public relations will arouse netizens' reactive opposition, which is quite entertaining.

In the face of an outbreak of public opinion, the first crisis public relations is key. If it is not done well the first time, it is very likely to amplify public opinion and make the situation worse. In addition to Lenovo, the same is true of the crisis public relations of Visual China's "black hole gate" and Mercedes-Benz's "oil leakage gate" not long ago. In the end, the former closed its website for rectification, and the latter caused irreversible damage to its main brand because of a 4S store. They even each triggered a small wave of Internet entertainment: domestic brands flocked to posts to joke about whether the copyright of their own LOGOs belonged to Visual China, and also released a set of "No Oil Leakage" and "Woman Crying on the Hood" themed posters and copy.

These crisis public relations cases are all failed cases. The responsibility of public relations is to maintain the brand image during brand crisis, but the public relations of these brands seem to be "getting worse and worse". What went wrong? Although different cases have different reasons, there are some common reasons. We can start from the basic principles of crisis public relations to analyze these common points.

Five principles of crisis public relations - success or failure depends on Xiao He

There are five core principles for crisis public relations: timeliness, honesty, restraint, responsibility, and aftermath. This is the main reason why crisis public relations fail.

For example, Lenovo. Since the “5G Voting Gate” incident broke out more than a year ago, Lenovo’s public relations has been silent for some reason. It was not until public opinion got out of control and became so serious that rumors of "treason" spread, that Liu Chuanzhi, the founder-level boss, was forced to come out and refute the rumors and call on heroes from all sides of the Internet technology community to jointly endorse the company. However, the public's trust had already been lost. The root cause of Lenovo’s public relations failure lies in the disregard of the principle of timeliness. Crisis public relations has always been subject to the time limit of the “golden 48 hours”. What has Lenovo’s public relations been doing in the past year or so?

Visual China’s public relations failed in the first attempt. Faced with the outbreak of public opinion, Visual China’s first statement said that it did not have the copyright for commercial use, but was immediately slapped in the face by screenshots thrown out by netizens. The screenshots showed that Visual China’s customer service clearly stated that the black hole photo could only be used after purchasing the copyright. This is obviously suspected of lying and violates the principle of honesty. Moreover, the second statement shifted the copyright of the national flag and emblem to the person who uploaded the picture, and the attitude of admitting the mistake was obviously insincere. As for the third statement that could have truly stopped the losses, it came too late and the public no longer cared.

Looking at the Bao Mercedes-Benz oil leakage incident, an important reason for the incident to escalate was the inaction of Mercedes-Benz officials. The only statement was issued 48 hours after the incident, and its content was only "instructing the responsible team to rush to the scene of the incident." The attitude seemed nonchalant, full of official rhetoric, and lacked a sense of responsibility. Mercedes-Benz did not seem to have expected that a rights protection case of a local 4S store would cause severe damage to the entire brand image of Mercedes-Benz.

None of the five principles of crisis public relations can be violated. In particular, the two issues of timeliness and responsibility are directly regarded as the "attitude issues" of the brand towards the public. It goes without saying that timeliness is important. Apart from the "golden 48 hours", the first public relations statement should be released within 12 hours after the outbreak of public opinion. Just like the recent incident in which Lenovo was hacked for "cutting off supplies to Huawei", the public relations team conducted emergency public relations in the early morning of the next day after the incident. The media and KOLs in the Internet technology circle also followed suit the next day. This time the crisis was quickly resolved and it can be said to be a successful public relations.

Taking responsibility means admitting mistakes and taking responsibility. For example, Visual China must have had its third public relations plan to shut down and rectify the website when the public opinion broke out. Perhaps it was reluctant to give up the huge profits, or it preferred to respond with an attitude of shifting the responsibility. As a result, it was denounced by netizens as "irresponsible", pushing public opinion to a new and dangerous level.

The principle of restraint means that public relations must be rational in their attitude towards public opinion. As the saying goes, "You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want." In the Internet age, an irrational and angry remark made by a public relations officer can reach the public's ears in milliseconds, creating a new crisis. For example, Lenovo recently suddenly carried out public relations communication on its own WeChat official account, talking about the truth behind various rumors such as "5G voting gate", "flying lines", and "overseas shopping is cheaper than domestic shopping". However, it was unfortunately influenced by the long-standing negative factors and was directly retaliated by netizens with rumors. The Lenovo editor, who refused to admit defeat, also had a strong temper and argued with netizens in the comment section, asking them to "think about the problem with common sense" and "don't humiliate yourself." Such a reply is of no use except to intensify the conflict.

Aftermath is the specific solution after the event. The solution must be introduced quickly and with sincerity. There are no other techniques.

