Brand Crisis Public Relations Strategy of Brand Crisis Management

Once the brand crisis occurs, we should follow the brand crisis management outline, create public opinion for the enterprise and save the reputation image on the premise of coordinating the interests of the enterprise, the victims and the public. It can be said that the success or failure of crisis public relations is largely due to the success of crisis public relations communication. After the crisis, the most urgent task is to show the position of the enterprise. It is very urgent to clarify the basic attitude and principles of enterprises to the crisis through the media and express their concern about the crisis. Effective crisis public relations communication should follow the basic enterprise principle of "people-oriented", frankly admit one's mistakes, accept public criticism with an open mind, and take active rescue or improvement measures to realize communication and understanding among enterprises, victims and the public, resolve misunderstanding or hostility among them, and then establish a trust relationship between enterprises and the public. SK-II is very unsuccessful in this respect.

Strategy 1: Top management figures come forward.

The protagonist of crisis public relations communication should be determined according to the degree and scope of the crisis. Generally speaking, it is reasonable to choose a management level that is suitable for the impact of the crisis. Usually, the more senior figures come forward, the more obvious the benefits to eliminate the crisis. In the daily crisis prevention work, enterprises should make clear the crisis response plans at all levels, so as to be targeted. Therefore, it is very necessary to establish a permanent organization to deal with the crisis-crisis management team, which can be composed of the following personnel: enterprises, public relations professionals, production and quality assurance personnel, sales personnel, personnel back office staff, consumer hotline receptionists and so on. The crisis management team should maintain its independent and authoritative right to speak, and at the same time ensure the smooth communication channels, so that public relations information can be conveyed smoothly within the enterprise. In particular, a manager who is familiar with the actual situation of the enterprise and has experience in public relations is appointed as the press spokesman for corporate crisis public relations. When the crisis comes, it is easy for enterprises to fall into the chaotic state of mixed information, which is not conducive to the formation of effective crisis communication, so it is the inevitable result of the situation to form a unified voice of external communication. Only through his voice, is the final decision of the enterprise, is the content of the news media. Others can never express their opinions on behalf of the enterprise at will, and can only maintain and obey the authority of the spokesperson. The problems that the crisis management team should consider every day are: how to organize the crisis response ability; What are the most likely crisis contents and whether there are corresponding preparations; If the predicted crisis breaks out, what are the specific response measures and procedures? In this way, a simple customer complaint can be handled by all functional departments. If the customer complains about a small defect that does not affect the normal use of the product, the staff can be sent to apologize and replace it, so that it is solved without being overly excited; However, if the situation worsens and the scope of influence expands, there will be high-level intervention.

Crisis case-65438-0999 During the crisis public relations of Coca-Cola poisoning in Belgium, Coca-Cola Company sent a public relations team headed by CEO Wallace to deal with the crisis. In the news release activities, the appearance of high-ranking figures will strengthen the favorable impression of the media and the public on the responsible attitude of enterprises, and it is also easy to make commitments as soon as possible before the crisis worsens and change the development direction of the situation.

Public relations concept-For enterprises, the appearance of top management figures makes the effect of brand crisis public relations communication more prominent and plays a key role in promoting the crisis handling process, which should be considered when setting up crisis management institutions.

Strategy 2: prioritize and determine who to spread it to.

Our enterprise must make clear the goal of crisis communication, carry out targeted and efficient communication, and maximize the communication effect. After the crisis, the people who are most concerned about the countermeasures of enterprises are nothing more than these people: victims, news media, competitors and the public. The victims are the direct victims of the crisis, and they have the highest expectation for the enterprise to give a clear statement, because the attitude of the enterprise will directly affect their interests. They will actively pay attention to every move of corporate public relations and make their own comments. The position and role of news media in society is becoming more and more important, which is an inevitable phenomenon in information society. Their judgment on enterprises often affects public opinion, and their public opinion will be related to the reputation and brand image of enterprises. In China, the power of news media is unprecedented. They will pay more attention to the crisis process than enterprises, and there will be more self-righteous corresponding measures to remind enterprises. At the same time, it tends to protect the weak, which secretly and invisibly increases the difficulty of enterprise crisis management. A big problem here is that their keen reaction and excessive attention to the enterprise crisis will inevitably lead to the distortion or irrationality of the report, so whether they can win the true and objective report of the news media is the first difficult problem of crisis public relations. Dealing with the relationship with the news media is by no means a one-off event. It is very necessary to strengthen daily emotional contact, which is also conducive to enterprises to find the signs of complaints as soon as possible, to prevent adverse information from spreading in the news media, and not to think about him when the crisis comes. For competitors, the crisis has given them a rare opportunity to attack the market, and they may repeatedly take the opportunity to improve their influence and vilify their opponents.

