Jul 01 2009
Why you should strengthen your reputation now – before a crisis happens
Let’s face it, sometimes bad news happens. Despite all your safety investments, there’s a deadly plant accident. Though you’ve worked hard to generate new business and cut nonessential costs, the weak economy forces you to lay-off employees. And, sometimes, someone sues you just because they can.
Even before the TV crews show up outside, you know you’re probably in for a rough time. However, if your company or organization is one of those quiet, under-the-radar companies that has eschewed publicity, that rough time is likely to extend far beyond the duration of the actual crisis.
Your organization’s reputation is based on what people perceive about your organization, based on what they see in the news media, what they hear from their friends and neighbors, and the results they get when they search Google for you. If there hasn’t been anything – good or bad – about your company until the crisis occurs, then whatever messages are sent during the crisis become your reputation. And that may include negative messages you send unintentionally by being too reticent to comment, too slow to take action or too unwilling to address community concerns.
Smart organizations communicate when times are good and there’s not a crisis brewing. It’s not bragging. These companies are investing in consistent communication that strengthens an organization’s reputational immune system. Smart organizations never stop communicating to key audiences, including the news media, their employees and leaders in their communities. They’re constantly communicating their character and as a result, these companies are in a better position when a crisis hits because they have more goodwill to fall back on. It also helps, by the way, to keep Google’s search results from being dominated by the latest, most negative news.
Steady, ongoing communications doesn’t make you immune to a reputation-threatening crisis, but it at least mitigates the impact of that crisis. If your company isn’t doing this kind of routine outreach and communications now, you’ll probably regret it when the next crisis hits.
