Coping with bad publicity
Tuesday 02 February 2010 by Alastair Moyes
The ongoing debate about complaints and dissatisfied clients raises the issue of bad publicity and how to deal with it. Given that there are a number of websites that collect complaints and achieve Google rankings, is there anything a firm can do?
From the point of view of marketing management and websites, the answer is: not much. Trying to get the offending material removed will cost money and often amounts to a pyrrhic victory – if it can be achieved at all.
Taken in a wider context, the internet is only providing a convenient place for people’s grievances to be aired. Those people who are dissatisfied, whether they voice their feelings online or not, will tell others anyway and there’s no way to stop word of mouth. Or is there? Isn’t that what PR is for?
While considering the implications of complaint websites and the wider PR issue of how to deal with bad news affecting a firm, I called a friend who is a public relations specialist in brand protection and media, Rob Shimmin.
Several ideas emerged from our discussion. If your firm is suddenly the focus of high-profile media attention, get professional help immediately. Crisis PR, like legal work, is worth every penny if you get help early.
In a less pressing situation that nevertheless demands a response, think through what your firm actually stands for, the benefits of the services it provides and (where possible) two or three examples of satisfied clients. Work towards having more positive messages about your firm than negative ones.
Also bear in mind that information also needs to be disseminated within the firm when such issues arise. It’s worth providing an internal memo that informs everyone of the position and the firm’s response. That way everyone knows what to say if they’re asked.
If you find your firm listed on a complaints website, it’s only a disaster if that’s the only message out there about your firm.
Comments
Get Great Publicity On Google For Free
Get some great publicity by getting everyone
you do work for to review you on Google Local.
That way you'll get into the magnificent 7 of
the Google Local search results.
And of course testimonials
(hundreds of them) always help.
Video testimonials, audio, letters, Lexcel,
email testimonials, client lists, case studies,
information showing your expertise, years established,
framed qualifications on the wall, insurance certificates,
articles from magazines, newspapers, recordings of speeches
and talks...
You should be looking to have a preponderance of proof
from independent sources proving you are great.
Be positive
Boyd is absolutely right. The only answer is to remain positive. Let's face it, any service business, and solicitors are no exception, will have unhappy clients from time to time. Whether or not the firms service was actually poor or not is irrelevant -- for our prospective clients perception is reality. There are however a number of positive steps you can take :
• maximize client care - really work on your client care to get it world class to reduce the number of unhappy clients in the 1st place
• give premium attention to complaining clients - it's amazing how with a little care, many of those complaining clients can be converted into apostles willing to tell their friends and colleagues have good you are
• maximize your marketing, both on and off-line, to dilute any negative message
Managing the firm's communications
To minimize the impact of bad publicity on the firm why not consider implemeting the following practices:
1. Agree strategy for communications – order of message delivery, medium, tone, accuracy.
2. Avoid – spreading panic, mixed messages, false information, assumptions, prevent rumours spreading.
3. Establish up front who is authorised to issue company/department communications.
4. Who will supply the information for general release?
5. Try and provide basic information rather than withhold all information.
6. Try and prevent conflicting information from being released but where it has, be open and commit to obtain an accurate picture as soon as practicable. Maintain trust.
7. Stick to the pre approved decision making hierarchy.
8. Try and instil calm in your messaging, not panic!
9. As part of your communications strategy – identify various means of communication to cover all eventualities ie power outage
Consider issuing a holding statement (not the same as a media statement).
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