3 PR disasters you need to avoid

Public relations (PR) is a discipline that involves managing the image or reputation of a company or individual. The goal is to create positive publicity for a brand or person. As a business owner, awareness of the potential pitfalls of public relations disasters is essential in keeping your company’s image pristine.

What is a PR disaster?

It can be any situation where your company or brand suffers from negative publicity. It can range from a team member posting inappropriate photos on social media to a major news story about your product or service.

The following are three public relations disasters that you should avoid at all costs:

1. When unsatisfied customers complain publicly

If you’re not careful, dissatisfied customers can turn into disgruntled ones. They might even start complaining publicly about their experience with your company online. Therefore, responding quickly to these complaints is crucial, so they don’t spread like wildfire.

Meanwhile, ensuring your service or product meets customer expectations should be the first item on your list of priorities. One way is by improving your management and other departmental processes, such as estimating, production, quality control, etc.

Management tools like the ones offered by Jobber can help you track and manage your projects more effectively. They can do this in a number of ways such as giving real-time updates on project status’, resource availability, and estimated completion dates. You can even delegate tasks to team members, set due dates, and communicate directly with clients via email and chat. With these tools, you can ensure your customers receive the right level of service and support.

For businesses that operate in the field service industry such as roofing, cleaning or plumbing, customers are likely to ask for estimates before they agree to an order of work. The ability to produce accurate estimates quickly is something of an art so as not to lose out on new business. Tools such as this roofing estimate template can help you save time and money, ensuring you provide accurate information from the get go to prospective customers.

2. When employees post offensive content online

This situation shows how taking ownership of mistakes can pay off big time. Employees can sometimes make poor decisions when they’re under stress. So, if you find a staff member posting inappropriate comments online, approach them directly to find out what is going on.

To prevent this kind of PR crisis from happening again, you must personally address the issue with the affected party. First, talk to them privately. Try to understand their situation or think process. If necessary, give them a formal warning. However, if the behavior continues to the detriment of the business, you can terminate their employment.

It doesn’t have to end that way, though. Once you’ve addressed the problem, you can also use your social channels to inform the public about the measures you’ve taken to ensure these situations don’t happen again. For instance, you can create a press release about the incident and include a link to your company’s website. By doing so, you can show that you care enough about your reputation to take steps to improve it.

3. When your company gets sued

Lawsuits are a grave matter. Not only do they tarnish your company’s image, but they can also cost you thousands of dollars in legal fees or settlements. Furthermore, you must follow the rules and regulations to avoid being on the wrong end of any legal action.

First, you must keep a corporate lawyer on retainer, screening only those specializing in business law. This legal professional can advise you on what actions you need to take to insulate yourself and your business against potential lawsuits.

Second, you also need to keep all your documents related to the case safe. These should include contracts, invoices, emails, and anything else that might prove helpful later. Keeping them safe lowers the chances of outside parties accessing private business, customer, or supplier information or any information that might incriminate you.

Finally, you need to stay calm during the entire process. It’s easy to panic when you realize another business is trying to sue you. But if you remain composed, you’ll be able to develop a legal response that proves your innocence.

What effect do these PR disasters have?

When you experience one of these PR disasters, it can damage your brand. Therefore, whenever you encounter a PR disaster, you need to learn from it so you don’t repeat the same mistake. After all, you wouldn’t want to lose more than just your reputation.

How to prevent PR disasters

The first step in preventing these disasters is to ensure a quality product or service. After that, however, some matters will be out of your control. But as the saying goes, prevention is better than cure, and you can take the following measures to prevent these disasters:

• Don’t ignore bad reviews: Most people assume that negative feedback happens after a product or service launch, but this isn’t necessarily true. Many consumers leave negative reviews before even using a product or service. As such, it makes sense to monitor customer complaints. You can assign your social media or customer support team to monitor your social media profiles or website. Doing so will allow you to reach out to these customers and identify problems early on.

• Make sure you respond quickly: If a consumer complains about your business, you must respond immediately. Reach out through email or chat to understand their experience with your product or service. The more you delay the response, the worse it will get for you.

• Keep your promises: One way to ensure customer trust is to keep your word. For example, if you say you’ll provide a specific feature or service, ensure you deliver it.

• Be honest: Honesty goes a long way. It’s not hard to accept that everyone makes mistakes from time to time. And fortunately, most customers will understand and appreciate your honesty over these mistakes rather than doubling down on your lapses.

• Focus on quality: Quality is everything. Building a solid customer relationship requires you to focus on providing high-quality services and products. Remember, you will have a loyal customer base when you deliver a quality product or service.

• Provide value: People like to receive value for their money. As such, if you want to earn customer loyalty, you must offer them something they need at the right price.

Final thoughts

While some companies manage to escape public relations disasters, others aren’t so lucky. When you experience one of these disasters, you must learn how to prevent it from happening again. The best way to avoid these disasters is to pay attention to the above tips to prevent them from happening again.