The five crisis public relations principles are the best way to deal with brand crises. For example, in the previous Haidilao kitchen rat incident, after the media disclosed that there were rats rampant in Haidilao's kitchen, Haidilao issued two apology statements in the afternoon of the same day, admitting that the exposed problem was true, expressing deep guilt, and apologizing to the customers. At the same time, rectification measures were announced, the stores involved were suspended for rectification, a comprehensive and thorough investigation was carried out, and visual operations were implemented in the back kitchens of all stores. All suggestions and questions from the media and the public were included in the rectification measures. This crisis public relations received the support and understanding of the media and the public, instead of dwelling on the problem. This crisis public relations was timely, candid, restrained, responsible, and thorough, and it is considered a model of successful crisis public relations case.

PR strategy error - a thousand-mile dam is destroyed by an ant hole

In addition to violating the five principles, there are other reasons for public relations failure. This is partly due not to the countermeasures taken when facing an outbreak of public opinion, but to the public relations strategies and thinking implemented on a regular basis. Some of the reasons may be related to the company's overall brand strategy.

1. Public opinion controls thoughts. Until now, many public relations personnel and corporate decision makers are staunch believers in the idea of ​​public opinion control. Public opinion control, as the name suggests, is to control the occurrence of public opinion, stifle remarks that are unfavorable to oneself, and promote positive public opinion. The main methods of stifling public opinion include controlling comments, postings, deleting posts, and hiring internet trolls to create momentum. The essence of public opinion control lies in: prohibiting the opposition from speaking out.

However, we have now entered the Internet 3.0 era, where information spreads at milliseconds. Rumors are like a flood that can only be drained but not blocked. Believers in public opinion control do not consider the issue of public opinion guidance at all, and just want negative comments to disappear quickly. Therefore, they try every possible means to contact the publisher of the information and ask them to delete the post. If it is a rumor, there is law to support it. If the news is true and the publisher is unwilling to delete the post, they use various means to attack the publisher of the information to achieve "negative information hedging", which will eliminate the impact by adding two negatives to a positive. However, such efforts are in vain. People nowadays don’t pay much attention to the channels through which they obtain information, because information is available everywhere. What the public is concerned about is whether public opinion is consistent with the mainstream values ​​of the public. The function of public relations is to enter the minds of the people to resolve crises, not to use brute force to "silence" them.

For example, on Weibo, where fan circles are very popular, all traffic owners are aware of the tremendous power of fans and traffic. Relying on the collective power of fans, they take measures to control comments and launch public opinion wars in small circles. They seem to have a large number of people and great power, but in fact they are extremely fragile. Last year, there was a sensation in the "PG1 incident". Some brainless fans tried to buy hot searches to slander and comment on the incident, saying that the "restaurant used gutter oil" in Zigong Pavilion and that the Communist Youth League was "a small vendor selling youth balls." The final result was not only a laughing stock, but the protagonist PG1 of the incident was instantly completely forgotten and kicked out of the entertainment industry. Although there were reports that he wanted to make a comeback later, mainstream morals and values ​​do not forgive him, and he has not had the opportunity to appear in public so far.

2. Monetary public relations strategy. Some people are deeply poisoned by the idea of ​​"money first". They usually treat the "editors-in-chief" and "directors-in-chief" of traditional media to meals and give them gifts in order to establish good personal relationships with them. Once a crisis breaks out, the news will be controlled and cut off at the source. Or they spend money to bribe a group of big Vs and KOLs to speak for them in an attempt to influence public opinion. However, what they don’t know is that when a real social explosion problem occurs, the “editor-in-chief” and “director-in-chief” cannot suppress the news, otherwise it would be dereliction of duty. When big Vs and KOLs are faced with issues where the pros and cons are very obvious, they should not give up their stance too much. After all, their own IP is their most important asset, and no fool would do anything that would damage their own reputation. And if the gifts and money received are of too great a value, the person is suspected of bribery, and the public relations officer is also suspected of bribery.

Money-based public relations strategies are becoming less and less effective in today’s society, because traditional media, the main valve of information, is also undergoing changes and transforming into branded new media, and this main valve is gone. The public has also changed from "knowing nothing" to "knowing everything". Everyone is an information center and has his or her own judgment. No matter how much money a company has, it cannot buy everyone's approval.

For example, in the entertainment industry, once a celebrity is involved in a scandal, all news about him or her will be blocked and the public will be avoided. After the storm has passed, he will donate some money and join a charity organization in the hope of clearing his image. However, the public does not buy this account and always dwells on what happened in the past. Because the public has not lost their memory, their tolerance for artistes who are surrounded by negative news is getting lower and lower. At this time, spending money is no longer effective, and you still need to sincerely repent.

