During a crisis, many startups tend to lose their brand identity or credibility because they lack the capacity to handle such difficult situations.
Your response to the crisis might just worsen it. Thereby crumbling the brand identify and goodwill the startup has with its public. No matter how complicated a crisis maybe, it is important to find an agreeable solution in order to prevent it from escalating.
With that in mind, here are some strategies that can help keep a brand intact, even during a crisis.
1. Think like a consumer
If you were in your customers’ shoes, what would you want to hear? Focus on solving their problems and addressing their fears, rather than just focusing on your interests. The customer should always come first.
2. Apologize
When it makes sense, a sincere apology will humanize your company while delivering confidence at a time when it’s needed most.
3. Exceed expectations through full transparency
One of the best things you can do to maintain your relationship with customers is to fully disclose the root causes of the issue and the steps you are taking to address it. Customers want the companies they do business with to make things right. Even when it seems nothing will help, the effort will be appreciated.
3. Address the issue with empathy
A company does something wrong, and skirts around the issue. Whether you’re a big business or a small one, your public wants an explanation, and acknowledgment of the toll your actions have had on your customers is important. Everyone makes mistakes. It’s all in how you correct it.
4. Keep promises and be honest
Whatever you’ve promised your customers, deliver it, and deliver it well. It’s as simple as that. It’s better to under promise and over-deliver than the opposite. Don’t promise more than you can provide, and never lie through omission; it will be found out in the end.
5. Have a plan
If you don’t already have a crisis plan, now’s the time to get one. And while the hope is that you’ll never need it, preparation is key. Also consider obtaining a third-party perspective as someone from the outside will be a calming force in a stream of chaos.
6. Take to the social channels
It’s important to have a crisis communication plan in place before you begin to tweet and blog, but the most important thing to remember is silence can be your worst enemy. Don’t let your customers wonder what’s happening. That will only upset them further. Remember, your customers are living in a world of instant information. The more prepared you are, the better.
