When Bad Things Happen to Good Companies

Your neighbor mentions it and so do your kids, your employees and even your customers. The old adage, “all publicity is good publicity,” is wrong. There is in fact such a thing as bad press. A negative news story could affect your business, your employees, and even your ability to operate the business. Unfortunately, bad news happens even to the best companies.

However, there is no reason to feel helpless. As with other aspects of your business, reputation management takes time, thought, and planning. If you have one employee or a thousand, your company needs to have a process and procedure to work with the media.

Ideally your company should have a communications plan in place with a designated and experienced employee (or agency) to assist the company with media relations. Senior executives should receive media training and the outreach to media should be part of the overall strategic plan. While this may not be possible, there are some steps every company can take to improve its relationship with the press.

The relationships you build today with the media are the best defense your company has in the event of negative news. If working with the media is not part of your current marketing plan, you are missing one of the most economical methods of getting information about your company and its products in front of key customers.

Make no mistake: the media has a job to do, and that is to report the news. Media opportunities abound. Managing the impact of negative news stories is possible, as long as you understand the realities of working with the media and the role the media plays in getting information to the public. Here are some PR tips to get you started:

• Don’t allow inaccurate information to remain uncorrected. If a mistake is made politely point out what was wrong and then substantiate it.

• Take the time to get to know your primary media contacts. At the very least you should know the business reporter of your hometown paper; the national trade publication covering your industry; and your local business journals.

• Control the message. Appoint one person to be the press contact person and to develop a working relationship with the media.

• Prepare in advance for all scheduled press interviews. Have your facts available, but remember that your credibility and reputation depend on your honesty and accuracy.

• Understand the media conducting the interview. Newspapers allow for a more in-depth discussion, but a television story may only need you for a short sound-bite.

• Break the bad news yourself. Bad news travels fast. Assess your situation and know when to make it public.

• Don’t say “no comment.” You do not have to answer every question, but explain why you cannot answer the question.

• Don’t answer inappropriate questions. There are times because of litigation, or questions regarding an employee, when it would not be appropriate to supply information.

• Do not speak off the record. Don’t say anything you would not want to read in the paper the next day.

This article was featured in the Pocono Business Journal. For more on the Pocono Business Journal, visit their website.