Crisis cases such as PPA storm have brought a fatal blow to Contac, and the attacks from competitors are even more severe. Therefore, it is necessary to send a hint of fair competition to competitors to prevent enterprises from sinking under the attack of competitors. As the external public of the enterprise, the public is the existing or potential production, sales and public relations object of the enterprise, which will exert invisible pressure on the enterprise. The crisis may only involve a small number of people, but it will potentially affect all consumers-they will re-judge the value of enterprise products or services accordingly. Enterprises should pay attention to win the understanding, support and trust of the public and prevent the loss of social trust, which means that enterprises should take the initiative to make some statements or explanations to save brand reputation. Among them, we should pay special attention to the role of government agencies, especially some industry management departments, whose evaluation of enterprises often has the power to revive the life. For example, Contac's crisis came entirely from the government, that is, a ban destroyed a huge market that a brand had painstakingly managed for many years. Therefore, it is very important to carry out public relations with government agencies, let the government know the difficulties of enterprises and seek the support of enterprises. For example, in the face of the government's measures to eradicate white pollution, the bowl noodle production of Master Kong's instant noodles has been greatly affected, and appealing to government departments has become the focus of Master Kong's public relations.

Philosophy of public relations-In fact, a key to saving the crisis is to win the evaluation support of the crisis authority. Their conclusions are often the ultimate basis for fair judgment. Never say that you are right.

Strategy 3: Choose the timing of public relations communication accurately.

The communication principle of crisis public relations should be rapid and accurate, so there are two time choices: the first time when the crisis occurs and the time when the truth of the crisis comes out. After the crisis, enterprises should quickly make their own judgments, define crisis events, and determine the principled stand, scheme and procedure of corporate public relations; Timely appease the victims of crisis events to avoid the deterioration of the situation; At the same time, in the fastest time, briefly explain to the news media the crisis situation and enterprise crisis management measures, clarify the position and attitude of the enterprise, and strive for the trust and support of the media. Avoid a misunderstanding: try to avoid meeting the media before the truth comes out. In fact, even if you don't contact the media, the media will make up various reasons to speculate. Isn't the escalation of many domestic crises the result of not controlling the spread of unfavorable information in time? Don't try to hide it, it will only make things worse. It is better to contact the media in time and strive for their objective and true reports. Enterprises that attach importance to crisis management often set up crisis information dissemination hotline in time to ensure the smooth flow of internal information, answer consumers' questions, provide materials for news media and play the role of information hub.

Crisis cases —— For example, after Contec was suspended, Sino-American SmithKline specially opened 800 toll-free telephone numbers to solve doubts and doubts for people concerned about the progress of the incident, and achieved good communication results. When all the ins and outs of the crisis are clear, it is best for enterprises to organize a large-scale news release activity to report the truth and final result of the crisis to the public, so as to draw a satisfactory conclusion for crisis public relations. In fact, many crises cannot be ended, which is really an unwise choice. This will not only help to restore the brand image, but will weaken the brand reputation. Another example is the Toshiba laptop crisis. With the news media losing interest gradually, the crisis seems far away, but its previous market position is irreparable.

Public relations philosophy-don't forget, an important principle of crisis public relations: openness. Corporate crisis public relations is carried out in all kinds of suspicions. Enterprises should pay attention to inform the media of the latest situation and progress in time, or set up special information communication channels to facilitate the inquiry of news media and the public, paving the way for the truth to come out.

Strategy 4: Choose as many communication channels as possible.

The spread of crisis information is nothing more than the following channels: radio and television, newspapers and magazines, internet and interpersonal oral communication, that is, mass media and interpersonal communication. Interpersonal communication may be beyond the control of enterprises, but mass media enterprises can exert influence on it through public relations activities.

Crisis case-With the development of the Internet, the influence of online news is gradually moving from virtual to reality, which is unpredictable and difficult to control. For example, the Toshiba laptop crisis spread from the internet, and enterprises should also pay attention to monitoring and using this channel.

Philosophy of public relations-it is worth noting that on the one hand, the complaints of the victims, on the other hand, the artificial hype of the news media will lead to the gradual escalation of the crisis. Therefore, crisis public relations communication should pay attention to occupy these communication channels in a timely and targeted manner to minimize the negative effects of crisis information communication.

Strategy 5: High-profile responsibility is the main content of communication.

After the crisis, the public is waiting for the attitude of enterprises-whether to admit mistakes in a low profile, whether to take responsibility, whether to improve, and so on. This should be the core content of corporate crisis public relations communication. In fact, it is through these positive efforts that crisis public relations has won the understanding and trust of consumers. We have a point: crisis public relations is conscience public relations, which is based on business philosophy. In order to carry out effective crisis public relations communication, rhetoric is useless, and the public does not need any fancy performances from enterprises. What is needed at this time is the sincere action of the enterprise, and action is the most critical. We might as well explain the crisis public relations process of enterprises to the public and reflect it in the implementation process. Crisis public relations should put an end to putting the cart before the horse, but reflect the true source of things and the most sincere side of enterprises. "Exchange my heart for yours" is the essence of public relations activities. Many cases of crisis public relations failure are often here.

