Total Recall

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response, reputation management

Every manufacturer and reseller should be ready to launch into crisis response mode in case of an unexpected product recall. As I said in this story:

“Too many CEO’s play ostrich about the possibility of a recall. They wait until the recall is required and then try to figure out what to do, resulting in additional risk for consumers and the company’s reputation.”

I know, I know, it’s more Crisis Management 101, but you would be astounded at the number of businesses who do not heed this advice. Luckily for them, the nice people at Reliable Plant magazine have published an article featuring steps firms can take to recover from a product recall.

“Recalls undermine trust in a specific brand and it can take the company a long time to recover from the damage to its reputation, but it doesn’t have to take a long time if the company uses good crisis management tactics,” said Manpreet Hora, an assistant professor in Georgia Tech’s College of Management. “Reducing the time it takes to recall a product will have a positive effect on consumers’ willingness to purchase other products from the same company and if the recall is handled well, the stock price may recover to the same level as before the incident.”

While a product recall can be a serious blow to a company’s reputation and checkbook, it does not have to be. Create a proper crisis response plan and implement it as soon as trouble’s spotted, you’ll be bouncing back in no time!

JB

Jonathan Bernstein
www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com