3. Control the communication channel strategy. In the past, information dissemination channels were single and basically controlled by traditional media and KOLs. Controlling them basically meant controlling the information dissemination channels, and it was very easy to control negative comments. However, with the advent of the Internet era, information dissemination has become decentralized, everyone is a self-media, and information dissemination channels have changed from single to multiple. Information disseminators can no longer rely on authority to build public trust, but must build their own authority through public trust. It is no longer possible to fully grasp the channels through which information is disseminated.

In the previous "Cai B War", in order to protect their idols, ikuns tried to invade bilibili and bring the method of controlling comments in Weibo fan circles to B station. However, who would have thought that they could not even pass the registration questions of B station and could not leave messages or control comments at all. This is another case of a cultural group trying to control another information dissemination channel, but failing miserably. If just one company or individual tries to control another channel, it may be laughed at.

However, public relations professionals who adhere to the theory of control over information dissemination channels have long realized that this approach is not feasible. It’s just that sometimes those in power are confused and lose their composure when faced with a crisis, or they lack their own business capabilities and make wrong choices, ultimately shooting themselves in the foot.

The correct approach to crisis public relations: hit the snake at its weakest point

There is an important role in driving the crisis, called public sentiment, which is also the most easily overlooked part. Because most companies think about how to protect their own interests first, public sentiment is often ignored, but it is often the public sentiment that is most fatal. Guiding public opinion is not actually about guiding the public to make judgments about right and wrong, but about guiding the public to change their emotions. So, how should we correctly deal with a public relations crisis?

1. Influence, eliminate and rebuild public sentiment. First of all, we need to intervene in the public emotions. Public relations personnel need to have very precise control and sense of rhythm. The time nodes of the beginning, process, climax and end of public opinion must be evaluated very accurately. If something goes wrong, the entire rhythm will be disrupted. Then it is necessary to eliminate the public's negative and hostile emotions, reduce attention, and at the same time find out the enemies who are watching secretly. Finally rebuild trust and rebuild reputation.

For example, at Jay Chou's Xi'an concert, the security guard angrily scolded the fan who threw away a fan's light sign and angrily told the security guard to "get out". This move won praise from fans. However, it was later learned that the security personnel threw away the fans' light boards because the light boards of the fans in the front row blocked the view of the fans in the back row, and the security personnel stepped forward to stop them in order to protect the interests of more fans. Jay Chou immediately apologized to the security guard through the company's official Weibo and other public channels such as the concert organizer. He later recorded an apology video and went to the security command center in person to express his gratitude to the security personnel on duty during the concert. He also apologized to the security personnel in person and obtained forgiveness. This move also won the understanding of the staff and restored their good impression of Jay Chou.

2. Master the "rhythm" of crisis events. A crisis event usually lasts 7-15 days and is divided into three stages: outbreak, climax, and conclusion. If the matter continues to ferment after more than 15 days, the relevant personnel will have to resign. Public relations decisions must be made very accurately and with strong control. The entire strategic rhythm can be deployed based on factors such as the attitudes of regulatory authorities and the media, as well as public sentiment. At the same time, there must be mechanisms and plans to connect with regulatory authorities and the media, and to execute them quickly, so that control can be effective.

What needs to be emphasized is that the public relations staff must have a clear self-positioning and know whether they should act like a grandson and bow and apologize throughout the incident, or act like a leader and confront all kinds of people head-on. This is a matter of professional responsibility and has nothing to do with your own preferences. If you really can't accept it, you can resign. When a public relations crisis is too big, you can show weakness appropriately and appear in front of the public as a "weak person". When the Siemens "refrigerator door" incident broke out, it chose to face consumers toughly and refused to apologize, which eventually led to the founder of Hammer Mobile, Luo Yonghao, "smashing the Siemens refrigerator in anger." Siemens pushed itself to the forefront with its tough attitude. If it had adopted a softer attitude and shown weakness to consumers, perhaps it would not have been like this.

3. “Make good use” of the voice of a third party. In a real crisis, there cannot be only one voice, but more voices that are beneficial to oneself are needed. In particular, the opinions of third parties are more acceptable to the general public who are unaware of the truth. Many years ago, the media exposed that Midea’s advertising slogan “one kilowatt-hour of electricity per night” was deceiving consumers. Midea launched an offensive against unfavorable reports, using the characteristics of Internet communication to carry out favorable reports on low-threshold media. The Internet has become a situation where some people say good things and some say bad things. Unless they are media professionals, ordinary consumers simply cannot see the inside story.

In times of crisis, there cannot be just one voice. If there are 10 negative voices, crisis PR is not about eliminating them, but about finding 100 positive voices. Rather than controlling speech, it is better to let it go. Of course, the prerequisite is to have strong "control".

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Author: Seven Princes

Source: PR Home