In crisis cases, such as Japan's aviation crisis, Japan released several investigation reports, but all of them concealed the truth, lacking substantive compensation or apology clauses and actions, which caused great indignation among Japanese consumers. A simple complaint about the crisis led to endless legal proceedings, which cannot be said to be the failure of crisis public relations. One reason is that JAL didn't understand the internal needs of China consumers-apology and compensation, and the airlines themselves didn't realize their mistakes, just avoiding and shirking their responsibilities. Think about it. Will this work? At the same time, an important content of crisis public relations is to reshape a good corporate image. The emergence of public relations crisis will damage the corporate image to varying degrees. Although the crisis public relations is handled properly, it does not mean that the image crisis is over, and it may take a long time for enterprises to completely restore and rebuild a good public image.

Public relations concept-pay attention to the content and degree of corporate image damage, carry out public relations activities to make up for image defects, open the door to the public in a targeted manner, welcome the public to visit and understand, tell the public about the new work progress and operating conditions of the enterprise, and conquer the public again with excellent product quality and first-class service. Only by re-establishing a good corporate image can crisis public relations be considered successful.

Strategy 6: Frankly expose the truth of the crisis.

For the emergence of brand crisis and the long-term development of enterprises, enterprises will ask why, and the public will ask why. The focus of both sides is why there are crises that affect each other. This is a sensitive issue, and enterprises often avoid talking about it. In fact, this idea is wrong. Instead of covering your ears, it is better to tell the truth, expose your privacy and reveal the sincerity of the company. After the crisis is eliminated, enterprises have the responsibility to be good at publicizing this issue through the news media, so they should be brave enough to admit it to the society; If others deliberately framed it, they should expose the truth through various means. The most important thing is to explain the development of the situation to the press at any time and clarify those unfounded "gossip" and gossip. The result of enterprise's integrity will not only be the deviation of consumers, but also let people who care about enterprise development eliminate their worries, rebuild their confidence in the enterprise and win more reputation.

Crisis case-When Coca-Cola handled the crisis in Belgium, it clearly admitted that the product quality accident was the result of the problem of workshop isolation materials and lax on-site management. After admitting the mistake, Coca-Cola still sells well in Europe.

Philosophy of public relations-"To err is human". The same is true for enterprises. We can't avoid the mistakes that heavy work may bring, but we dare to face our own mistakes, analyze the reasons, find the gaps and improve in time. This is the most basic business philosophy of enterprises.

Strategy 7: Pay attention to the main channel of information dissemination.

What are the most appropriate channels and ways to express the views of enterprises? For enterprises, it is an urgent task to make a crisis management plan after the crisis. Effective crisis management can prevent the further spread of the crisis or change the process of the crisis, and implement crisis management. Therefore, enterprises should first consider the following aspects when dealing with the crisis: check all problems or trends that may cause friction between the company and society; Identify specific issues that need to be considered; Estimate the potential problems of these problems to the survival and development of the company; Determine the company's attitude towards various issues; Decide on the course of action to be taken for some problems that need to be solved; Implement specific solutions and action plans; Continuously monitor the action results, get feedback information, and modify the specific plan as needed. Among them, the most important thing is to convey the efforts of enterprises. It seems that Wang Po's selling melons is the least convincing, and the biggest thing is probably the external objective statement, especially the news media reports. Their objective reports will influence many people's opinions. Enterprises should attach importance to this main channel of information dissemination and be good at public relations with journalists.

Crisis cases-For example, after several consumer crises in China, McDonald's can search all the information related to the crisis in the first time and choose a reliable and experienced spokesman to inform the public. For example, hold a press conference or press conference to introduce the truth of the matter and the remedial measures being taken to the public, and make good contact with the news media to make them report accurately in time, thus influencing the public, guiding public opinion, transforming incorrect and negative public reflection and public opinion into correct and positive public reflection and public opinion, letting the skeptics on the sidelines dispel their doubts and become loyal supporters of enterprises. When there are differences, contradictions, misunderstandings or even oppositions between enterprises and related parties, McDonald's can also listen carefully and consider each other's opinions through consultation and dialogue in line with the principle of being sincere to others and benefiting others first, so as to resolve grievances and eliminate barriers.

Public relations philosophy-in fact, many enterprises will make this mistake, especially when the media stand on the victim's side and have the opposite attitude, and only the enterprises themselves will be hurt in the end. If conditions are ripe, you can invite consumer representatives to visit the enterprise, especially those loyal and old customers of the enterprise, let the enterprise speak for itself and influence the interpersonal communication scope beyond the control of the enterprise through their mouths.

In any case, the brand crisis means that some links have gone wrong, which is absolutely inevitable; Crisis public relations communication is only a rescue activity under this premise. The fundamental thing is whether the enterprise has a healthy and progressive business philosophy and measures, which is the key factor to determine the quality of communication. The essence of Wanyuan enterprise in He Sen should be "serving the people" and "people-oriented". At any time, enterprises should not forget that sincerity should run through the whole process of crisis public relations communication.

The internal environment and social environment faced by enterprise organizations are very complex, and it is inevitable that there will be one crisis or another in the development process. In recent years, more and more enterprises and organizations have realized the importance of crisis public relations, but the implementation of specific measures has repeatedly made mistakes, making crisis public relations unable to play its due role. Public relations practice tells us that honesty is the most important quality of crisis public relations.