{"id":4928,"date":"2018-10-16T14:06:06","date_gmt":"2018-10-16T14:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/?p=4928"},"modified":"2023-09-29T21:16:16","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T20:16:16","slug":"when-is-a-crisis-not-a-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/when-is-a-crisis-not-a-crisis","title":{"rendered":"When is a crisis not a crisis?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When we run <\/span>crisis simulation<\/span><\/a> training for brands, one of the most common things we\u2019re asked at the beginning of the session is: \u201cAt what point is this is a real crisis? When should we activate our crisis management plan?\u201d <\/span>
\nBut first, let\u2019s define what constitutes a crisis. People often talk about a \u2018social media crisis\u2019. Really there\u2019s no such thing – a crisis might break and spread over social media, but it\u2019s rarely confined to it. <\/span>
\nA crisis is something that happens in the real world. It causes material and sustained damage to your business. It is an event that has a negative impact on sales, or on your share price, or your reputation. It poses a real threat to the company\u2019s future. <\/span>
\nThat means that a crisis is something out of the ordinary. So to know when you\u2019re in crisis, you have to know what ordinary looks like. <\/span>
\nWhen we\u2019re working with utility companies, for example, ordinary can mean a few hundred or even a few thousand complaints and negative posts on social media per day. But if you\u2019re a manufacturer, several hundred negative posts could indicate a serious problem with a product that you need to investigate. <\/span>
\nIf you\u2019re unable to conduct your core business, that\u2019s a crisis. <\/span>Smartphones catching fire<\/span><\/a> is a crisis for a smartphone manufacturer. <\/span>KFC running out of chicken<\/span><\/a> was a crisis (albeit a short-lived one) – it was not a run-of-the-mill issue, and it stopped people being able to buy chicken from its restaurants. It wasn\u2019t life-threatening, but if your business is selling chicken, it\u2019s a problem when you can\u2019t. <\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

What isn\u2019t a crisis? <\/b><\/h2>\n

Someone <\/span>posting from the wrong account<\/span><\/a>, or saying something inappropriate on the company Twitter feed might be labelled a Twitter #fail, but it\u2019s probably not a crisis. It might create a flurry of activity, and it might be difficult to manage, but it\u2019s unlikely to herald the fall of the company.<\/span>
\n <\/p>\n

What\u2019s the difference between an issue and a crisis? <\/b><\/h2>\n

An issue is something that you can manage so it doesn\u2019t turn into a crisis, and it won\u2019t have a significant negative impact on your company. It might be something negative that you deal with every day. Nestle, for example, is under constant fire from campaigners for its <\/span>marketing of baby milk<\/span><\/a>, and faces regular boycotts by consumers. It\u2019s an issue that\u2019s been going on for so long that it has become ordinary for the company. It doesn\u2019t materially affect day-to-day operations. <\/span>
\nThe same is true of Amazon. Amazon hits the headlines regularly for reportedly <\/span>not paying enough tax<\/span><\/a> in the UK, or <\/span>poor working conditions<\/span><\/a> in its warehouses. But those stories don\u2019t stop any of us buying from Amazon; the company posted a record <\/span>$2.8bn profit<\/span><\/a> in the second quarter of 2018. (The subject of why we keep buying from Amazon is fascinating, and one we\u2019ll explore in a future post.)<\/span>
\n 
\nSo when you spot an issue on social media, take a breath before activating your full crisis plan. Ask yourself: does this go against the core values of the company? Could it cause reputational damage? And will it impact sales or my share price? <\/span>
\nIf the answer is no, your crisis plan can stay put, for now. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When we run crisis simulation training for brands, one of the most common things we\u2019re asked at the beginning of the session is: \u201cAt what point is this is a real crisis? When should we activate our crisis management plan?\u201d But first, let\u2019s define what constitutes a crisis. People often talk about a \u2018social media…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":23269,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sync_status":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"series":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/crisis-not-a-crisis-1-scaled.jpeg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Genuine-Humans.jpg","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"amazon":{"key":"amazon","url":"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/3abc34c3-ff60-4a78-b347-6119461b7ed1\/GENUINE-HUMANS","label":"Amazon","class":"amazon","icon":"amazon.png"},"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/genuine-humans\/id1561811296","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/feed\/aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVzb2NpYWxlbGVtZW50LmFnZW5jeS9mZWVkL3BvZGNhc3Q?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwiQz-mM7dzvAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/7jkfw0qeUlwrauhfy2pCGU","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/thesocialelement.agency\/feed\/podcast","embedCode":"

When is a crisis not a crisis?<\/a><\/blockquote>