Summary

The article outlines four types of PR disasters that can severely damage a company's reputation: social media outbursts, data breaches, advertising errors, and dishonesty.

Abstract

The article emphasizes the importance of reputation management in the face of PR disasters, which can be caused by various factors including inappropriate social media use, as seen in the case of Chase Bank's insensitive tweet. It highlights the critical nature of data security, referencing the severe consequences of customer data compromises. The piece also discusses the pitfalls of advertising, particularly when campaigns are not well-received by the public, as was the case with H&M's advertising error. Lastly, it stresses the necessity of honesty in business practices, as dishonesty can lead to a loss of trust and customer alienation. The article serves as a cautionary guide to help businesses avoid these common PR pitfalls.

Opinions

Social media can be a double-edged sword for businesses, requiring careful consideration before posting to avoid controversy.
Companies must prioritize robust data security measures to protect customer information and maintain trust.
Advertising campaigns should be thoroughly vetted to ensure they are culturally sensitive and resonate positively with the target audience.
Honesty is paramount in all business dealings; dishonesty can irreparably damage a company's reputation and customer relationships.
Preventative measures and a deep understanding of the audience are key to avoiding PR disasters.
The article suggests that companies should invest in audience research and feedback to inform their marketing and communication strategies.
It is implied that recovering from a PR disaster can be a lengthy and challenging process, reinforcing the importance of proactive reputation management.

Four PR Disasters That Can Ruin Your Reputation

You’ll find few things as stressful as managing a PR disaster. When something happens, and the reputation of your business is questioned, then there’s so much to do.

You’re working overtime to control the damage and trying to figure out how to get out of this situation and back to where you once were.

Sometimes, it can take months or years before your reputation is restored.

In other cases, it can’t be done, and you’re living with this weight on your shoulders forever.

Warren Buffet knew what he was talking about when he said…

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.

Four PR Disasters to Avoid

Today’s article is not about how to restore your reputation, but rather about the types of PR disasters that can ruin your brand and how to avoid them.

Social media outbursts

Social media is a brilliant marketing tool, but it can also be the cause of many PR disasters.

There have been instances where businesses take to social media to voice controversial opinions that land them in hot water.

Sometimes, this is done out of aggression as a response to trolls or abuse they’ve received.

Other times it can be the result of pure carelessness or a lack of understanding of the power of social media and how it can affect your brand.

The best example of this is a tweet from Chase Bank just a few days ago, which has since been deleted, but you can see it in the tweet below.

They thought they were giving out good advice, but people pointed out how ridiculous and demeaning it was to the general population, and they received so much backlash.

As a company that’s already got a pretty dodgy reputation, this will damage things even more.

So, learn from them and think twice before you post anything on social media. If there’s the slightest chance it’s controversial or offensive, then don’t put it up!

Anything relating to a compromise of customer data

I would say this is every business’s worst nightmare.

If the data of your customers has been compromised, this means someone has got access to it.

They might leak the data online, or they’ll most likely use it for personal gain.

Think about everything you’ve got stored about your customers; payment info, addresses, names, etc.

If you don’t have a good enough end-to-end identity verification service in place, then it’s all too easy for someone to break into a customer’s account, steal their information, and go on a spending spree.

Similarly, if your security isn’t up to scratch, then your entire system can be compromised, leading to thousands of customers’ data being compromised.

This is a huge PR disaster as your business now takes the blame for all of this.

You were responsible for keeping their data safe and you failed.

Customers will leave in droves, and people will never trust your company again.

Why would someone decide to come to you if they’re worried their data could be compromised in the future?

It takes a lot to repair the damage from this, which is why prevention is key.

Keep everything as secure as can be to prevent all manner of data breaches.

Advertising errors

So many companies have spent a lot of time creating ads for their products, only for things to turn into a bit of a PR disaster.

Fashion brand H&M is a good example of this with one of their products from last year being advertised in a way that was seen as casual racism.

These types of things happen all the time because companies are not paying attention.

When you invest so much money in advertising your products and services to make sure they reach as many people as possible, you have to be aware that you will have some negative feedback too.

However, you can avoid landing in PR hot water if you invest time and money in listening to your audience, to your customer before creating and launching a campaign, before typing that tweet that seems cute to you, and so on. Hear them how they talk, what they talk about, what they care about and what matters for them.

It will save you tons of headaches, written apologies and you’ll avoid any PR disaster.

The H&M example is nowhere near as bad as some other ones out there.

Typically, the biggest advertising faux pas comes when a company tries to be funny but just totally misses the mark.

Dishonesty

A short and sweet one to end things; dishonesty will land you in PR hot water.

If your company is ever caught lying about something, then you’ll face a lot of backlash from all corners.

It presents you as untrustworthy and sneaky, which puts off customers forever.

Always be honest when marketing products, selling them, and so on. Don’t lie about anything as there’s always a chance you’ll get found out.

When you know what can damage your business reputation, you can work on preventing these things from happening.

Originally published on Corina Manea’s blog.