Yay for level heads!
When the ***t hits the fan:·
Keep Calm: Whether the claims and accusations are factual or not, you must keep a consistent level of calm. It's integral that critical moments are handled by a calm voice/tone 100% of the time in order to de-escalate all parties involved.·
Own it! If your actions have landed you in reputational hot water, own up to it. Own your mistakes rather than hiding them. Faced the music, apologise, make reparations and sow genuine contriteness for your slip-up.·
Show empathy: Add some feeling into your response and make it genuinely human. Saying “you’ll investigate it” doesn’t make anyone feel better. Saying you "deeply regret what happened and will work on making things better" is a stronger, kinder response. Then, immediately you have a plan, share what action you'll be taking to ensure it doesn’t happen again.·
Be Direct: Address the issue clearly and address it once. There is no room for negative emotion when handling a reputational or brand crisis. Empathy can go a long way in mitigating a crisis before it happens, but once it's become a large enough issue, leave emotion out of it entirely and stick with the facts.
Finally, reach out privately to the victim/s and wounded parties in the crisis and seek reconciliation. This can be very powerful in de-escalating situations and also acts to keep the negativity out of the public eye and media – which can impact on your brand in the long run.
Think on it.
