We’re Sorry We’ve Made A Big Mistake

"Handling Crises Is Not Easy!!"

At some point in your Startup journey, you’re going to make a mistake in the eyes of your customers. There was a serious problem with a product you manufactured. What kind of crises am I talking about? Here are a few that you might remember. A Rogue driver on Taxify platform allegedly tries to kidnap a passenger; Chocolate Royal Shutdown over use of expired foods; Fanta contains dangerous levels of Benzoic Acid, etc. Over the last few days we’ve seen a more high profile case; Facebook’s implication in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. It is unlikely that your response will be as high profile but there is a lot to learn from Facebook about What to Do and What Not To Do. 1. Don’t Wait So Long To Respond Facebook took four or five Days to respond when crisis hit. That is unacceptable. Yes they issued a statement, but no one cares about those.The company is seen to be silent until the very moment that leadership shows up. When you find yourself needing to get infront of a problem, make sure you do it quickly! Yes take moments to understand what happened, and to prepare a coherent and truthful statement then immediately reach out to the affected public. 2. Come out Right Away and Apologize If you watched Mark Zuckerberg’s hearings on TV you will remember that one of the very first things he said was “I’m Sorry”. In fact it is probably the only thing the general public remembers from that hearing and it matters. People want to know that you are sorry and that you understand the inconvenience you put them through. Get in front! Apologize and apologize quickly. 3. Leadership Needs To Be Public It’s tempting to send out your communications officer or any other deputy when something has gone wrong, but this one is real simple. Leadership must show up. In fact, many people are not pleased that only Mark Zuckerberg showed up, where is Sheryl Sandberg many are asking. She might even be the more responsible party. 4. Let Your Customer Know About Ongoing Investigations It’s okay for you not to have all the answers! What people want to know is that there is a plan in motion to get to the answers. If timelines are available provide them too. 5. Let your customers know what your plans for the future are Now how do you move beyond the crisis? Your customers will want to know what your plans are to make sure this never happens again. Tell them. Provide as much detail as you possibly can about the steps you are taking for the future. Handling crises is not easy. They say there are only two types of companies in the world; those who have been through crises and those that haven’t been around long enough. Prepare for it. Even better, have a culture and value system that already dictates how you want to navigate a bad PR situation, with honesty and integrity.

Wonuola Okoye

Principal Coach

Big Startup