Practice reputation management – don't be the next business casualty

United Airlines is having a really bad time. It may have thousands of well-intentioned, hardworking and dedicated employees. But its policies of overbooking and right-to-remove passengers, plus the actions of a few decisionmakers and some thug-like security officials resulted in dragging a paying customer off a flight, bloodying the customer and United's already iffy reputation for customer service. The passenger, a doctor, had refused to exit the flight, citing the need to see his patients.

United CEO Oscar Munuz compounded the public's fury by apologizing for “for having to re-accommodate these customers" and then, in an email to employees, calling the passenger "disruptive and belligerent" and commending his staff for going "above and beyond." The word "re-accommodate" was a particularly egregious bit of insensitivity, if social media response is any measure.

Meanwhile, video of the doctor being dragged forcibly from the plane while other passengers protested loudly went viral globally, as did every word United officials have uttered or written about the incident. United stock fell sharply at one point during the day following the dragging event. Predictably, the damage to United Airlines' reputation will be harder to recover than the lost dollars.

United is far from alone.

A prepackaged salad company recently sold more than expected when customers discovered a decomposing bat in the salad greens.

Fox News has lost more than half of its advertising sponsorships for its Bill O'Reilly show in one week because of sexual harassment complaints against host O'Reilly.

The lessons business owners and management can learn are priceless:

-Train your staff to behave in a manner that will not incite customer fury. That's the low bar, of course. Train your staff to respect and, whenever possible, please customers. Some would say "delight customers."

-Establish employment policies to assure employee and public safety; to help avoid employee complaints about discrimination, sexual harassment and more; and to assure product quality.

-Also establish training and procedures to avoid inadvertent errors, failures and accidents that can destroy your reputation – health aides making medication errors, failing to meet deadlines on an important assignment, and more.

-In the instance that something bad does happen, immediately get on the job of crisis management.

-Depending on the severity of the situation, you may need to immediately consult with an attorney, your public relations experts… and your conscience.

-Determine where the news has spread. Ideally, in reputation management, your response puts out fires rather than creating new ones. In other words, if an entire group is not likely to hear of an incident, you should carefully think before sharing the news with them.

-Be more considerate than defensive, within the bounds of what your attorney advises. In other words, expressing an apology is valuable. People are more likely to forgive you if you are genuinely contrite about any harm you've done. If your legal counsel says you risk creating liability, you will have to work together to achieve a satisfactory solution.

-The buck stops with you. Even if an employee is totally, despicably responsible for whatever happened, you are the boss and everyone is looking to you for a response. Sorry.

-Reputations are difficult to mend, but it can be done. We've worked with companies that have struggled through everything from major product recalls to painful bankruptcies to mass layoffs, and many have recovered their good reputations in time.

-Finally, don't be a jerk. A jerk in business is as readily disliked as a jerk anywhere else. Decency can prevail.

The lessons huge corporations have learned – or should have learned – can benefit you. While your sphere of influence may be smaller than United Airlines' or Fox's, it's no less important in terms of the success or failure of your enterprise.

The nimble product launch

Make a plan and work the plan. We've all heard that guidance. Turns out that for today's product launches, what used to be smart is not so wise anymore, or at least not so simple.

Try instead: Learn from experience. Keep your eyes and mind open. Chart a course, then adjust as needed.


Today's best launches are conducted not by know-it-alls, but by savvy marketing advisors who have the wisdom to sail when and where the winds are fair, nudging the wheel where advantageous.

First may be the pre-launch phase in which the team builds a business case for the new product or service. Research, planning, validating that the product accomplishes the necessary goals, and making plans for sales and marketing all happen now.

Next, the soft launch: It's time to take the first steps. The team creates media relations/social media plans and starter materials, ads may be developed, a website readied and perhaps launched quietly, and sales force training and education conducted. The team agrees on how and when success will be measured, and on ways to chart the course once the launch becomes public.

And the main launch begins! Often, public relations leads the way, potentially with publicity, events, speakers, media relations, and more. The website must be up and running to serve as proof of concept and a point of reference. Support materials are available for the sales team. Advertising follows.

And it continues... Smart marketers continue the launch longer than they might emotionally feel is necessary. Remember, the fact that your team has been working on this launch for months or a year does not mean the public has been overexposed. The news is still news to them. Don't make the mistake of getting bored. Keep delivering.

And about nimble? Listen and learn from the response to your public relations, sales efforts and other outreach. Maybe there is an exciting product highlight you have underplayed. Perhaps there are objections you need to counter. Perhaps there are elements of the product that need to change. (Calling Phase 2!)

Through our vSALaunch service, our team has learned that a measured, smart, flexible approach to launch is a strong predictor for success. While we speak about your product or service, we continue to listen and watch for opportunities as well, whether for additional market segments, features that catch on more than anyone expected... and next-phase opportunities to stay steps ahead of the pack of competitors watching your every move.

