We see it all the time in the news – bad news stories about people, places, or businesses and their unpopular actions. These stories can stay in the memory for a long time – and in Google searches for even longer.
The dastardly gerbil – creator of bad PR for the humble rat.
Some examples that spring to mind include:
A primary school where a pupil came back from lunch with a bag of heroin that she had taken from her mother.
A hotel that took a £100 surcharge from a customer if they gave it a bad review on Trip Advisor.
And you can take your pick from the various MPs whose careers have been abruptly ended because of undercover filming that reveals their sudden interest in a subject – when additional cash was offered.
But spare a thought for the humble rat. New research has revealed that the bubonic plague, long attributed to ‘dirty rats’ was in fact not carried by fleas on rats after all. It was in fact the dastardly gerbil. Perhaps if the true facts had been revealed all those centuries ago, our language would have evolved differently and we would refer to actors from soap operas who cheated on their wives as ‘love gerbils.’ The reputation of the rat will never recover from the malicious misreporting that it has suffered since the outbreak of the Black Death in the mid-1300s.
So if you are ever the subject of negative reporting – either in the media or on review websites, what can you do to restore your reputation?
Here are my 5 suggestions on how to avoid the fate of the rat and suffer the consequences of long term negative opinions in people’s minds.
- As a matter of urgency, investigate the truth of the story. Who will know the answers within your company? Get them together as quickly as possible or speak to them on the phone. Make it clear that the truth will come out anyway so it might as well be now.
- Were you at fault, even partly? What is the fairest way to compensate to make the issue go away? The more you are to blame, the more generous you will need to be.
- Are you entirely blameless and have been slandered? Lay down the facts and, if possible, obtain independent proof. Lay down a public challenge to prove that you wrong. However, don’t do this unless you are 100% sure of your case. A double bluff is bound to backfire, and many politicians have waved goodbye to their jobs as a result of using this tactic to bluff their ‘innocence.’
- Build up a bank of good will. If for no other reason than your reputation in the community – but ideally just because you are a decent person / company – get involved in community organisations or charities that you or your staff believe in. Sponsoring a local cause that you think will do good helps the public perception of your business and can help to overcome negative coverage, whilst also helping to create a bank of good will to guard against any future bad PR.
- Don’t ignore it and hope it will go away. The longer you do nothing, the worse it gets. Remember the poor old innocent rat. It did nothing to disprove those false allegations and got blamed for thousands of deaths in Europe, when all along it was the dastardly gerbil. Apologise, explain or refute, but don’t ignore. Chances are it’s not going to go away of its own accord and the media prefer bad news to good news every time.
If you would like advice or support on how to handle PR issues to create the right image for your company, get in touch. Of if you’d just like to promote some good news about your company to help win new clients we’ll be happy to help. Just call The Ideal Marketing Company on 01858 374 170.
