Can public relations solve the world’s problems? Of course not. But can it solve all the problems for your business that appear out of the blue in the middle of the night and leave you pacing the floor? Definitely! Even the toughest cases can be fixed with a little savvy and wit. These include:
1. Freudian Slips
Your highly rated politician client is enjoying the love of the public and the comfort of a sure win come election day. Then one day he decides to foam at the mouth and manages to offend half his voters. Comfortable lead no longer exists.
Even worse, your opponent takes the gaffe and runs with it! They use it on every commercial, every print and Internet ad, during every speech. Before it gets out of control, get your foul-mouthed pundit out in public view to start making apologies and kissing babies! Then, have him publicly mingle with whichever group he offended to show what a great guy he is.
2. Product Failures
The big release day is here, so you turn on the news to see if there’s anything about your company’s new cat toy line. Unfortunately, what you see on the news is the new toys are making kitties everywhere really sick!
There’s no time to waste. If customers are experiencing a serious problem with your product, any delay in response can be dangerous. Get the word out you’re fixing the problem as quickly as you can. If need be, as in accidentally poisoning kitties, immediately recall everything and set up a call line to keep customers informed of updates.
3. Internal Rumblings
Times are tough, and your employees are naturally worried about layoffs. Once that rumor starts bouncing around the company walls, it could quickly lead to insubordination and employees bailing. If you pick up even the slightest of rumors your employees believe the company is having problems, hold an intervention to stave off any unforeseen problems it could cause! Reassure everyone their jobs are safe, and if there ARE problems within the company, be perfectly frank about them.
4. False Information
What a nightmare! Once in a while, something gets out in the press, be it a rumor or misunderstood info, that can totally derail your campaign. I honestly think this is one of the worst issues you can face as you probably had absolutely nothing to do with it! There’s no other option, though, other than to not only assure your customers the information is false but to also publicly show why the rumor is just that, a vicious rumor.
5. Property Damage
When a fire tears through your small warehouse, ruining quite a bit of your product, people are worried their orders won’t get filled. Even worse, the future of your company is in jeopardy.
Of course, you’re not going to let a little fire ruin your life long dream, so you need to let everyone know that business is running as usual. Assure customers that there might be a delay in their order, but you firmly intend on honoring every order. Even though the fire wasn’t your fault, offer a coupon for their next order due to the delayed delivery.
Are you aware of additional problems that have been solved by PR?
This article is written by Mickie Kennedy, founder of eReleases (https://www.ereleases.com), the online leader in affordable press release distribution. Grab your free 160-page copy of the Big Press Release Book – Press Releases for Every Occasion and Industry here: https://www.ereleases.com/free-offer/big-press-release-samples-book/
Mark
Legitimate & important, yes, but very commoditized, tactical and unstrategic.