{"id":12313,"date":"2019-06-14T13:46:57","date_gmt":"2019-06-14T13:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/?p=12313"},"modified":"2019-06-14T13:49:42","modified_gmt":"2019-06-14T13:49:42","slug":"brands-values-help-survive-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/brands-values-help-survive-crisis","title":{"rendered":"How a brand\u2019s values can help it survive a crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brand values don\u2019t have any real significance until they are put into practice.<\/span><\/h2>\n

While it may feel like hard work to sit down with your team and create a set of values that the brand – and its people – will stand for, they\u2019re just words on a screen or a bit of paper. Brands have to believe in their values enough to live them and make them part of every business process.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brands that live their values have an easier time creating a relationship of trust with consumers because they tend to communicate honestly. From my experience, these brands know that they aren\u2019t perfect and strive to be better at everything they do.<\/span><\/p>\n

A high-level of consumer trust bolsters the brand\u2019s ability to manage a crisis well, and experience a rapid recovery.<\/span><\/p>\n

But how do brands continue to live their values – and use them to support the brand through a crisis – when the world seems to be against them? They do this in <\/span>three ways.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1.Everyone in the business knows, understands and supports the values<\/b><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Managing a crisis draws in people from across the business, so it is essential that it\u2019s not just those on the frontline of public communications that are well versed in the brand\u2019s values. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just knowledge that\u2019s important. People have to believe that decision-makers in the business know, support and live the values themselves. If one of the brand\u2019s values is supporting diversity, what does leadership do to show this? Do they advocate in this area? Does the brand have schemes to bolster the diversity of its leadership team? Or is this value simply aspirational, and no real action is ever taken?<\/span><\/p>\n

If employees don\u2019t see the brand acting in accordance with the values it professes, they will have a more difficult time convincing others that these values are genuine.<\/span><\/p>\n

But when values are set by the leadership and lived every day, employees can be confident in their messaging. They know what they can and cannot say, and they know that the brand will support their words with action.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. The public can see that the brand, and its employees, follow these values<\/b><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Does the brand have a history of acting to support the things it says it values? It\u2019s an important way of demonstrating to the public that they can trust the brand to keep its word.<\/span><\/p>\n

If people can look back and see that a brand often says one thing, but then fails to make real change, why should they believe the brand\u2019s words during a crisis?<\/span><\/p>\n

A crisis is always unwelcome and best avoided, but it does offer brands the chance to remind customers about its values and show them that it can be trusted to do what it says. If a mistake has been made, it will be rectified. People can hear that message and believe it.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. All crisis communication is designed to reinforce these values and communicates them in a way that makes people want to listen<\/b><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ideally, employees should take the values and messages that the brand wants to communicate during a crisis and adapt them – not just to each channel, but to each individual that they decide to respond to. <\/span><\/p>\n

It may save time to copy and paste the exact same message to multiple people, or to post \u201csee our policy on X\u201d and link to a page of corporate policy, but the message won\u2019t get through.<\/span><\/p>\n

Empathy<\/span><\/a> helps messages resonate with people – especially during a crisis situation. <\/span><\/p>\n

Often, we find that legal teams encourage the brand to shy away from apologising (lest they admit liability), but expressing empathy doesn\u2019t have to mean apologising and admitting fault. It can be a simple expression of understanding; showing that you hear what people are saying, that you understand why they are upset and can sympathise with them. But this should be followed by action.<\/span><\/p>\n

A brand\u2019s values can help support the brand through a crisis, but only if these values are <\/span>lived<\/span><\/i> throughout the brand, every day. Values can\u2019t be enforced, but when employees and leaders believe in the brand\u2019s values – and are committed to making a positive change to reflect them – they can help foster understanding during a crisis and help to temper hostility and misunderstanding.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brand values don\u2019t have any real significance until they are put into practice. While it may feel like hard work to sit down with your team and create a set of values that the brand – and its people – will stand for, they\u2019re just words on a screen or a bit of paper. Brands…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":12315,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow a brand\u2019s values can help it survive a crisis - The Social Element USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The latest post from Tamara Littleton looks at how brands can use their values to survive - and make a more rapid recovery from - a crisis.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/us\/brands-values-help-survive-crisis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How a brand\u2019s values can help it survive a crisis - 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