When a company conducts a recall, its entire reputation is called into question. How can they be trusted again if they put people’s health in harm’s way? For companies reeling from this predicament, here are some tips and tricks for how to improve PR after a recall.
Take Responsibility
When a company conducts a recall, they are opening themselves to criticism both for the defectiveness of their product and the quality of their response. A successful PR response takes both factors into consideration. The public wants to know that you are taking the problem seriously.
It is necessary to offer an unequivocal acknowledgment of the mistake, an apology for the harm it caused, and plans to move forward. People are more willing to trust messages when they are delivered in a concise, candid manner. A PR team can help draft statements for traditional and social media channels, which will hopefully get your message across in a way that communicates your commitment to improvements.
Be Cooperative
There will be several groups interested in your recall. The FDA will get involved, as will the media. If you want to weather the PR storm of a product recall, make sure you cooperate with everyone to the best of your ability. If you want to know the secret of how to improve PR after a recall, just know that your primary objective is to answer every question with as much candor as possible. If you lie to the media or the government, it could very well haunt you in the end.
Be Prepared
In a perfect world, your company would be able to avoid recalls altogether. But since it is impossible to eliminate all human error, the best we can do is prepare for this kind of predicament. Proactive companies develop their own recall processing team that is ready to jump into action whenever a recall occurs.
This team should have its own website, phone line, and dedicated personnel. Using this team, you can ensure that customers involved in the recall get immediate service. They will appreciate that level of customer service even if it takes place under less-than-ideal circumstances.
The Edge Staff