"American Public Rejects Global Warming." (Serious PR required)

"No, Mabel, I still don't believe there's a tornado out there."

Naturally, when I mutter "PEOPLE!!" and shake my head in disbelief, I don't mean you. You're really savvy.

But who ARE these people - the one in three Americans who do not believe there is solid evidence of global warming and the full half of us who don't believe pollution is causing the earth to warm? (All this from a 2008 Pew Research Council survey). And perhaps worse yet, what about the fact that only 41% of Republicans believe the earth is warming now - but 56% of Republicans know that most scientists think it is? (Gallup.)

Clearly, the scientists must be wrong.

Clearly, there must be reasons so many Americans don't believe it, don't care and (apparently) don't care to listen to scientists.

I got my son's Columbia University alumni magazine, (current issue not yet online, sorry) and to save the earth I kept it rather than mailing it to him. In the latest issue, the article The Deep Sleep sheds some light (heat?) on this subject. Columbia, kindly enough, has established a Center for Research on Environmental Decisions (CRED). Some of CRED researchers' and analysts' findings, briefly paraphrased below, indicate that we need to create much better public relations outreach on why Americans should act now to slow global warming... and why we don't.

• We think it will be a problem for poorer countries, not so much the U.S.

•We have 52 senators from coal mining states blocking better federal policies - but coal, no matter how we position it, ISN'T clean.

•Some Americans' values preclude dealing with global warming: I know it's hard to fathom, but white, male, religious, conservative radio talk show listeners (yup) often don't believe in global warming.

•Global warming is just... too vague. We haven't seen the most catastrophic effects yet, so we focus on more immediate problems.

CRED researchers contend that people's responses to global warming information can change based on small differences in the way the information is presented. For example:

•Doomsday scenarios, while terrifying, tend to turn people off and away. Better to focus on solutions.

•When proposing a solution, describe its benefits before its costs (Marketing 101, of course).

•Explain specifically how our planet has been damaged and what needs fixing. Forget all the nature talk - we place higher value on what we've lost than what we still have.

•Look at people's values and address them. For example, the Christian right? Remind them of their duty to help their neighbor - including that poor soul living at sea level in the developing world.

•Tell people specifically how they can help. Which color Prius is best??

An Inconvenient Truth was a good start. But global warming is still very inconvenient, and we should make sure urgency outranks ennui in the American public.

Don't slash that marketing budget just yet.

[caption id="attachment_225" align="alignleft" width="114" caption="No, you aren't throwing it to the wind - really!"]

Of course the economy is shaky now, that's pretty obvious. But let's say you're a marketing VP and your manager awaits your 2009 marketing budget. Or you own your company and need to decide...

What to do?

Impassioned self-interest aside, I'm going to suggest you continue to manage a solid marketing program. But how can you justify it to your boss... or yourself?

The big picture:

-The US government is pouring its heart and soul (and its apparently endless "spare" cash for which we'll pay later) into an economic recovery plan so unprecedentedly massive that chances are good it will have a positive impact during 2009. (Okay, chances are maybe 55-45, but anyway...)

-Even though McCain has now assured us that he will win, there's a very big chance that he won't. And that is good news for the economy even in the short term. Barack Obama is a rock star. He'll start his term with a groundswell of excitement among the public, both here and abroad, and that will support optimism and some economic improvements - even now, many Americans are optimistic that the economy will improve. Consumer confidence matters a lot.

-Marketers have better tools than they did in the past. As a prime example, detailed return-on-investment analytics mean that marketers understand (and can defend!) how specific marketing investments are panning out and no longer feel a pressing need to scale back for the sake of short-term savings.

-A recession does not mean that business stops in its tracks. In fact, some sectors continue to do well. Selling to the military? Selling products to kids (believe it or not, that's one of the last places some families cut); health care products; anything that makes business, the home, or life itself more efficient; or anything that demonstrably saves money - you have an opportunity to shine right now. Oh, yes, and therapists apparently do very well in these times, but that's just a side note!

-Not in such a great sector? Still, business, even if slower, goes on. Your smart marketing helps improve your market share while competitors are pulling back and missing opportunities.

-Pulling back and losing business is a vicious cycle. Cutting your marketing is a good way to start a downward journey.

-In all this, it pays to be smart. Being consultative, showing you have your prospect's interests at heart, showing how your product or service solves a problem... now is not the time for vapid or unfocused marketing - as if there ever is such a time!

The little picture:

-Okay, if you have to cut a little bit from the budget, even after all I've tried to tell you, so be it, Jedi. Please make sure the dollars you do spend work especially hard - public relations, the Web, interactive communications, newsletters, and targeted outreach to very specific prospect groups should always be part of your plan.

It promises to be an interesting year. Your thoughts?