Crisis Communications Plan for a Mobile Phone Recall

Introduction

In any public relations crisis it is best to always err on the side of safety for customers first, seeking to re-establish credibility and win back the trust that has been lost. Credibility is the currency that crises are paid for with (Duke & Masland, 2002). Trust has to be earned and maintained to win back the confidence of customers, and that is the objective of this crisis communications plan for Globecell. As social networks are amplifying — and at times exaggerating — the severity of this issue, industry analysts, bloggers, and industry influencers need to be contacted and debriefed on the crisis. Prior to that, however, a thorough investigation of how key components from suppliers made it through quality assurance and supplier audits must be completed.

It is the intention of this plan to deliver a complete timeline of how and why this error in sourcing components occurred, what steps Globecell is taking to ensure it never happens again, and to define a generous service recovery program for customers. In addition to providing complete transparency regarding the factors that contributed to 150,000 Globecell phones overheating, this crisis plan will communicate the steps taken in supplier quality management, product quality testing, and quality assurance to prevent a recurrence. Social media monitoring services will also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the crisis strategy via sentiment analysis of social networks (Dowling & Weeks, 2011).

Selection of Communications Channels

The level of skepticism and mistrust globally continues to grow, driven in part by companies that refuse to take responsibility for their actions and CEOs who dodge accountability (Showkeir & Showkeir, 2009). This crisis plan needs to move aggressively in the opposite direction, taking immediate and full responsibility for the 150,000 units being recalled. The response should begin with the CEO hosting a live call-in press conference that is simulcast online and televised. An apology must be made to all 150,000 customers, employees, stakeholders, and innocent suppliers who will experience a short-term drop in orders as a result of the crisis. A website for future updates and customer service contact information will also be provided.

With this strategy in mind, the key channels that must be included in the crisis plan are: simulcasting online via WebEx or a comparable platform and through network television; social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, and live blogging with real-time RSS feeds; video blogging at the event by bloggers and key influencers; and ongoing interviews with any qualified member of the media — including bloggers — who wish to interview the CEO afterward. For a comparison of online channels, see Table 1 in the Appendix: Web 2.0 and Social Media Communications Channels. Communications across all channels in crisis communications must resonate with authenticity, transparency, and trust in order to achieve service recovery and mitigate damage to company reputation (Ferrante, 2010).

Effects on the Brand, Customers, and Broader Business Environment

Too often, CEOs and senior management teams attempt to hide, lie, or otherwise obfuscate the truth about major crises in their organizations. The case of BP and the Gulf Oil spill — during which the CEO denied personal or corporate responsibility — ignited a war with the media that has lasted for years (Hopkins, 2011). Microsoft's handling of key talent losses to Google and other start-ups, including threats to sue both the recruiting companies and, in some cases, the employees themselves, is another example of how not to manage a crisis communications plan (Keeffe & Darling, 2008). Brands have been irreparably damaged by an absence of crisis plans, or by plans that were defined but poorly executed (Gorman, 2006).

The best practice for managing a crisis is to first be clear about the circumstances that caused it, disclosing all available information and publicly available knowledge to demonstrate authenticity and organizational transparency (Sapriel, 2003). The best practice of combining an apology with a service recovery strategy is today being accelerated through recorded and live video feeds, along with the opportunity to meet directly with the senior management team (Romero, 2011). Together, these two best practices lay the foundation for shared ownership of the crisis with stakeholders by fully informing them of both current and future plans to address the factors that caused the crisis (Stephens, Malone, & Bailey, 2005).

A third best practice is to define the performance measures that will be used to evaluate the success or failure of the crisis plan in terms of long-term brand equity (Levick, 2007). Globecell must adopt all three of these best practices and implement them immediately.