When scandals, bad news, and controversies hit, what is the first thought in your mind? You’d want to melt into the ground and just forget about the world, right? But good businesses, the ones that survive a scandal, will keep moving forward and will handle their Lakeland public relations nightmare professionally and expertly.
Emphasize your business’ positive track record
This would only work if your business has a proven positive track record. You need to remind the public that the problem is a one-off issue and that it is not part of your company’s tradition to make mistakes like these.
In Lakeland public relations, it is important to put the situation in context and remind the public that this never happened to your business before and you will do everything for it never to happen again in the future.
Leaders must take responsibility
You cannot spin a scandal, even with the best Lakeland public relations. The key components to a sound communication strategy and crisis plan in your Lakeland public relations are honesty and accountability. People are looking for someone to explain to them how the crisis happened and how it will be handled differently from now on.
You need to issue regular statements either at press conferences or in a written form to address the scandal that is rocking your company. People want answers and you have to give it to them and use an emphatic face that they could connect with.
Talk to your customers
You cannot assume that just because you haven’t addressed the issue, your customers won’t pounce on it like vultures. The opposite will happen. The more you try to neglect to address the issue, the more people will jump to their own conclusions.
By the time you decide that you should talk to them, they would have already formulated their own theories about what happened. Your customers deserve to know the truth from you.
Avoid vague and impersonal responses
If there is an issue about your company, you need to address that specific issue in your Lakeland public relations and create a response tailor-fit to explain to the viewers what the issue is all about and how the company is dealing with it. You cannot be vague with your answers and expect your customers to just believe what you said, hook, line, and sinker.
Your audience would presume the worst about your company since your response is bordering on the defensive and you failed to address the issue on hand. Whatever the issue is, respond to it by addressing the key points and personalizing your response.
