Crisis Communications for Globecell
Selection of Communications Channels
Effects on the Brand, Customers and Broader Business Environment
Online Strategy Definition
Recommendations and Future Direction
In any public relations crisis it is best to always err on the side of safety for customers first, seeking to re-establish credibility and win back the trust lost. Credibility is the currency that crises are paid for with (Duke, Masland, 2002). Trust has to be earned and kept to win back the confidence of customers, and that is the objective of this crisis communications plan for Globecell. As social networks are amplifying and at times exaggerating the severity of this issue, industry analysts, bloggers and industry influencers need to be contacted and debriefed on this crisis. Prior to that however, a thorough investigation of how key components from suppliers made it through quality assurance and supplier audits needs to be completed. It is the intention of this plan to deliver a complete timeline of how and why this error in sourcing components occurred, what steps Globecell is taking to make sure it never happens again, and defining a generous service recovery program for our customers. In addition to providing complete transparency with regard to the factors that contributed to 150,000 Globecell phones overheating, this crisis plan will communicate the steps taken in supplier quality management, product quality testing, and quality assurance to assure this never happens again. In addition, social media monitoring services will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the crisis strategy via sentiment analysis of social networks (Dowling, Weeks, 2011).
2.0
Selection of Communications Channels
The level of skepticism and mistrust globally continues to accelerate, driven in part by companies who refuse to take responsibility for their actions and CEOs who dodge accountability (Showkeir, Showkeir, 2009). This crisis plan needs to come out aggressively in the other direction, taking immediate and full responsibility for the 150,000 units being recalled. Starting first with the CEO hosting a live call-in press conference that is also simulcast online and televised, an apology needs to be made to all 150,000 customers, employees, stakeholders and innocent suppliers who will see a drop in orders in the short-term due to the crisis. A website for future updates will be provided and contact information for customer service will also be provided.
With this strategy in mind, the following are the key channels that need to be included in the crisis plan: simulcasting online via WebEx or another comparable platform and through network television; social media channels including Facebook, Twitter and live blogging, real-time RSS feeds; video blogging at the event by bloggers and key influencers; and ongoing interviews to any qualified member of the media (including bloggers) who want to interview the CEO afterward. For a comparison of online channels, please see Table 1 in the Appendix, Web 2.0 And Social Media Communications Channels. Communications across all channels in crisis communications must reverberate with authenticity, transparency and trust to achieve the aims of making service recovery possible and mitigating damage to company reputation (Ferrante, 2010).
3.0
Effects on the Brand, Customers and Broader Business Environment
Too often CEOs and senior management teams attempt to hide, lie or in some way obfuscate or cloud the truth about massive problems or crises in their company. The case of BP and the Gulf Oil spill, their CEO saying it was not his or his company's fault instigated a war with the media that lasts to this day (Hopkins, 2011). Microsoft's attrition of key talent to Google and other start-ups and their threats of suing both the companies recruiting their employees and in some cases the employees themselves is another example of how not to manage a crisis communications plans (Keeffe, Darling, 2008). Brands have been irreparably damaged by a lack of crisis plans, or ones defined yet poorly executed (Gorman, 2006). The best practices for managing a crisis is to first be clear about the circumstances that caused it, disclosing all available information and publically-available knowledge to show authenticity and transparency as an organization (Sapriel, 2003). The best practice of combining an apology as part of a service recovery strategy to customers is today being accelerated with recorded and live video feeds, and the opportunity to meet directly with the senior management team as well (Romero, 2011). What these two best practices do is set the foundation for shared ownership of the crisis with stakeholders by fully informing them of the current and future plans to alleviate factors that caused the crisis to begin with (Stephens, Malone, Bailey, 2005). A third best practice is to define the measures of performance that will be used for evaluating the success or failure of the crisis plan on long-term...
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