“That will never happen.”

It’s human nature to avoid thinking about anything negative happening down the road.  While there is a myriad of bad things that can happen on any given day, it’s unproductive and even unhealthy to dwell too much on the “what ifs” of life.

But when it comes to a company’s reputation, preparing for the seemingly unthinkable is vital to maintaining good relationships with all the constituents an organization values.

Toyota’s situation is an excellent example of this, as my colleague Tracey explained in her recent blog post about the company’s current woes.  I imagine that Toyota, with its heretofore stellar reputation for quality products and outstanding customer service, considered the extent of their cars’ technical problems a “never event.”

Similarly, pharmaceutical company sanofi-aventis likely didn’t count on the fury of a very vocal woman who used Facebook to vent about hair loss she alleged was caused by the company’s chemotherapy drug Taxotere.

We counsel clients to contemplate “never events” – whether it’s an accident, a faulty product, a security breach or an errant employee – and be prepared to respond to all the various audiences who may be affected by (or at least interested in) the incident.

When crisis strikes, unprepared companies scramble to assess the situation, track down contact information, craft thoughtful statements, assign an appropriate spokesperson and proceed with an agreed-upon plan of action.  All the while, the clock is ticking away – and the delay alone may irrevocably damage the company’s reputation in the eyes of the public, even before any remedies are implemented. Tiger Woods demonstrated what happens when you wait too long before addressing a crisis.

We advise developing a crisis communications plan that includes possible scenarios with action steps for each, a key party contact list (with office, home and mobile phone numbers), media list (which today must include social networking sites and bloggers), statement template, company backgrounders and fact sheets, among other items.  The company’s executive team should review the plan carefully so everyone is onboard and on point.  In some cases, we suggest conducting drills to test the efficacy of the plan.

When we speak with clients about crisis communications planning, they sometimes say they want to shelve such preparations until later and deal with current issues at hand. It’s true we can’t control our destinies, but there is much a company can do upfront to save precious time if and when a crisis hits. 

Why not be prepared?

I recently read a fascinating case of a product launch gone wrong. Or rather, more accurately, not gone at all. Here’s the story:

According to P&G, the new Dry Max diapers represent the most substantial product improvement for Pampers — the consumer packaged goods giant’s biggest global brand — in 25 years. Company executives thought Dry Max would be lauded as the iPod (or should I now say iPad?) of baby care due to its improved performance, thinner profile, and reduced environmental impact, among other attributes. Instead, the diapers got slammed by a group of critics who treated it more like the new Coke.

What happened?

Due to the complexities of roll-out logistics, the company put the new Dry Max diapers into the old diaper packaging in some markets over the summer without alerting customers to the change. This was two months before the Dry Max launch, which was slated to be P&G’s biggest marketing campaign EVER. Consumers in the early markets who felt blindsided by the change reacted strongly – complaining the new version felt stiff, papery and cheaper, and caused more leaks and rash – and they spread the negative word online to markets that had yet to receive the diapers. There were hundreds of posts on both pampersvillage.com and on diapers.com, among other places. As a communications exec and a mother-to-be, I have both a professional and a personal understanding of the sway online consumer opinion can have, especially when it comes to kids’ products. Parents trust other mothers and fathers and make buying decisions accordingly.

Some of the Dry Max critics were incredibly active. For example, one dad posted on 75 sites and wrote more than 50 posts on pampersvillage.com alone. Pampers proceeded to remove the reviews on its site as it switched to new ratings system. Predictably this caused a significant outcry, so they reinstated the posts and P&G is now addressing consumers who’ve complained on an individual basis.

A woman who started a “Bring Back the Old Cruisers” fan page on Facebook said, “We could move on and just buy the Target [Up & Up] diaper [which she said is now better]. But the principle is that they’ve slipped this inferior diaper into the existing packaging without notifying the consumer.” Several consumers who hadn’t even tried the diapers joined the Facebook page because they felt P&G was being deceptive by making the change without announcing it.

The communications and marketing lessons here all come down to a simple truth: It’s a new world. Evangelists can morph into detractors overnight if they’re not properly educated and nurtured. If you don’t actively engage in conversation, the consumer can and will take control and you might not be so happy with the outcome. We’ll never know how the marketplace would have responded to the innovation if P&G had actually educated consumers about the changes and their many benefits before slipping the new product into old packaging.

P&G believes the tone of the discussion will change when it turns on marketing support starting this month, and it very well may, but there’s no question that they’re starting with an unnecessary deficit. article