In a time when negative information about a brand, whether factual or manufactured, can travel quickly, brands are expected to act swiftly and effectively to a crisis. Indeed, a recent report [download page] from Crisp finds that two-thirds of consumers say they are unlikely to shop with a company after it experiences a crisis and responds poorly.
That being said, nearly 9 in 10 of the 2,000 US and UK consumers surveyed said they were somewhat (53%) or very (36%) likely to shop with a brand that has experienced a crisis and handled it well.
Although the definition of a crisis differs depending on the person, almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents consider the mistreatment of workers to be a crisis. This aligns with data showing that Millennials care about how companies treat their employees.
Another 59% of respondents report that either ethical misconduct or CEO misconduct constitutes a company crisis, while 58% consider the mistreatment of customers to be a crisis.
No matter what the crisis entails, the news is most likely to be shared via social media. Some 40% of consumers say they share brand crisis news through social media, compared to the 29% who share it in-person with friends or family.
So, what are the biggest mistakes brands make when addressing a crisis? Almost 3 in 10 (28%) respondents say that not accepting responsibility for the crisis is one of the biggest mistakes a brand can make. One-fifth (20%) of respondents say that brands can make the mistake of not acknowledging the crisis, while others say it’s a mistake to fail to offer a solution to prevent similar issues (15%).
Another 13% of respondents say the biggest mistake for a brand to fail to respond fast enough. In fact, more than half (53%) say that they expect a response to a crisis from a brand within 1 hour, while one-third (34%) say they expect a response within 30 minutes. More importantly, 3 in 5 respondents expect the initial public response to come from the CEO of the company as opposed to a PR person (5%).
Highlighting the importance of handling a crisis appropriately, a full 55% of respondents say they warn family and friends about brands that handle a crisis poorly, compared to the 39% who refer a company to friends and family when a company they’ve shopped with before handles a crisis well.
The full report can be downloaded here.
About the Data: The data is based on a survey of 2,000 consumers from the US and the UK in May 2019.
